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Aipedia: Translators and interpreters
Large language models can produce fluent marketing copy for new markets, but they miss cultural nuance and can create claims that are misleading or infringing in the target country. The transcreator is usually responsible for what the client publishes on their advice.
Part of: AI in Translators and interpreters
In short
Transcreation adapts slogans, websites, adverts and packaging so they work in another market, not just in another language. LLMs are good at producing many fluent options quickly, which makes them attractive for this work. They are less reliable on cultural connotation, humour, local regulation and whether wording copies someone else's. A slogan with an unfortunate meaning, a health or environmental claim that breaks local rules, or copy that echoes a competitor can cost a client money and reputation. Translators' PI usually responds to negligent advice, but IP infringement and reputational loss depend heavily on the wording.
Agencies and freelance transcreators use a generative AI chatbot to brainstorm slogan options, adapt tone for a market, draft localised web pages and suggest search terms. A brief may include a client's own AI drafts for the transcreator to "polish". The value the transcreator adds is judgement: knowing what a phrase evokes locally, what a regulator or advertising body would object to, and whether a line sounds like an existing brand.
ITI's Phase 1 AI report says understanding the brief, research and critical evaluation matter more than ever. In transcreation, that judgement is the service the client is paying for.
The risk is that clients see fluent AI options and assume the hard part is done. In practice, the model has no reliable sense of how a phrase lands with a particular audience, what a local advertising body has objected to before, or whether a line has already been used by a competitor. A transcreator who simply picks the best-sounding AI option, without that research, is offering less than the client probably thinks it is buying.
You owe the client reasonable care and skill under section 13 of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982. What that means depends on the brief: if the client asked you to check that copy is culturally appropriate, or that it does not make claims a local market would treat as misleading, you may be held to that. If they did not, say clearly what you have and have not reviewed. Advertising rules differ between countries, and this guide does not cover any specific country's law.
Marketing agencies that write the original copy have their own AI risks; see AI copywriting and advertising claims.
Illustrative scenario: a transcreator adapts a food brand's campaign for two markets using LLM-generated options, choosing lines that read well. In one market, the chosen slogan implies a health benefit that local advertising rules would not allow without evidence. In the other, the line closely resembles a competitor's registered tagline. The client withdraws the campaign, reprints packaging and receives a complaint from the competitor. It claims against the transcreator for the cost.
Other risks in AI-assisted transcreation include:
A claim that negligent transcreation advice caused a client loss, such as reprint and withdrawal costs, is usually within translators' PI, subject to the wording. IP infringement claims are sometimes covered as an extension and sometimes limited or excluded, and a client's general reputational loss can be hard to recover. Regulatory fines imposed on the client are usually not insurable. Our page on AI-generated content and IP infringement explains how PI and cyber policies tend to treat these claims.
Before delivering AI-assisted transcreation, work through these points:
See also AI, translation memories and client glossaries for brand terminology.
Apex arranges PI for transcreators and language agencies. A broker checks whether your policy includes IP infringement and how it treats advice on AI-assisted copy. Read Does translators' PI cover AI mistakes? or return to the AI in translation and interpreting hub.
It depends on the brief. If you were asked to check compliance, or presented your copy as suitable for publication without caveats, a client may say you were. If you clearly limited your role to language and cultural fit and recommended local legal review, your exposure is narrower.
Ownership of AI-assisted content is not settled in all countries, and this guide does not cover any specific law. Your contract should say who owns the deliverables and confirm what tools you used, so the client is not surprised later.
Some policies include IP infringement as standard or as an extension, and others limit or exclude it. If you do transcreation, branding or marketing work, ask your broker to confirm how your wording treats infringement claims arising from copy you wrote or adapted.
Tell us about your firm and the work you do. A broker will review how your current PI treats AI-assisted work, or arrange new cover. No fee for a quote. Or call 0117 325 0027.
Start a PI quote Request a callbackApex Insurance Brokers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered in England and Wales, company number 07014570. This page is general information about how AI is used in the profession and how insurance may respond. It is not legal, regulatory or insurance advice on your circumstances, and it does not guarantee that cover will be available or on what terms.
