Translate text with POM AI

The fastest way to translate one item is from the post edit screen. This page covers that route; the bulk screen is in Bulk translation with the AI translate screen.

Where the buttons are

Open any post or page for editing. In the Polylang language panel you will find Automatic translations, with one button per configured language other than the post's own:

Translate to French

The button is styled as a primary action when no translation exists yet, and as a secondary action marked as having a translation when one does.

You need permission to edit the source and create content of its type. Translating published, scheduled or private content also requires publication permission. Overwriting a translation requires permission to edit that destination. Creating or changing translated terms requires the taxonomy's management and editing permissions; assigning existing terms uses its assignment permission. These checks run before generation.

Polylang is required. Ordinary posts, pages and WooCommerce products can be translated without POM Theme; theme-specific custom-field translation is included when the POM Theme field definitions are available. Pomatio Platform provides the required editorial tool permissions to Editors and Shop managers.

What happens when you use it

Selecting the button translates the post immediately — there is no estimate step and no confirmation dialog on this route — and then redirects you to the editor of the translated post.

Two consequences worth knowing before you click:

It charges without asking. Unlike the bulk screen, the per-post button does not price the work first. For a single ordinary post that is convenient; for a very long post it means committing without seeing the number.

It overwrites an existing translation. If the post already has a translation in that language, this route replaces it. Any manual corrections previously made to that translation are lost.

If either matters, use the bulk screen instead: it estimates first, and it skips items that already have translations.

What is created

A new post in the target language, linked to the original through Polylang, with:

• the translated title, and a slug derived from it;
• the translated content, including translatable shortcode attributes;
• translated custom fields, for fields the theme marks as translatable;
• the same status, author, dates, parent, menu order and comment settings as the source;
• translated taxonomy terms, created if they do not exist yet.

For ordinary posts and pages, the excerpt is copied across untranslated. If the post relies on its excerpt — in archive listings, in feeds, as a meta description — translate it yourself afterwards.

For hierarchical content, the translated post is attached to the translated parent when one exists, so the structure mirrors the original.

Taxonomy terms come along

Translating a post also translates the categories, tags and other terms attached to it, when those terms have no translation yet. Each is a separate request and a separate charge.

This is why translating "one post" occasionally costs more than expected. A post with six new tags is seven charges, not one. Terms already translated are reused rather than re-translated.

A sensible first translation

1. Pick a short, representative, already-published post.
2. Translate it into one language.
3. Read the result, or have it read by someone who knows the language.
4. Check the specifics: product names, prices, links, formatting.
5. Adjust the business short description if the terminology or register is wrong — it is the context the translator gets. See Provide context and terminology.
6. Only then consider a bulk run.

After translating

The translation is an ordinary WordPress post. Before publishing it:

• read it, or have it read, for accuracy and register;
• check that product and brand names were not translated when they should not have been;
• check internal links point to the translated destination;
• check that shortcodes and layout survived intact;
• translate the excerpt if there is one;
• review SEO fields, which are separate from the content.

See Review machine translation for the full list, and Preserve formatting, shortcodes and links for what to expect structurally.

When to use the other route

Use Languages → AI translate when you want to:

• translate many items in one pass;
• see a credit estimate before committing;
• translate taxonomy terms or navigation menus on their own;
• avoid overwriting translations that already exist.

WooCommerce variations

Variable products use WooCommerce's own variation storage and retain their prices, stock settings, dimensions, image and attribute selections. If the multilingual configuration does not allow sharing a variation SKU, the translated variation receives a unique SKU derived from the source, destination language and product. Review translated SKUs before synchronizing an external catalog.