The future of language services

How Leinhäuser is leveraging AI to optimize processes that safeguard international communication

Interview with Heike Leinhäuser

Few industries are feeling the impact of the technological transformation as keenly as the language industry. The hype surrounding generative AI has now morphed into disillusionment at many companies.

In this interview, Heike Leinhäuser, Managing Director and co-owner of Leinhäuser Language Services GmbH, explains how she and her team at Leinhäuser have been proactively engaging in technological change for years already, how highly complex the responsible integration of modern AI technologies into the process of international corporate communication really is, and a common misconception that has already led many decision-makers astray.

Heike, when you look back over the past two years, which additional skill sets have established themselves as the “new normal” at Leinhäuser, and which developments have shaped this change?

For us, not that much has changed. Leinhäuser has always stood for excellent language services and an open, future-facing approach to technology.

We’ve been using selected machine translation tools – ones that complement our linguistic precision and create added value for our clients – for years now already.

The main change we’ve witnessed following the emergence of large language models from the likes of OpenAI is that machine translation is no longer considered taboo – it’s become socially acceptable.

The thing that sets our business apart today more than ever is the open dialogue we engage in with our clients about the use of tech in our workflows.

Understandably, our clients are curious about whether we use AI and what steps we take to carefully integrate it into our processes and communications. We take that as an opportunity to talk about how we can use it to provide our renowned service quality even more efficiently.

We’re able to immediately grasp what our clients need and provide texts with the linguistic precision and quality needed to maximize their impact. Every text we translate fulfills a specific purpose.

Heike Leinhäuser, Managing Director Leinhäuser Language Services GmbH

In concrete terms, how do your clients benefit from this combination of high-caliber linguistic results and excellent future-facing service?

One great advantage we can offer lies in the way we work – process-driven and always according to the dual control principle.

We’ve integrated AI into our processes as we would any other team member, with particular focus on the initial steps of our workflows, for example when generating first drafts.

Our professional linguists then carry out linguistic reviews and revisions. Another crucial advantage we have are our translation memories, which we meticulously maintain for each of our clients. In these customer-specific databases, we’ve archived all approved versions of texts we’ve delivered.

They each contain only perfect results in terms of text quality, corporate language, and specialist terminology. As language experts, we’ve been working with this kind of technology for decades, and today it dovetails perfectly with AI.

The valuable knowledge contained in our databases is then used in all subsequent linguistic projects for our clients. Tailored, exclusive, and in compliance with all IT security requirements, resulting in the optimal blend of speed, savings, and quality.

My advice: Don’t try to translate with AI alone. Lean on our expertise as translation and language consultants. We know how to intentionally combine the various components of AI technology, our translation memories, professionally curated specialist glossaries, and revision by our linguists in a unique way that will achieve significantly shorter turnaround times and cost savings while upholding high quality.

Heike Leinhäuser, Managing Director Leinhäuser Language Services GmbH

What do shorter turnaround times look like at Leinhäuser?

The area of corporate language and communications provides great examples for illustrating the kind of efficiency that can be achieved thanks to AI.

For over 25 years, Leinhäuser has made a name for itself as a reliable partner for these departments. And for 10 years, we’ve been systematically transitioning from the world of traditional translation to the world of text production.

Marketing texts, our mainstay alongside corporate communications, also demand fast turnaround times. But AI alone won’t increase our efficiency.

Only the precise combination of AI technology, Leinhäuser services, and the expertise of our linguistic professionals enables us to work with such high precision and speed.

We’re increasingly seeing clients pretranslating their marketing texts, be it via DeepL or AI integrated in large workflow platforms. But for these pretranslated marketing texts to really be able to hit their mark, they generally require an additional 20 to 40% of reworking by professionals.

It is precisely this optimization potential that our experienced Linguistic Senior Staff can identify at a glance – and in dialogue with our contacts in the companies we serve. In other words, we handle the work that marketers would otherwise have to do themselves, thereby helping to relieve their workloads.

We’ve honed our skills in additional services like editing, adaptation, and transcreation so that we can adapt marketing texts to perfectly suit their new international markets.

Some clients still call it proofreading. And it’s this difference in quality that clearly sets us apart from the average translation service provider.

This example very clearly illustrates how our focus has shifted in recent years – away from traditional translation and toward dedicated senior editing and proofreading.

You’ve already mentioned DeepL as an example of one of the tools you use, but which others are used at Leinhäuser?

The classics: ChatGPT as a sparring partner for idea generation and Surfer for professional search engine optimization.

We’re constantly testing new tools, and it’s important not to get lost in the process, not to rush to jump on every trend. The important thing is for humans to be the ones steering AI. And incidentally, not all corporate communication texts are equally suitable for AI-supported processes.

AI can be counterproductive for marketing texts, for instance. Our copywriters recognize this very quickly. What’s more, in confidential processes and projects, such as financial reporting, we naturally refrain from using AI.

To cast more light on our integration of AI as team member, and create a space for dialogue with our clients, we’ve launched Leinhäuser DonnersTalk, a series of on-site events.

