Microsoft Teams to Introduce AI-Powered Real-Time Language Interpreter with Voice Simulation

You will be able to speak in foreign languages during your Microsoft Teams meetings thanks to AI - Softonic

Microsoft has announced Interpreter, a new AI feature for Teams that will allow real-time conversation interpretation with the option to mimic the user's voice in different languages. This tool will be available in early 2025 for Microsoft 365 subscribers and will support up to nine languages: Spanish, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Mandarin. The technology works by simulating the user's voice during meetings, but according to Microsoft, it does not store biometric data or introduce emotions that are not naturally present in the voice. Activating this feature requires user consent, either through a notification in the meeting or by adjusting Teams settings. A Microsoft spokesperson told TechCrunch that "Interpreter is designed to faithfully replicate the speaker's message without adding unnecessary information." The use of artificial intelligence in translation is not exclusive to Microsoft. Companies like Meta are testing similar tools, and platforms like ElevenLabs already offer multilingual solutions. Although these technologies do not yet match the linguistic richness or cultural accuracy of human translators, their low cost makes them very attractive. However, this type of tool can be very dangerous in the wrong hands. Deepfakes have complicated the detection of misinformation on the Internet, including cases involving public figures like Joe Biden and Taylor Swift. According to the FTC, losses from impersonation scams exceeded one billion dollars in the last year, and attacks through voice impersonations are on the rise, such as a recent case where cybercriminals scammed 25 million dollars using a fake Teams meeting. Although Microsoft claims that Interpreter has a limited focus, the risk of abuse by potential wrongdoers is always present, as they could use recordings to obtain translations for malicious purposes. Will the company implement measures to prevent these situations?

Microsoft Teams can now break language barriers in meetings

Microsoft is set to revolutionize communication with a new AI interpreter feature for Teams, allowing participants to engage in meetings using their preferred languages. Announced on November 19, this update supports near-real-time voice interpretation in nine languages, including Mandarin, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), and Spanish. A limited testing phase is currently underway, with broader availability expected in 2025 for users with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license. The introduction of the AI interpreter aims to democratize access to interpreters, offering cost-effective solutions compared to human counterparts. According to Nicole Herskowitz, corporate vice president of productivity and collaboration for Copilot, the goal is to provide "a high-quality translation experience" for companies that may not have the resources for traditional interpreting services. Consent from users is required for the interpreter to simulate voices during meetings. Users can opt out of voice replication, allowing the AI to use a default interpretation voice instead. The feature is designed to make multilingual meetings accessible, offering a seamless translation experience. Microsoft is expanding its capabilities in response to industry demands, as evidenced by similar offerings from companies like Google, Salesforce, and Zoom, all of which have introduced AI-driven products to enhance user experience. The technology behind this AI interpreter stems from a rising trend in voice simulators. Notably, New York Mayor Eric Adams utilized AI simulators to promote local events in multiple languages, connecting with residents in ways he could not do fluently. This technology extends beyond business applications, aiding individuals with speech impairments to communicate effectively once again. While the AI interpreter in Teams aims to provide accurate translations, Herskowitz cautions that it may not always achieve 100% accuracy. To mitigate potential errors, Teams will soon offer a multi-language transcription service, allowing users to view the original spoken language alongside the interpreted version. This dual-display feature seeks to enhance understanding and comprehension during meetings. Microsoft has plans to further enrich the Teams experience with additional features including Copilot Actions, which will automate recurring tasks like summarizing client interactions or providing updates for meeting preparations. This functionality is currently in private testing, reflecting Microsoft's commitment to streamlining workflows for users. Moreover, Microsoft is developing tools enabling users to create custom AI bots tailored to specific queries, leveraging knowledge from dedicated file repositories. This can improve team efficiency by enabling quick access to information relevant to particular projects or clients. The AI interpreter's capabilities set it apart from existing interpretation solutions. While platforms like Zoom have previously introduced options for live interpreters, Microsoft's approach utilizes voice simulation technology to create a more engaging and personalized experience. Zoom's interpretation feature, available since 2022, focuses on real-time audio channels for human interpreters and captioning in multiple languages. By early 2025, users can expect features like Teams Super Resolution -- to improve video call clarity during poor internet connectivity -- and AI tools for image enhancement that will assist developers in refining visual content.

