"AI interpretation" and "AI interpreter for meetings" are showing up in product pages and agency conversations, but the phrase can mean very different things. This article sorts out the terms so a clerk or IT lead can ask sharper questions before buying anything.
Interpretation vs. translation: the words matter
In language access work, the two words have specific meanings:
- Translation is written or text. Captions are text, so translated captions are translation.
- Interpretation is spoken, usually by a human interpreter, either simultaneous (while the speaker talks) or consecutive (after each passage).
When a product says "AI interpretation," it might mean text captions translated into other languages, or it might mean a synthetic voice reading translated speech aloud. Those are different services with different strengths, and it is worth asking which one is on offer. Our article on translation vs. interpretation covers the distinction in more depth.
What SentraCaptions provides (and what it doesn't)
To be clear about our own product: SentraCaptions provides text. It produces live captions and live translated captions. It does not provide spoken (audio) interpretation or an AI voice.
Here is what that looks like in a meeting:
- English captions plus translation into 74 languages and regional variants, up to 8 per meeting.
- Captions appear about one second after speech, and the sentence in progress updates live.
- A chamber screen for the TV in the room or lobby, with one or more languages side by side, the meeting title, a clock and a QR code.
- A phone page where residents scan the QR code and read along in their language at their own text size. No app, no sign-in.
- Every screen labels the captions as automatic and says they may contain errors.
For many residents, reading along in their language on a phone is enough to follow an item and decide whether to comment. For others, especially people who are more comfortable listening than reading, a human interpreter may serve them better.
When a human interpreter is still the right call
Machine translation is useful, but it is not the answer for every situation. Consider a human interpreter when:
- A resident needs to speak at public comment in a language other than English or Spanish. SentraCaptions speech recognition is English, with Spanish speakers at public comment recognized too.
- The community you are serving speaks a language that isn't supported. Hmong and Khmer, for example, are not available.
- The stakes for a specific person are high, such as an appeal or a hearing about their own property.
- Residents have told you they prefer listening to reading.
Under SB 707, eligible bodies must "reasonably assist" members of the public who want to translate a meeting or receive interpretation, as long as it doesn't disrupt the meeting. They are not required to provide interpretation themselves. Check with your city attorney or county counsel on how that applies to your body.
Captioning for deaf and hard-of-hearing residents is a related but separate question. If a deaf resident requests CART (a human stenographer captioning live) as an accommodation, the agency should consider that request under the ADA's effective communication rules. See machine captions vs. CART.
Questions to ask any "AI interpretation" vendor
Whatever you evaluate, these questions get past the label:
- Is the output text, audio, or both? If audio, how do residents hear it in the room and at home?
- What spoken languages does it recognize? Recognizing a speaker is a separate question from translating into a language.
- Which languages can it translate into, and which can't it? Ask for the full list and look for the communities you serve.
- How fast does text appear? Watch a live demo with your own chamber audio if you can.
- Does it handle local names? Ask whether you can load a glossary of council members, streets and programs.
- How are residents told the output is automatic? Look for clear on-screen labels.
- What happens during recess or closed session? You want a pause that stops captioning, storage and billing.
- What do you get afterward? Transcripts in each language, in formats like TXT or SRT.
- Does it work with your existing encoder and streaming setup, or does it need new hardware?
- How is it priced? Per viewer, per minute, per language, or flat?
Our longer list of questions to ask a live captioning vendor covers security and support too.
Testing quality before you rely on it
Translation quality varies by language. Before you announce a language to the public:
- Ask a fluent speaker, on staff or from a community partner, to read along during a real meeting.
- Have them note recurring problems, especially with local names, and add those names to the glossary.
- Recheck after changes to your microphones or room setup, since clear audio is the foundation for everything that follows.
Where translated captions fit in your language access plan
Translated captions are one tool in a broader plan that may also include translated agendas, notices, outreach and interpreters on request. SB 707 does not itself require live captions, but captions and live translation are a practical way to support its language-access and participation goals. Your plan should say which tool you use for which situation, so staff know when to call an interpreter. For a starting point, see how to write a language access plan for public meetings.
Learn more
- SentraCaptions features and the language list
- AI translation for local government: what it can and can't do
- Live translation for government meetings
- Contact us for a demo with your own meeting audio