Azure AI Translator Cheat Sheet

• Azure AI Translator is a cloud-powered neural machine translation solution.
• Enables translation of text and documents across various languages.
• Allows customization through the Custom Translator feature.
• Supports containerized deployment for on-premises and edge environments.

Key Features:

1. Text Translation

• Provides real-time translation across supported languages.
• Includes language detection, transliteration, and dictionary lookup capabilities.
• Available via REST API and SDKs for .NET, Java, JavaScript, and Python.
• Enables custom glossaries for domain-specific terminology adaptation.

2. Document Translation

• Asynchronous batch translation:
  • Supports translation of multiple documents while maintaining original formatting.
  • Requires Azure Blob Storage for storing both source and translated documents.
• Synchronous single-document translation:
  • Allows translation of individual documents without the need for Blob Storage.
  • Delivers the translated document directly within the response.

3. Custom Translator

• Create personalized translation models using your own dataset.
• Supports various file formats: .TMX, .XLIFF, .TXT, .DOCX, .XLSX.
• Optimized for industry-specific terminology and stylistic preferences.
• Available through the Custom Translator portal.

4. Containers

• Connected containers:
  • On-premises deployment with internet connectivity required for billing.
  • Local data processing, with only usage metadata transmitted to Azure.
• Disconnected containers:
  • Completely offline deployment with no internet dependency.
  • Requires upfront licensing based on anticipated usage.

5. Prebuilt Solutions

• Language Studio:

  • A no-code platform for interactive document translation.

• Microsoft Translator Pro:

  • A mobile application enabling real-time speech-to-speech translation.

• Power Automate Connectors:

  • Seamlessly integrate translation features into workflows without coding.

6. Language Support

• Supports over 100 languages and dialects.
• Enhances translation with features like automatic language detection, transliteration, and dictionary lookup.

Integration Options

• APIs:
  • REST API for text and document translation.
• SDKs:
  • Available for .NET, Java, JavaScript, and Python.
• Containers:
  • Deploy translation capabilities in isolated environments.
• No-code tools:
  • Language Studio and Power Automate connectors for easy integration.

Data Privacy & Security

• Customer data is not stored permanently.
• Adheres to GDPR and ISO/IEC 27018 compliance standards.
• Data remains securely within the organization’s Azure subscription.

Monitoring & Billing

• Character counting:
  • Every Unicode code point is counted as a character.
  • Includes letters, punctuation, spaces, and markup.
• Usage monitoring:
  • Track usage and set alerts via the Azure portal.
• Billing:
  • Based on the number of characters translated.

References:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/ai-services/translator/overview
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/ai-services/translator/containers/overview
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/ai-services/translator/custom-translator/overview
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/ai-services/translator/language-support
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/ai-services/translator/whats-new
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/ai-services/translator/faq
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/details/cognitive-services/translator/