Microsoft teases AI interpreter that can translate speech in real time

The impressive language translator feature can even use your own voice for the translated audio. Imagine being in a meeting, perhaps with a client or with other team members, and not quite sharing the same preferred languages. Communication barriers can cause all kinds of misunderstandings and issues when collaborating, and a translator isn't always available. At Ignite 2024, Microsoft just unveiled a cool new feature for Microsoft Teams that uses artificial intelligence to not only translate words from one language to another in real time, but even emulate the speaker's voice, intonations, and mannerisms. Microsoft says a preview version of this "AI interpreter" feature will come some time in early 2025, but it remains unknown when the feature will be released more generally across all versions of Teams. The Teams interpreter will initially support nine languages: English, Chinese (Mandarin), Korean, German, Italian, Japanese, French, Spanish, and Brazilian Portuguese. Users will also be able to set whether they want the interpreter to mimic their own voices. For example, so the translated audio sounds like you're the one speaking Spanish.

Microsoft Teams' AI Language Interpreter Will Mimic Your Voice

Samantha Kelly is a freelance writer with a focus on consumer technology, AI, social media, Big Tech, emerging trends and how they impact our everyday lives. Her work has been featured on CNN, NBC, NPR, the BBC, Mashable and more. Microsoft wants to simplify communication across language barriers in its Teams meeting platform by introducing a unique AI feature: real-time translations that not only convey your words but also replicate your voice. Ahead of its Ignite conference, the company's annual event for developers and IT professionals, Microsoft announced a new "Interpreter" agent tool for Teams that provides real-time speech-to-speech interpretation during meetings. The feature is designed to let participants communicate with others in their preferred languages, and the capability to simulate a user's speaking voice is meant to create more-personal and engaging interactions. Microsoft didn't elaborate on how it plans to capture users' voices or implement the feature, and it didn't immediately respond to a request for comment, but the company said the feature will be available for public preview in early 2025. Additionally, Microsoft said it's expanding its language-focused AI capabilities to PowerPoint through its Copilot AI feature. Users will soon be able to translate entire presentations into any of 40 languages. The company also announced other updates coming to Copilot, including the ability for users to ask for a quick summary of anything shared on screen during a PowerPoint presentation or from a link shared in a chat, without needing to open the content. Microsoft is also enhancing summary capabilities, including a way for users to add speaker notes to slides. "We've dramatically improved Copilot performance -- responses are two times faster on average and response satisfaction is nearly three times higher -- and shipped hundreds of new features," the company said in a blog post. "And we're adding new value to Copilot to tackle work's biggest pain points and help every employee scale their impact -- from automating repetitive tasks to managing your calendar." Microsoft Ignite, which is held in Chicago this year, runs through Friday.

Want to speak Italian? Microsoft AI can make it sound like you do.

A new AI-powered interpreter is expected to simulate speakers' voices in different languages during Microsoft Teams meetings. Artificial intelligence has already proved it can sound like a human, impersonate individuals and even produce recordings of someone speaking different languages. Now, a new feature from Microsoft will allow video meeting attendees to hear speakers "talk" in a different language with help from AI. Microsoft unveiled Tuesday a new AI interpreter that can simulate speaker voices and offer near-real-time voice interpretation in nine languages on Microsoft Teams, the company's communications platform. The feature is being tested by a limited group of users and is expected to be more broadly available in 2025 for accounts with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license. The announcement comes as Microsoft continues to beef up its generative AI capabilities across its suite of workplace and consumer products under Copilot. It joins an industry-wide push to invest billions in the technology. Companies including Google, Salesforce and Zoom have also recently pushed new AI products, suggesting that technology will help people be more productive, creative and that some functions and businesses may be more scalable as a result. But concerns about the tech persist as generative AI has the potential to introduce errors or biases; use other people's ideas, content or art; create security risks or misinformation like deepfakes. Nicole Herskowitz, corporate vice president of productivity and collaboration for Copilot, said the new feature in Teams aims to democratize access to interpreters. It can be expensive to hire a human interpreter for everyday functions like meetings. Some companies "don't even have the option of an interpreter," she said. "I look at this as a way to have a high quality translation experience." That said, like most AI and computer interpretations, the interpreter in Teams may not be 100 percent accurate, Herskowitz admitted. Microsoft said users will soon have the ability to enable Teams' multi-language transcription service, which will provide the content of the meeting in the language that was originally spoken alongside the interpreted version. How it works Users must provide consent via a notification during the meeting or switch their privacy settings for the interpreter to use voice simulation during the meeting. They can also opt out of voice replication by disabling it in settings for the interpreter to use a default interpretation voice instead. The initial nine languages the interpreter will support are Chinese (Mandarin), English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil) and Spanish. Microsoft expects to add more languages in the future. In the last year, the use of voice simulators have been on the rise. New York Mayor Eric Adams used an AI simulator to make prerecorded calls promoting local events to residents in several different languages including Spanish and Mandarin, none of which he fluently speaks. But the technology also has been used to help people who lost their voice, like people suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), be able to speak again. Big meeting providers have offered interpretation services for years, but they have not used voice simulators. Zoom, for example, announced its interpretation feature in 2022, which allows hosts to bring their own live language interpreters into the meeting and create audio channels for the interpreted languages. In 2022, it also announced captions that interpret in real time available in 35 languages. Google added similar captions in 2022. It supports five different languages on Workspace accounts and 69 with a Gemini for Workspace add-on. Webex debuted its feature for human interpreters and live-interpretation captions in 2021. Microsoft also announced Copilot Actions, a feature that allows users to create automated tasks that repeat as often as a user needs for things like weekly summaries of client interactions or daily updates from managers for meeting prep. The feature is being privately tested. Microsoft also announced the ability for users to create custom AI bots that base their answers on a specific set of files. So, for example, a person can share a custom-made AI bot with their team that answers all questions about a particular client based on the documents saved about that client. The feature is now generally available.