Twice a year, we invite experts to our offices in Unterhaching to deliver presentations on the latest developments in the industry along with our team and clients. This format has been met with great enthusiasm.

What role does cultural relevance play in translations, and how do you ensure that it’s implemented in your texts in an authentic way that also resonates with the target audience?

Marketing texts are particularly culturally nuanced.

To ensure that international advertising campaigns achieve the desired effects in the target markets, we research cultural insights.

We work with linguists across the globe who are truly at home in the respective markets they’re writing for. They’re all native speakers. To ensure that content is not only linguistically but also culturally appropriate, we take cultural aspects into account from the outset.

Then, through targeted adaptation and transcreation, we can succeed in transferring advertising messages to new markets in a meaningful way – both linguistically and visually.

For claims, slogans, or other short marketing texts, we always provide three versions (and their back translations) as well as an explanation of how we’ve adapted the slogan to be appropriate for the new target market.

And all of this while also taking corporate language into account, of course.

And how does Leinhäuser ensure that the correct specialist terminology is used in sectors such as finance or healthcare

As a premium language service provider for international corporate communications, quality assurance standards such as DIN ISO 17100 and ISO 9001 form the backbone of our work.

We also specialize in areas such as financial and sustainability reporting.

Our specialist translators all have additional qualifications in these areas and complete subject-specific training courses – like keeping up with IFRS, for accounting, or in CSRD, for sustainability reporting. We train our teams internally in the respective areas and are always expanding our specialist knowledge.

The latter plays a major role in our ability to generate technology-supported terminology in the form of specialist glossaries for company corporate language. These glossaries speed up our processes and ensure consistently high text quality.

The next step in Leinhäuser’s work is just as crucial as our linguists’ commands of specialized terminology: data protection. Our IT security is like a digital Fort Knox that guarantees confidentiality, integrity, and protection against unauthorized access.

To maintain this standard, we continue to renew the TISAX label that we have held for years, which coexists on an equal footing with the IT security standard ISO 27001. It’s the prevailing standard in the automotive industry.

Specifically hands-on: Tell me about your strategy for expanding your business

At Leinhäuser, we have a very clear positioning strategy with three strategic focus areas. We handle group and executive board communications at the reporting and corporate communications level, alongside legal and human resources departments.

We provide SMEs with comprehensive support in international corporate communications and marketing. And we support the international sale of products through targeted product marketing, localization being the key word here.

Within this very broadly defined niche, we operate “beyond translation,” meaning there is no one size fits all approach. For instance, we keep clients’ buyer personas in mind throughout our projects, and advise on and develop the desired final texts step by step in dialogue with our clients’ teams.

That’s why we talk about projects as opposed to just “texts.” It’s all part of a continuous process of learning and advising. It takes place implicitly, by doing.

Thanks to our experience and the responsibility we take for every translation, adaptation and transcreation, we are more than just a language service provider – we are our clients’ trusted advisors.

Heike Leinhäuser, Managing Director Leinhäuser Language Services GmbH

What do your clients typically need the most advice on?

In the marketing sector, it’s the concept of localization and internationalization.

Simply translating a website into English isn’t true internationalization. It’s not going to give you access to the world’s markets.

At Leinhäuser, our advice is: Be global but think locally.

And this is exactly where we can support companies.

By intelligently combining AI technology, continuously optimized translation databases, and our expertise as dedicated linguists, we ensure linguistic precision and cultural relevance in international corporate communication.

And what are the biggest stumbling blocks at the moment? In your opinion, where do the decision-makers go wrong?

For one thing, the complexity of AI in our language services is underestimated. At Leinhäuser, we’ve integrated specially trained language engineers into our teams for this very purpose.

They prepare the data from the various content management systems for the next step, which makes sense because we receive all kinds of different data formats for processing.

Language engineers make the data accessible. And for another thing, a lot of people are convinced that a purely AI-generated translation will quickly be able to provide them with texts fit for purpose.

But that’s a fallacy. While AI may have the potential to help save some time and costs, this is only possible if it’s integrated into smart processes, as one of many building blocks.

In your opinion, what’s the biggest challenge for a premium language service provider today?

The biggest challenge is language engineering – identifying the most suitable interfaces for each project in a way that they can be integrated seamlessly into the company’s communication processes and technology landscape.

This is the only way we can guarantee precise, targeted, and high-quality language services. This process is highly complex and continues to evolve at breakneck speed.

How are you responding to this challenge at Leinhäuser?

By continuing to learn and adapt.

We’ve strengthened our team with tech experts and have internal mentoring programs in place to promote each member of our team’s continuous professional development.

“The only thing constant is change.” At Leinhäuser, how are you preparing for future changes?

The translation market has been undergoing structural change for years. Generative AI has suddenly accelerated this process.

At Leinhäuser, we always face new developments with well-considered action, agility, and dialogue.

Change necessitates dialogue.

So we try to approach change with a considerable degree of foresight – and to do so hand in hand with our customers.