Translation in Intercom spans several features that work independently of each other. Knowing which feature is responsible for which behavior makes it much easier to understand what a customer sees, what a teammate sees, and fix any issues.
This article covers:
The three translation features and how they differ
How AI Inbox Translation works for teammates
How Fin AI Agent translates for customers
How Multilingual Workflows translate automated messages
Email threading and quoted text behavior
Copilot translation limits
The language override attribute and how it interacts with other settings
Where each setting lives
What to check if you see something unexpected
Note: AI Inbox Translation (what teammates see), Fin's multilingual support (what customers receive from Fin), and Multilingual workflows (what customers see in automated workflow messages) are separate features. They must be configured independently, and disabling one has no effect on the others.
The three translation features
Intercom has three distinct translation features. They can run at the same time, but they operate independently and serve different audiences.
Feature | Who it serves | What it does | Where to configure it |
AI Inbox Translation | Teammates | Translates customer messages into your working language in the Inbox. Translates your replies back into the customer's language before sending. | Settings > Workspace > Multilingual (workspace-level) and Settings > Personal > Multilingual (personal) |
Fin's multilingual support | Customers (Fin responses) | Allows Fin to respond to customers in languages where you don't have content written in that language. Translates your fallback-language content at answer time. | |
Multilingual workflows | Customers (workflow messages) | Automatically translates chat messages and reply buttons within Workflows into the customer's detected language. Enabled per-workflow via the Auto-translate toggle. | Fin AI Agent > Workflows > open workflow |
AI Inbox Translation: what teammates see
AI Inbox Translation changes what you see in the Inbox. It does not affect what the customer receives.
How it works
Customer messages are translated into your personal Your language setting when you open a conversation.
Your replies are automatically translated back into the customer's language before they're sent.
Translation is generated on demand the first time a teammate with a matching language setting opens the conversation.
Other teammates can access available translations via the Language menu in the conversation header.
If a language appears grayed out in the Language menu, no teammate with that language preference has opened the conversation yet so the translation doesn't exist yet.
Language settings and how they interact
There are four language settings that control AI Inbox Translation. Understanding how they interact explains most 'unexpected' translation behavior.
Setting | What it controls | Where to set it |
Default language | The primary workspace language. Used as the fallback for any teammate who hasn't set a personal preference. | |
Additional languages | Up to 10 extra languages teammates can select as their personal working language. Translations to additional languages may be slightly slower than to the default language. | |
Supported languages | The languages Fin and Messenger can automatically detect and translate from. If a customer writes in a language not on this list, translation won't be available. | |
Your language | Each teammate's personal working language. Conversations are translated into this language for that teammate. Must be the workspace Default or one of the Additional languages. |
When a translation is and isn't generated
Scenario | Your language | Customer's language | Result |
Different languages | English | Spanish | Translated to English |
No personal preference set | (not set - falls back to workspace default) | Spanish | Translated to workspace default language |
Same language | English | English | No translation (same language) |
Unsupported language | English | Latin (not supported) | No translation available |
When a message is skipped ('Translation skipped')
Some messages aren't translated even when AI Inbox Translation is active. This is expected behavior.
Emoji-only messages: emojis are universal and don't need translating.
Repetitive messages: large amounts of repeated text (such as spam) don't produce meaningful translations.
Special character noise: messages made up primarily of symbols without meaningful text are skipped.
Simple automation (bot) messages: these appear in the language they were originally sent, not your language setting. Fin and Workflow messages are translated.
Note: The 'Translation skipped' label is intentional. It is not an error.
Per-conversation and per-teammate controls
You can disable translation for a single conversation via the three-dot menu at the top of the conversation. This only affects what you see and other teammates can still view translations.
Each teammate's translation setting is independent. Two teammates can view the same conversation in different languages at the same time.
The translation toggle below each message shows only two options: the original language and Your language. It doesn't show all workspace languages.
What teammates see vs. what customers receive
AI Inbox Translation translates conversation messages for your reading convenience. What you see in the Inbox is not always what the customer received.
Example: A Workflow sends a message to a customer in Italian. You have Your language set to French. In the Inbox, that Workflow message appears in French — but the customer received it in Italian.
Tip: To verify what language a customer actually received, check the conversation events in the thread. These show language detection and override events that confirm the language served to each party.
Fin AI Agent translation: what customers see
Fin's multilingual support is entirely separate from AI Inbox Translation. It controls the language Fin uses when responding to customers.
With real-time translation enabled
Fin detects the customer's language from their messages.
If you have content written in that language, Fin answers in that language directly.