Microsoft Interpreter Will Have You Speaking Nine Languages on Teams Next Year

In demo videos, Interpreter translates from Spanish to English and from English to Korean. You may be speaking in English, but to your colleague in Paris tuning into the Microsoft Teams meeting, you'll sound like you're talking in French. Microsoft is currently testing a new Interpreter AI feature that clones your voice and converts it to another language in real-time. The result is a voice that sounds "just like you in a different language," according to the company. The translating program will be previewed early next year with up to nine languages, including Italian, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, French, English, Mandarin Chinese, and Spanish. Only accounts with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license will be able to access Interpreter, per The Washington Post. Related: Microsoft Is on Track to Hit a Major Milestone, the 'Fastest Business in Our History,' According to Its CEO Microsoft's AI business is booming. CEO Satya Nadella said on an earnings call last month that Microsoft's AI division "is on track to surpass an annual revenue run rate of $10 billion next quarter" and become "the fastest business in our history to reach this milestone." In one demo video, Interpreter translates from Spanish to English in real-time in a Teams meeting, changing what the listener hears while maintaining the characteristics of the speaker's voice. In another demo, Interpreter does the same thing from English to Korean. Microsoft reassures users that it will not store their biometric information and will only allow voice simulation with their consent. Voice cloning technology is useful for more than just real-time interpretation. In July, AI startup ElevenLabs introduced an app that contained the cloned voices of Judy Garland, James Dean, Burt Reynolds, and Sir Laurence Olivier. Users could tap into these voices to narrate any book, document, or file they uploaded. There is a downside to the technology, though: it makes scams all the more personal. One AI cloning scheme copies someone's voice from just three seconds of audio, like a video posted to social media. After cloning the voice, the fraudsters cold-call the victim's friends and family to obtain money. Related: Rising AI Threat Sounds Like Your Loved One on the Phone -- But It's Not Really Them Some AI companies have held back from releasing sophisticated voice cloning technology because it could be used for the wrong purposes. In April, ChatGPT-maker OpenAI announced a Voice Engine AI generator that it said could realistically mimic someone's voice from 15 seconds of audio -- but decided not to broadly release it because of "the potential for synthetic voice misuse."

Want to speak Italian? Microsoft AI can make it sound like you do.

