AI translations often follow patterns that trained professionals can spot in seconds. These patterns matter, especially when you work with legal, medical, or technical documents. When a translation feels “off,” your business can face compliance problems or costly misunderstandings.

This guide explains how to recognize machine-translated text and when human expertise is essential.

1. Look for Unnatural Phrasing and Word-for-Word Translation

AI can produce correct grammar but still sound unnatural. The text may feel stiff, literal, or slightly strange. This happens because AI often translates each word instead of the full meaning.

For example, the French phrase “avoir le cafard” means “to feel blue.” An AI tool may turn it into “to have the cockroach,” which makes no sense in English.

Your procurement team can use this as a quick check. If technical terms feel forced or industry phrases appear too literal, the translation is likely from a machine. Native speakers almost never write this way.

Here are the patterns that AI has in generated texts:

• Repeated sentence patterns across the whole document
• Prepositions that sound “almost right” but not natural
• Technical terms translated with no context
• Missing contractions where a native speaker would use them

2. Check for Style and Tone Consistency

Human translators keep a steady voice from start to finish. They match the original text’s formality and emotional tone. AI often shifts tone without reason. It may start formal, then suddenly become casual.

This is easy to notice if you read the text aloud. A sudden change in voice or formality is a strong sign of machine output. These changes can hurt brand perception, especially in marketing or product descriptions.

3. Look for Cultural Context and Nuance

AI struggles with cultural references, local habits, and region-specific expressions. Human translators handle these naturally because they understand the culture behind the words.

This gap becomes critical in legal and medical translations. Cultural and jurisdictional references can change the meaning of an entire document.

If you notice missing local terminology or references that do not fit the region, the translation may be machine-generated. A human translator knows when certain concepts need extra explanation.

4. Consider Translation Speed and Turnaround Time

AI can translate a long document in minutes. Human translators cannot. A skilled human usually completes 2,000–3,000 words per day when working carefully.

If a vendor delivers a detailed technical manual overnight, it is likely AI-generated. This does not always mean poor quality, but it does mean the process was not human-only.

You can also ask vendors about their workflow. Agencies that follow ISO 17100 will explain their review steps and show that real humans check the work.

5. Use Back-Translation and Detection Tools

Back-translation is simple and effective. Take a paragraph, translate it to another language, then translate it back. AI translations often change meaning during this process. This happens because the original translation was too literal.

AI detection tools (e.g., QuillBot, ZeroGPT, etc.) also exist, but they are not always reliable. Some human-made translations, especially technical ones, may look like AI to detection software. This is why your quality team should combine several checks, not rely on one tool.

How to Run a Practical Check?

A quick “reverse test” can help you see if a translation was done by a human or an AI. Start by choosing a short paragraph that uses idioms, cultural notes, or regional expressions. These are areas where AI often struggles. Then take the translated text and run it back into the original language using a different translation tool. Compare this new version with your original paragraph.

Look for signs of lost meaning or odd phrasing. Idioms may return as literal sentences, cultural references may sound flat, and some expressions may feel too formal or too simple. Pay extra attention to cultural details like holiday names, seasonal phrases, business etiquette, and regional terms. Legal and medical wording, along with currency, measurements, and date formats, can also show clear differences.

This quick check won’t replace a professional review, but it gives you a clear and practical way to spot whether a translation reflects real cultural understanding or just automatic word matching.

Services and Resources to Explore

• ISO 18587 Compliance: Machine Translation Post-Editing Requirements
• Can You Use ChatGPT for Translation? Example Error Cases – Real examples of AI mistakes

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