If you don't have content in that language, Fin can use real-time translation to translate your fallback-language content and respond in the customer's language.
Fin's language behavior is configured separately in Settings > AI & Automation > Fin AI Agent > Fin's multilingual support (not in Settings > Workspace > Multilingual).
Note: Fin does not use the Your language or Default language settings from the Workspace Multilingual settings. Those settings only apply to AI Inbox Translation for teammates.
Multilingual workflows: what customers see in automated messages
Multilingual workflows translates the chat messages and reply buttons inside your Workflows into the customer's detected language. It operates independently of AI Inbox Translation and Fin's multilingual support settings (each must be configured separately).
How it works
When a customer triggers a workflow, chat messages and reply buttons are automatically served in the customer's detected language.
Enable it per-workflow: open the workflow editor, click the ⋯ (ellipsis) at the top right, and toggle Auto-translate on. Translations generate in the background when you save.
Available languages are determined by your workspace's Supported Languages list (the same list used by AI Inbox Translation).
You can preview translations in workflow view mode using the Auto-translate dropdown. The preview language does not affect what customers receive as the workflow always uses the customer's detected language at runtime.
What it translates, and what it doesn't
Translated ✓ | Not translated ✗ |
Chat messages in workflow steps | Attribute collector steps (depend on customer input) |
Reply buttons | Custom Answers |
Available on all channels | Steps already localized by Intercom (reply time, CSAT, Let Fin answer) these don't need Auto-translate to display in the right language |
The workspace default language matters
Workflows translate from the language set as your workspace Default language at the time you save the workflow. Two common issues follow from this:
Mixed or wrong translations: If your workflow is written in Spanish but the workspace Default language is English, the system treats the Spanish text as the English 'original' and translates from that, producing incorrect output in all other languages. To fix it, confirm the workspace Default language matches the language the workflow is written in, then re-save the workflow to regenerate translations cleanly.
Language-specific workflows: If you maintain separate workflows already written in a specific language (for example, a French workflow with an audience rule targeting French-speaking customers), turn Auto-translate off for those workflows. With Auto-translate on, the system re-translates the French content treating it as the workspace Default language which produces the wrong output. With it off, the workflow delivers its messages exactly as written.
Note: Turning Auto-translate off on a live workflow removes all previously generated language variations. Only the version written in the workflow will remain. Only use this when the workflow is already authored in its intended delivery language.
The language override attribute
The Language override attribute enforces a specific language for a customer's Messenger and automation content. When set, it takes priority over language detection.
What the language override controls
The language the customer sees in the Messenger.
The language used by Fin AI Agent when responding to that customer.
The language used by Workflows when sending automated messages to that customer.
What it doesn't control
AI Inbox Translation for teammates: that is controlled by each teammate's Your language setting.
The language of manual replies sent by teammates.
You can manually set or change the language for a conversation in the right sidebar of the Inbox by clicking the Language conversation attribute. This overrides the detected language and is also useful if AI Inbox Translation doesn't start automatically (for example, if the system detects Mexican Spanish but you prefer standard Spanish).
Note: The audience label in the translation feedback popover (Seen by customer or Seen by teammates) reflects the language as detected or served to each audience, not necessarily the language they wrote in. Mismatches can happen when a customer's browser is configured in a different language from the one they typed in. This is expected behavior.
Email threading and quoted text
Email conversations have some behaviors that are specific to how email works and can appear confusing without context.
Quoted text in email threads
When a customer replies to an email, their email client typically includes the previous message as quoted text. This quoted text is treated as a separate message part.
AI Inbox Translation translates the new message part in the customer's reply. It may not translate quoted sections, especially if they contain content that would produce a poor result (such as repeated text or mixed-language formatting).
If you see a 'Translation skipped' notice on a quoted text block, this is expected. The translation system treats quoted text by the same content-filtering rules as any other message.
Right-to-left (RTL) languages in email
When a teammate replies in a right-to-left language such as Hebrew or Arabic, the customer receives an email that renders correctly for that language — no extra setup required.
Direction is determined per message part. A Hebrew reply in an otherwise English thread arrives right-aligned and reads right-to-left; English parts in the same thread continue to read left-to-right.
RTL replies render full-width in the email.
RTL subject lines are marked so the recipient's email client lays them out right-to-left.
Copilot translation limits
AI Inbox Translation is included for all teammates, but unlimited use requires a Copilot seat.
Each teammate gets 10 free translated conversations per month.
After reaching the monthly limit, translations are paused for that teammate until the next month or until a Copilot unlimited usage seat is assigned.