Artificial intelligence has already proved it can sound like a human, impersonate individuals and even produce recordings of someone speaking different languages. Now, a new feature from Microsoft will allow video meeting attendees to hear speakers "talk" in a different language with help from AI. Microsoft unveiled Tuesday a new AI interpreter that can simulate speaker voices and offer near-real-time voice interpretation in nine languages on Microsoft Teams, the company's communications platform. The feature is being tested by a limited group of users and is expected to be more broadly available in 2025 for accounts with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license. The announcement comes as Microsoft continues to beef up its generative AI capabilities across its suite of workplace and consumer products under Copilot. It joins an industry-wide push to invest billions in the technology. Companies including Google, Salesforce and Zoom have also recently pushed new AI products, suggesting that technology will help people be more productive, creative and that some functions and businesses may be more scalable as a result. But concerns about the tech persist as generative AI has the potential to introduce errors or biases; use other people's ideas, content or art; create security risks or misinformation like deepfakes. Nicole Herskowitz, corporate vice president of productivity and collaboration for Copilot, said the new feature in Teams aims to democratize access to interpreters. It can be expensive to hire a human interpreter for everyday functions like meetings. Some companies "don't even have the option of an interpreter," she said. "I look at this as a way to have a high quality translation experience." That said, like most AI and computer interpretations, the interpreter in Teams may not be 100% accurate, Herskowitz admitted. Microsoft said users will soon have the ability to enable Teams' multi-language transcription service, which will provide the content of the meeting in the language that was originally spoken alongside the interpreted version. How it works Users must provide consent via a notification during the meeting or switch their privacy settings for the interpreter to use voice simulation during the meeting. They can also opt out of voice replication by disabling it in settings for the interpreter to use a default interpretation voice instead. The initial nine languages the interpreter will support are Chinese (Mandarin), English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil) and Spanish. Microsoft expects to add more languages in the future. In the last year, the use of voice simulators have been on the rise. New York Mayor Eric Adams used an AI simulator to make prerecorded calls promoting local events to residents in several different languages including Spanish and Mandarin, none of which he fluently speaks. But the technology also has been used to help people who lost their voice, like people suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), be able to speak again. Big meeting providers have offered interpretation services for years, but they have not used voice simulators. Zoom, for example, announced its interpretation feature in 2022, which allows hosts to bring their own live language interpreters into the meeting and create audio channels for the interpreted languages. In 2022, it also announced captions that interpret in real time available in 35 languages. Google added similar captions in 2022. It supports five different languages on Workspace accounts and 69 with a Gemini for Workspace add-on. Webex debuted its feature for human interpreters and live-interpretation captions in 2021. Microsoft also announced Copilot Actions, a feature that allows users to create automated tasks that repeat as often as a user needs for things like weekly summaries of client interactions or daily updates from managers for meeting prep. The feature is being privately tested. Microsoft also announced the ability for users to create custom AI bots that base their answers on a specific set of files. So, for example, a person can share a custom-made AI bot with their team that answers all questions about a particular client based on the documents saved about that client. The feature is now generally available.

Microsoft Teases Voice Cloning, Real-Time Translation for Teams Meetings

(Credit: Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) Microsoft will soon launch an AI agent in Teams that will allow users to clone their voice and translate their speech in real-time, the company announced at its Ignite event. "Imagine being able to sound just like you in a different language," says Microsoft CMO Jared Spataro. "The 'Interpreter' agent in Teams provides real-time speech-to-speech interpretation during meetings, and you can opt to have it simulate your speaking voice for a more personal and engaging experience." The public preview of the Interpreter will be available to Microsoft 365 subscribers in early 2025. According to TechCrunch, it will be able to simulate voices in nine languages: English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Mandarin Chinese, and Spanish. Interpreter won't store any biometric data or change the tone of what someone's saying, Microsoft tells TechCrunch. "Voice simulation can only be enabled when users provide consent via a notification during the meeting or by enabling 'Voice simulation consent' in settings." Video-conferencing services have experimented with real-time language translation for years, including Microsoft-owned Skype almost a decade ago. Zoom and Google Meet have done the same, with varying degrees of success. AI has renewed the push for real-time translation, with Samsung adding live-translate options for its phones and wearables this year. Last month, Google also showed off AI-powered live translations for Chromebooks. It's all still a work in progress. OpenAI's transcription tool, Whisper, was found to provide inaccurate responses eight out of 10 times. Microsoft uses the Whisper model for its Azure AI Speech service but warns users that it isn't ideal for "sensitive or high-risk applications."

