The Numbers Are In: Translation Experts Weigh in on Translation Expertise

Which machine translation provider do the world’s leading language services companies (LSCs) trust to deliver accuracy and efficiency?

The answer, in a new survey of 127 language companies across 28 countries, is clear and resounding: DeepL.

The 2024 Industry Survey by the Association of Language Companies (ALC) revealed that 82% of LSCs now use DeepL. That’s far more than those who use machine translation services from any other provider, and roughly double those using big tech companies like Google (46%), Microsoft (32%) and Amazon AWS (17%). It also shows the momentum with which DeepL’s Language AI is reshaping the translation landscape. In the last year, DeepL has grown its share of the machine translation market by an astonishing 44%, jumping up from third place to become the clear number one. The company is showing especially strong traction in the enterprise market, now providing translation services for 50% of the Fortune 500.

"It's striking that a specialized language AI company like DeepL has overtaken tech giants like Google and AWS as the top machine translation provider among language service companies,” said Anna Wyndham, Head of Research for the language industry intelligence provider, Slator, which carried out the survey for ALC. “As AI adoption speeds up and language AI becomes a key value driver, this shift suggests that agile, focused companies can outpace larger competitors by delivering impact in critical areas.”

Why language companies choose specialized Language AI

The increased trust that LSCs have in DeepL comes at a time when the industry is embracing AI in response to growing client demand, especially from enterprise customers. According to the ALC survey, 75% of LSCs reported customers inquiring about AI technology. Moreover, according to a recent McKinsey survey, 65% of LSPs reported regularly using generative AI in early 2024 — nearly double the percentage from just 10 months earlier.

As they compete for growth in a global business environment, enterprises find the costs of language barriers piling up on all fronts. These barriers create risks for offshoring and nearshoring strategies, complicate international operations, block growth in new markets, all the while adding friction to workflows and hampering productivity.

It’s no wonder, then, that enterprise customers are seeking out purpose-built translation platforms that are tailored to their specific needs, that integrate with their tech stacks, and that provide the accuracy, security and compliance they require. Slator’s 2024 Language Industry Market Report found that Language AI has been elevated to a C-level priority within enterprises, creating new growth opportunities for LSCs able to integrate the technology effectively.

Working with DeepL enables LSCs to deliver the productivity and efficiency that enterprises seek, without compromising the accuracy that’s critical for industries like manufacturing, retail, healthcare, legal, and beyond. In addition, solutions like the DeepL API enable LSCs to build the highest-quality machine translations into their own workflows; this allows them to derive the benefits of Language AI within their existing systems and develop innovative new tools for customers. A 2024 Forrester study revealed that the use of DeepL delivered 345% ROI for global companies, reducing translation time by 90% and driving a 50% in workload reduction.

Marrying accuracy and innovation

DeepL’s advantage in machine translation is a direct result of its uniquely specialized Language AI platform. It’s trained on carefully curated, proprietary language data, and tutored by thousands of language experts. Compared to generic AI models trained on public internet data, DeepL delivers far greater accuracy and a deep understanding of the nuances across countries and how humans actually communicate. According to blind tests with language experts in 2024, DeepL translations are 1.3x more accurate than Google and 2.3x more accurate than Microsoft.

For enterprise organizations, instant, accurate and authentically human translations are able to break down communications barriers at scale, and super-charge internal productivity. Case in point: Panasonic Connect Senior Manager Shoji Ohtsubo explains in Beyond the Code, the new series produced by BBC StoryWorks Commercial Productions, that DeepL has shrunk the time needed to translate discussions of tech strategy from half a day to a matter of moments. This enables globalizing Japanese companies to collaborate seamlessly and increase productivity across their international operations. 

In addition, features like DeepL Glossaries ensure consistent translation of complex industry and corporate technology. This is a DeepL feature that’s particularly prized by the Japanese investment firm, Daiwa Securities Group.

“The application of language AI is going to completely change how quickly and effectively enterprise organizations can work,” says Jarek Kutylowski, CEO and Founder, DeepL. “There has always a language barrier between their different regional operations, and this is where DeepL really helps them communicate both internally and externally. It’s empowering business lives at scale.”