Localization in 2025: Embracing AI, Scaling Content, and Essential Skills

What does localization in 2025 look like? The expectations are driven by AI, automation, and the need for scalable solutions. But what does this mean for localization teams, translators, and enterprises trying to reach global audiences?

In a recent webinar discussion – Step into 2025: Great Expectations for the Localization Industry, Renato Beninatto (Nimdzi Insights) guided a conversation with industry leaders Luz Pineda (Motorola), Marco Trombetti (Translated), and Georg Ell (Phrase). They shared their insights, experiences, and predictions for 2025. Here’s a look at the key trends—full of challenges, ideas, and inspiration for your own localization journey.

For those who prefer to watch, click the video below. For those who’d like to read, scroll a little bit down.

AI and Automation: More Than Just Saving Money

Since AI came into localization it has been synonymous with efficiency and cost-cutting. But 2025 promises something more: using AI to do more with the same resources. Think faster workflows, smarter quality checks, and the ability to scale up like never before.

Luz Pineda summed it up perfectly:

“Cost is very important, but it’s not always about the money. It’s what else I can do with the same resources I have right now. Can I scale? Can I take on more projects?” ?

Meanwhile, Marco Trombetti highlighted the bigger picture:

“I have to say that last year I thought that the 1st thing when people see AI, the 1st thing they think is that, how do I save money with this? And that’s just that. It’s the 1st phase. But it’s not the interesting part. The interesting part is, how can we do more? The true benefit is expanding the reach of content so every single piece of information on the internet is available not in 2, but in 200 languages.”

In 2025, AI will be less about cutting costs and more about maximizing what you have — faster workflows, smarter quality checks, and effortless scalability.

Boosting Localization Quality with AI Tools in 2025

AI-driven quality assessment tools are getting sharper, faster, and more effective. Error rates are shrinking, and human-level quality is within reach. But it’s not just about perfection — it’s about balancing speed, accuracy, and risk. AI tools help localization teams boost productivity, scale up, and maintain quality without adding resources.

One interesting innovation is LARA by Translated. This AI tool enhances machine translation by combining large language models (LLMs) with neural machine translation. LARA processes entire documents, not just single sentences, ensuring more accurate and context-aware translations. It also offers explainability, where the AI clarifies its choices and flags uncertainties.

Marco Trombetti shared impressive results about LARA:

“Last year, machine translation had 12 errors per 1,000 words. With LARA, we reduced that to 2.5 errors per 1,000 words, which is better than the average professional translator.”

This shows that AI can match — and even surpass — human quality in simpler tasks like conversational content. However, this doesn’t mean that translators or localization managers should fear AI.

“AI is not replacing humans; it’s helping them work smarter and faster. Translators who are embracing AI are now making three times more, while those who refuse it are too slow, too low quality. They’ve lost almost all their volume.”

AI isn’t replacing human translators; it’s empowering them. By handling routine tasks and improving speed and accuracy, AI frees up human translators for creative and strategic work.

The future of localization isn’t a choice between AI and humans—it’s about building a symbiotic relationship.

Dynamic Localization: The Future of Real-Time Content

Imagine a website that changes its tone or content in real time based on a user’s location, device, or even a local event. Instead of static pages, the future of digital experiences will be dynamic, personalized, and streamed live to each user. Georg Ell envisions this transformation as a fundamental shift in localization.

He explains:

“Imagine changing the tone of a website in real time based on a local event or the user’s demographic information. AI will enable this level of dynamic adaptation.”

This shift brings a huge increase in content volume, pushing localization processes to their limits. In this scenario, traditional quality control methods won’t be enough. The challenge will be determining which errors are acceptable and which ones pose a real risk to user experience or brand reputation.

“You have to start to think about the balance of quality and risk in a completely different way… Now, when you have very, very high quality, you get very, very low error rates, but a small percentage of a very large number is still a large number.”

Localization in future won’t just be about translation — it will be about delivering the right message, at the right time, tailored to each user and the events shaping their world at that very moment.

Human Translators: ?Essential Skills in the Age of AI

As AI continues to advance, the role of human translators is shifting. Those who embrace AI tools will discover new opportunities for growth and creativity. Those who resist may find it challenging to keep pace.

Marco Trombetti highlights a skill that AI can’t replicate: creativity. He explains:

“If your job becomes just correcting errors from a machine, you’re only getting the negative part of the work. You’re not getting the pleasure of the creativity.”

AI is designed to handle routine tasks and eliminate the drudgery, allowing humans to focus on what they do best—being creative.?

“Creativity cannot be automated. What AI is doing is taking away the boring parts. It gives humans more time to focus on the things that machines will never be able to do.”

Ultimately, AI doesn’t replace human translators. It empowers them to work better, faster, and more creatively:

“The role of AI is not to replace us but to make us better, faster, and more creative.”

AI tools are only as effective as the prompts they receive. Crafting precise prompts is becoming essential, especially when working across multiple languages.

Luz Pineda emphasizes the importance of this hard skill:

“Prompt engineering is going to be an essential skill. The same prompt doesn’t work for every language. You need to understand the nuances, the idioms, and even the structure of each language to get the right output from AI. A prompt that works well in English might fail in Japanese or Italian. So, it’s not just about using AI, it’s about knowing how to guide AI effectively.”

Localization professionals who master prompt engineering will be able to harness AI’s full potential, ensuring accurate, context-aware translations and faster workflows.

By combining creativity and prompt engineering, localization experts will remain indispensable, using AI to achieve higher quality, efficiency, and scalability.

Collaboration: A Key to Success in Localization in 2025

The future of localization isn’t just about AI or human translators—it’s about how we all work together. True progress comes when enterprises, tech providers, and LSPs (Language Service Providers) collaborate, blending technology with human expertise to achieve the best results.

Georg Ell captured this vision of partnership:

“It’s not ‘us versus them’—it’s ‘us and them.’ The ecosystem needs to work together to get the best value from AI.”

AI provides the tools, but human expertise provides the context, creativity, and strategic guidance. Successful localization will depend on creating an integrated ecosystem where developers, localization managers, linguists, and AI engineers work toward shared goals.

Marco Trombetti emphasized that AI isn’t a replacement but a partner in this ecosystem:

“We need to understand that AI’s role is to empower, not to replace. The collaboration between AI and humans is where we’ll see the most exciting outcomes.”

Similarly, Luz Pineda highlighted that resourceful collaboration enables teams to do more without compromising quality:

“When localization teams, developers, and tech providers work in sync, we can streamline workflows, reduce bottlenecks, and scale efficiently. The more aligned we are, the more projects we can handle without compromising quality.”

In 2025, localization success won’t be driven by isolated efforts. The best strategies will emerge from open communication, shared innovation, and collective problem-solving. Breaking down silos and fostering partnerships will transform localization into a seamless, scalable process that meets the demands of an ever-globalizing world.

Conclusion

Localization in 2025 is set for a transformative leap. The future will rely on those who are ready to change, adapt to AI, refine new skills like prompt engineering, and foster partnerships between enterprises, tech providers, and language experts.

AI will enhance workflows, boost quality, and make scaling content effortless. But we should remember that at the heart of this evolution lies human creativity, adaptability, and collaboration.?

As Renato Beninatto noted, “We’re in a moment of change that brings out the best in people.” So let’s bring out the best within us.