Microsoft will soon let you clone your voice for Teams meetings

Microsoft plans to let Teams users clone their voices so they can have their sound-alikes speak to others in meetings in different languages. At Microsoft Ignite 2024 on Tuesday, the company revealed Interpreter in Teams, a tool for Microsoft Teams that delivers "real-time, speech-to-speech" interpretation capabilities. Starting in early 2025, people using Teams for meetings will be able to use Interpreter to simulate their voices in up to nine languages: English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Mandarin Chinese, and Spanish. "Imagine being able to sound just like you in a different language," Microsoft CMO Jared Spataro wrote in a blog post shared with TechCrunch. "Interpreter in Teams provides real-time speech-to-speech translation during meetings, and you can opt to have it simulate your speaking voice for a more personal and engaging experience." Microsoft gave few concrete details about the feature, which will only be available to Microsoft 365 subscribers. But it did say that the tool doesn't store any biometric data, doesn't add sentiments beyond what's "naturally present" in a voice, and can be disabled through Teams settings. "Interpreter is designed to replicate the speaker's message as faithfully as possible without adding assumptions or extraneous information," a Microsoft spokesperson told TechCrunch. "Voice simulation can only be enabled when users provide consent via a notification during the meeting or by enabling 'Voice simulation consent' in settings." A number of firms have developed tech to digitally mimic voices that sound reasonably natural. Meta recently said that it's piloting a translation tool that can automatically translate voices in Instagram Reels, while ElevenLabs offers a robust platform for multilingual speech generation. AI translations tend to be less lexically rich than those from human interpreters, and AI translators often struggle to accurately convey colloquialisms, analogies and cultural nuances. Yet, the cost savings are attractive enough to make the trade-off worth it for some. According to Markets and Markets, the sector for natural language processing technologies, including translation technologies, could be worth $35.1 billion by 2026. AI clones also pose security challenges, however. Deepfakes have spread like wildfire across social media, making it harder to distinguish truth from disinformation. So far this year, deepfakes featuring President Joe Biden, Taylor Swift, and Vice President Kamala Harris have racked up millions of views and reshares. Deepfakes have also been used to target individuals, for example by impersonating loved ones. Losses linked to impersonation scams topped $1 billion last year, per the FTC. Just this year, a team of cybercriminals reportedly staged a Teams meeting with a company's C-level staff that was so convincing that the target company wired $25 million to the criminals. In part due to the risks (and optics), OpenAI earlier this year decided against releasing its voice cloning tech, Voice Engine. From what's been revealed so far, Interpreter in Teams is a relatively narrow application of voice cloning. Still, that doesn't mean the tool will be safe from abuse. One can imagine a bad actor feeding Interpreter a misleading recording -- for example, someone asking for bank account information -- to get a translation in the language of their target. Hopefully, we'll get a better idea of the safeguards Microsoft will add around Interpreter in the months to come.

Microsoft will let you clone your voice for Teams calls, powered by AI

Microsoft Teams users will soon be able to use cloned versions of their voices to speak and translate conversation in real time, as the company unveils its new, AI-powered Interpreter tool. Announced at the annual Microsoft Ignite conference and reported by TechCrunch, the new feature allows users to create digital replicas of their voices that can then be used to translate their speech into various languages. "Imagine being able to sound just like you in a different language. Interpreter in Teams provides real-time speech-to-speech translation during meetings, and you can opt to have it simulate your speaking voice for a more personal and engaging experience," wrote Microsoft CMO Jared Spataro in a blog post shared with the publication. The feature will only be available to Microsoft365 subscribers, and will launch initially for English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Mandarin Chinese, and Spanish. Microsoft's Interpreter has the potential to make the business of remote work and digital socialization more accessible to a wider array of non-English speakers, though it's not yet as dynamic as a live, human translator. And beyond its express application, the tool raises even more questions about security and technological bias. A recent study found that popular AI-powered transcription tool Whisper -- also used in Microsoft's cloud computing programs -- were rife for hallucinations, including inventing content or phrases when translating patient information in the medical field. This was especially true for patients with speech disorders like aphasia. The previously hyped Humane AI pin, advertised for its live translation abilities, turned out to be an inconsistent digital alternative to human translation. Addressing similar concerns for Teams' Interpreter, Microsoft told TechCrunch: "Interpreter is designed to replicate the speaker's message as faithfully as possible without adding assumptions or extraneous information. Voice simulation can only be enabled when users provide consent via a notification during the meeting or by enabling 'Voice simulation consent' in settings." The technology could have immense implications in the accessibility space, with notable figures like U.S. representative Jennifer Wexton amplifying the use of personalized high-tech voice cloning for people with atypical speech. But it has also prompted concerns about nonconsensual deepfake uses and the potential for the tech to be a tool in the arsenal of scammers. Powerful AI speech cloning tech -- Microsoft's is reportedly impressively human-like -- has evoked ethical concerns, with Microsoft's own CEO calling for stronger guardrails and AI governance in the face of increasing celebrity deepfakes. Still, the buzz around voice cloning, bolstered by the AI craze, has only grown among the industry's innovators, adding to previous investments in AI speech-to-text translation. Last year, Apple announced its Personal Voice feature, a machine learning tool that creates a synthesized version of a user's voice that can be used in live text-to-speech situations, like FaceTime, and was advertised as an accessibility. Microsoft unveiled its own Personal Voice feature around the same time, powered by its Azure AI and available in 90 languages.