Workspace-level translation settings are not affected as the limit applies per teammate.
Note: If a teammate's translations stop working mid-month and they haven't changed any settings, check whether they've hit the 10-conversation limit. Assigning a Copilot unlimited usage seat restores full access.
Translation quality and AI variation
Intercom uses AI and large language model (LLM) providers for translations. Different AI translation systems use different LLMs with different training data, which naturally produces different but equally valid translations.
Minor stylistic or phrasing differences between Intercom's translation and other tools (such as Google Translate) are normal. They're not errors.
These variations cannot be adjusted because they're inherent to how LLMs work.
If a translation seems genuinely inaccurate (wrong meaning, not just different phrasing), teammates can flag it using the thumbs down feedback button below any translated message.
What to check if you see something unexpected
Most translation issues can be explained and resolved easily. Work through this checklist if you see something unexpected:
1. Identify which feature is involved
Is this about what a teammate sees in the Inbox? → AI Inbox Translation
Is this about what a customer received from Fin? → Fin's multilingual support
Is this about the language used in the Messenger or in automated messages? → Language override attribute
Is this about the language of workflow chat messages or reply buttons? → Multilingual workflows (Auto-translate toggle on the workflow)
2. Check the settings
Is AI Inbox Translation enabled at workspace level? (Settings > Workspace > Multilingual)
Has the teammate set a Your language preference? (Settings > Personal > Multilingual)
Is the customer's language in the workspace Supported Languages list?
Is the language the teammate wants to use set as Default or Additional? (You can only choose from configured workspace languages.)
Has the teammate reached the 10 free conversation translation limit for the month?
3. Check for known expected behaviors
Is the message emoji-only, repetitive, or mostly special characters? → 'Translation skipped' is expected.
Is the message from a simple automation (bot)? → Not translated for teammates; this is a known limitation.
Is the teammate viewing the conversation from a user profile card rather than directly from the Inbox? → Translation only applies when opening from the Inbox.
Is the teammate seeing a Workflow or Fin message in their own language rather than the customer's language? → This is correct - AI Inbox Translation shows everything in the teammate's language.
Does the translation differ slightly from Google Translate? → Normal LLM variation.
Is a grayed-out language in the Language menu? → That translation hasn't been generated yet because no teammate with that language preference has opened the conversation.
Is the quoted text in an email reply not translated? → Expected; email quoted text may be skipped by content filtering.
4. Verify what the customer actually received
Check the conversation events in the thread. These show language detection events, override events, and the language served to each party.
Remember: what you see in the Inbox (AI Inbox Translation) is not necessarily what the customer received.
If a language override is set on the customer's profile or via a workflow, that takes priority over language detection check the Language conversation attribute in the sidebar.
5. When to escalate to our Support team
After checking the steps above, escalate if:
Translation isn't working and settings are correctly configured, the customer's language is supported, the teammate hasn't hit the usage limit, and there's no language override interfering.
A message that should be translated (not emoji-only, not repetitive, not a bot message) consistently shows 'Translation skipped' with no obvious content filtering reason.
The customer received a reply in a completely wrong language that can't be explained by the language override or detected language.
FAQs
Does turning off AI Inbox Translation change what customers see?
No. AI Inbox Translation only affects what teammates see in the Inbox. Turning it off at workspace level stops new translations for teammates but does not affect the language customers receive messages in.
Can two teammates see the same conversation in different languages?
Yes. Each teammate sees the conversation translated into their own Your language setting. The translation for each language is generated independently.
Why does a teammate's translation look different from mine?
Your translations are generated separately from your teammate's. Minor differences in phrasing are normal and reflect the on-demand generation model, not an error.
Does Fin use the same language settings as AI Inbox Translation?
No. Fin's language settings are configured separately in Settings > AI & Automation > Fin AI Agent > Fin's multilingual support. The Workspace Multilingual settings (Default language, Additional languages, Your language) do not affect Fin's responses to customers.
Why isn't ticket content being translated?
AI Inbox Translation applies to conversations in the Inbox. The conversation thread linked to a ticket is still translated, but the ticket object itself (properties and content) is not. To translate a message on a ticket, use AI Compose > Translate on the reply manually.
What does the 'Seen by customer' / 'Seen by teammates' label mean in the translation feedback popover?
These labels reflect the language as detected or served to each audience based on factors like the customer's browser language settings, rather than necessarily the language the message was written in. Mismatches are expected when a customer's browser is in a different language from the one they typed in.
Need more help? Get support from our Community Forum
Find answers and get help from Intercom Support and Community Experts