Troubleshoot AI-assisted translation
Translation problems fall into three groups: the tool is not there, an element failed, or the output is wrong. Each has a different first question.
The tool is not there
No AI translate entry under Languages.
The tool registers only when Polylang or Polylang Pro is active. Without one of them it does not load at all, even if AI translations is ticked under Settings → POM AI → AI Tools.
Check, in order:
- Polylang or Polylang Pro is active.
- The tool is enabled under AI Tools.
- Your user can edit posts.
No Translate to … buttons on the edit screen.
Same cause, plus one more: the buttons appear per language, so a site with only one configured language has none to show.
The screen exists but shows no languages.
Polylang has no languages configured. Configure them in Polylang first.
An element could not be translated
The bulk screen reports failures inline in the summary and continues with the rest of the selection. Read the summary rather than trusting the progress bar.
| Message pattern | Meaning | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Marked as not translatable | Polylang does not treat that post type or taxonomy as translatable | Enable it in Polylang's settings |
| Translation already exists | The item already has a translation in the target language | Nothing; the bulk screen skips these by design |
| Invalid term or invalid post | The item disappeared or is not readable | Re-run Analyze elements and select again |
| Empty translation response | The service returned nothing usable | Retry that single item |
| A credit error | The balance or a domain limit was reached | See Resolve an insufficient-credit error |
| A license or domain error | Authorization failed | See Troubleshoot license and domain errors |
The run stopped partway. The screen drives the run from the browser, so closing the tab or navigating away ends it. Elements already translated stay translated and stay charged. Re-analyze and select the remainder — completed items no longer offer a checkbox.
Everything failed immediately. That is almost always licensing, credits or connectivity rather than translation. Check that the credit balance loads on Settings → POM AI → License.
The translation exists but is wrong
Some labels are still in the source language.
Usually a builder attribute that is not declared translatable, so it is never extracted. Nothing in POM AI can change that; correct it manually and tell your reviewers to expect it. See Preserve formatting, shortcodes and links.
The excerpt is untranslated.
Expected. Excerpts are copied, not translated. Translate them by hand.
Product or brand names were translated.
There is no glossary feature. Mentioning the fixed terms in the business short description helps; a review pass is what actually catches them. See Provide context and terminology.
The right language, the wrong variety.
Region comes from the site locale and the Polylang language definition — es_ES and es_MX are different. Fix the locale rather than the text.
Links point at the source language.
Links are rewritten only when the destination already has a translation. Translate destinations before the pages that link to them, or re-check links afterwards.
Layout broke.
Translated text commonly runs longer than the original. Check fixed-height sections, buttons and navigation on the front end, not in the editor.
A translation overwrote manual corrections.
The per-post Translate to … button overwrites an existing translation. The bulk screen does not — it offers no checkbox for already-translated items. Use the bulk screen when corrections exist.
Nothing happens when I start a run
- Confirm at least one checkbox is ticked; the tool warns if none is.
- Confirm the credit balance loads.
- Check whether a security plugin is blocking
admin-ajax.php, which would stop both the analysis and the run. - Check that the server can make outbound HTTPS requests.
Something is missing after translating
The translated post is not linked to the original. Check the Polylang language columns. If the link is missing, the translation was probably created outside this workflow.
A child page is not under a translated parent. The parent had no translation when the child was processed. Translate the parent, then re-check. Selecting parents and children together in one run handles this automatically, because items are processed parents-first.
Terms are missing on the translated post. Terms are translated as part of the post run. If a term failed, its post keeps the terms that succeeded. Translate the terms as their own batch and re-check.
Before contacting support
Collect:
- the site URL and POM AI version;
- Polylang or Polylang Pro, and its version;
- the language pair;
- whether you used the bulk screen or the per-post button;
- the exact message from the summary, copied not paraphrased;
- the element type and ID that failed;
- whether it fails consistently for one item or randomly across many.
Never send the license key. See Updates, support and safe maintenance.