Microsoft Teams previews real-time translation for conference calls, coming next year

Forward-looking: Real-time translation is often cited as one of the most practical applications of generative AI, and Microsoft plans to bring this feature to its video conferencing and team collaboration software early next year. The company also showcased numerous new and upcoming AI features at its recent Ignite 2024 event. One of the many Copilot "AI agents" coming soon to Microsoft 365 aims to translate speakers' voices during meetings in Microsoft Teams. The functionality will enter public preview in early 2025. Supported languages include Mandarin, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Brazilian Portuguese, and Spanish. Users can also instruct the agent to replicate their voice and speaking style in the translated language. Additionally, a new AI transcription feature in Teams supports translations into 31 languages. Another translation tool, launching next year, enables Copilot to convert entire PowerPoint presentations into one of 40 languages without changing their formatting. Microsoft's new Copilot enterprise agents - essentially customizable AI-based apps - were first introduced a month ago. The first wave was designed to automate some tasks for sales and finance companies, a new wave of these agents will roll out to other industries between now and early 2024. For example, Copilot will soon be able to recap Microsoft Teams discussions, answer participant questions, and summarize files shared in chat. A feature launching later this month will allow Copilot to schedule one-on-one meetings by analyzing users' calendars, identifying mutually available times, and drafting meeting agendas. Agents have also come to Microsoft's SharePoint tools. A new AI assistant can summon information about a company and its products to assist customers, train new team members, or plan budgets. Additionally, 365 subscribers can implement SharePoint Advanced Management at no extra cost starting early 2025. ServiceNow, Workday, Cohere, and other companies are also preparing to release more AI agents in the coming months. Meanwhile, Copilot is expected to expand its data access capabilities through partnerships with companies like S&P Global and CB Insights. Microsoft's Ignite 2024 announcements show the company is betting heavily on GenAI. However, features like translation, summaries, and queries hinge on accuracy - a persistent challenge for AI due to the well-documented issues of hallucinations. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff harshly criticized Microsoft's initial Copilot Agent rollout, citing insufficient accuracy, data, and security. However, Salesforce is attempting to compete with its Agentforce AI tools. The recent debut of Apple Intelligence has called generative AI summaries into question, with numerous unintentionally funny results spreading on social media. Microsoft contends that limiting AI agents to information from user-determined datasets will ensure accuracy. The upcoming public betas will put that claim to the test.

Microsoft Teams Wants to Make Star Trek's Universal Translator Real

A technology straight out of science fiction is coming to your video calls, provided you're willing to pay for it. Since Star Trek debuted in 1966, the many iterations of the franchise have leaned on a particularly useful piece of technology to explain how the crew of the Enterprise is able to talk with every alien race they encounter: the "universal translator," a gadget that allows instant communication across language (not to mention galactic) divides. Now, Microsoft is looking to make the universal translator real, and it's using AI and Microsoft Teams to do it. Called Interpreter, the feature was announced today during Microsoft's 2024 Ignite conference, and is planned to begin public testing in Teams in "early 2025." Like a news cast dubbing over a foreign speaker, Interpreter aims to provide "real-time speech-to-speech interpretation." When enabled, Microsoft said, you'll be able to speak your native language, and whoever you're calling will hear the language they best understand. You can see the feature in action above, via a video shared by TechCrunch's Kyle Wiggers. In the demo, Interpreter seems to kick in a few seconds after a caller starts speaking Spanish, immediately translating what he's saying into English. Listen closely, and you'll hear that the translation is even in an approximation of the speaker's own voice. That second bit of tech wizardry is thanks to optional AI voice cloning tech, which Microsoft says is opt-in. Other details on Interpreter are scarce at the moment, but the company revealed that at launch, Interpreter will support English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Mandarin Chinese, and Spanish. It'll also be limited to Microsoft 365 subscribers, meaning free callers won't be able to use it. If your preferred language isn't listed above, you're not entirely out of luck: Microsoft also announced today transcribed translation support for 31 different languages, which means that 365 subscribers will see their AI-powered Teams transcriptions automatically translate supported languages into their own. Transcriptions will also add support for an additional 20 languages, although these will not translate to other languages out of the box. Outside of translation services, Microsoft also said that Copilot in Teams will soon be able to understand and answer questions about visual content shared onscreen during a call, as well as summarize the contents of shared files without you needing to open them. Additionally, Copilot+ PCs will see a slight bump to call quality thanks to a "Super Resolution" upscaling feature, bringing us even closer to the view screen on a Starfleet vessel.