Using machine translation and AI

Members may use machine translation and AI tools, but must be open with clients about it and stay responsible for the final text.

Tell your client

If you use machine translation or AI for any part of a job, say so before you start, unless the client has already asked you to.

Confidential material

Don't paste a client's text into a public AI tool unless the client agrees in writing. Tools you run privately or under a business agreement that doesn't keep or train on your data are acceptable.

Pricing post-editing

Members responding to our 2026 rates survey most often charged between 60% and 80% of their full translation rate for post-editing.

Questions

Do I have to tell the client if I only used AI for terminology research?

No. The rule applies when machine translation or AI produces any part of the translated text.

Good to know

• The Professional Practice helpline can talk through a tricky situation before it becomes a problem.
• Breaking the law in your professional work is also a breach of the code.
• We publish anonymised summaries of complaint decisions twice a year to help members learn from them.

Downloads

• Model terms of business (Word, 37 KB)
• Complaints procedure (PDF, 220 KB)

Page last reviewed 3 May 2026