Translate customer messages
A practical way to use AI for this job in a small business, with a prompt you can copy.
A customer messages you in Vietnamese, Mandarin or Arabic. You want to help, but you don't speak the language, and a clumsy reply could lose the sale or cause offence.
The prompt
Translate this customer message into English and tell me the tone (happy, upset, confused). Then draft a friendly reply in plain English and translate it back into [language]. [paste message]
Replace everything in [square brackets] with your own details. Don't paste in anything you wouldn't want stored by the AI provider.
Steps
- Paste the message.
- Run the prompt.
- Keep the reply simple; short sentences translate better.
- For anything legal or medical, use a professional translator.
A worked example
A Cabramatta mobile phone repair shop gets a Facebook message in Vietnamese asking if they can fix a cracked screen on a specific model and how much it costs. The owner pastes it into ChatGPT and gets an English translation. He writes his reply in English (yes, $180 including GST, about an hour, walk-ins welcome), then asks for a friendly Vietnamese version.
He also asks for a back-translation into English to check the meaning held up. It did. The customer turns up that afternoon.
Where it goes wrong
AI translation can be too formal, too casual, or just slightly off in ways you won't notice. The back-translation trick catches the big errors. Prices, dates and times are where mistakes cost money, so write them as numbers and check them. Never rely on it for medical, legal or safety instructions.
Time saved
Fumbling through a translation app can take 15 minutes of back-and-forth. AI with a back-translation check takes about five. These are my estimates for a typical small business, not measured results.
What it costs (AUD)
Google Translate and DeepL have free versions; DeepL's paid plans are in a similar range to the chat tools. Check the vendor for current prices.
The free plans of ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini handle this fine. If you end up using AI every day, the paid plans are roughly: ChatGPT Plus approx. A$30 a month, Claude Pro approx. A$29 a month billed monthly (US$20, or about A$24 a month if you pay yearly), and Google AI Pro approx. A$33 a month through the App Store. Prices approx., October 2026. Some are billed in US dollars, so your bank may add a foreign transaction fee. Check the vendor's pricing page before you buy.
Australian notes
For anything legal, medical or safety-related, use a qualified translator. The Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS National) can help in some situations, so check whether you're eligible. Keep personal details out of what you paste.
Privacy: the Privacy Act and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) cover most businesses turning over more than $3 million, plus some smaller ones such as health providers. Even if you're under the threshold, treat customer details with care: strip names, phone numbers and addresses before you paste anything into an AI tool.
My verdict
Good enough for everyday messages. Not for contracts.
Common questions
How accurate is AI translation?
Good for everyday messages in common languages. Less reliable for slang, rare languages and technical terms.
Should I tell the customer I used a translator?
It's a nice touch, and it explains any odd phrasing.
Can it translate my website?
It can draft translations, but have a native speaker check anything customers rely on.
Do this today
Ask your AI tool to translate your most common customer reply into the second most common language in your area, and save it as a template.
More admin use cases
Next: Write a follow-up email after a quote · All admin · Want a bot to do this automatically? See bot setup guides.