A multilingual chatbot for customers who don't write in English
Written by the Allinaa team · Updated
If some of your customers think, search and write in Spanish, Vietnamese or Polish, an English-only website asks them to do extra work before they can ask you anything. A multilingual chatbot removes that step.
How the assistant chooses its reply language
Each assistant has a list of configured languages with one primary language, which is American English by default. For every reply, the rule is simple:
- If the visitor writes in one of the configured languages, the assistant replies in that language.
- If not, it replies in the primary language and politely mentions which languages are supported.
Your knowledge can stay in English. The assistant answers from it in the visitor's language and keeps names, prices and contact details exactly as you wrote them.
Standard: American English plus two you choose
Standard includes 3 configured languages: American English by default, plus two more that you choose. In the self-service wizard you choose and test your languages yourself, and we recommend a native speaker checks them. After launch, the team changes Standard languages for you on request.
Premium: all supported languages (108 today)
Premium includes all supported languages, which is 108 chatbot languages today across Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas and Oceania. When a new language is added to the catalog, Premium assistants get it automatically. Premium owners can also change the language settings themselves in the cabinet, for example to set a different primary language.
One limit applies on both plans: the widget's own buttons and form labels are translated into a smaller set of interface languages and fall back to English. The conversation itself follows the visitor's language.
When a visitor writes in a language you didn't choose
Say a Standard business has English, Spanish and Korean configured, and a visitor writes in Portuguese. The assistant replies in English, the primary language, and mentions that it can help in English, Spanish or Korean. It doesn't pretend to support Portuguese. Many Portuguese speakers will switch to Spanish or English, and the request form still works for them. If such messages appear often in your monthly report, that is a strong reason to change one of your languages or to move to Premium.
AI chat replies vs. human-reviewed website translation
The two are easy to mix up, but they are different products:
| AI chat replies | Website localization | |
|---|---|---|
| What it covers | Answers to visitors' questions in the chat | Your website pages, menus and marketing content |
| Who checks it | Generated live by AI from your approved knowledge; not reviewed by a person before sending | Translated and reviewed by a person, adapted for local customers |
| Best for | Quick, individual questions | Text you publish and want to be exactly right |
Legal notices, prices on your pages and anything you'd print should go through human-reviewed translation. Allinaa's website localization service starts at $300 per project for one language, or $500 per project for up to three languages with cultural adaptation and SEO titles.
Choosing languages from your own customer data
Choose your languages based on who already contacts you, not on general population figures. Useful sources:
- the languages customers use in emails and phone calls;
- the language and country reports in your website analytics;
- which staff members get called over to help a customer;
- neighborhoods or markets you serve, or want to serve.
A step-by-step method is in Choosing chatbot languages. Hotels and vacation rentals often need more languages than local services; see AI chatbot for vacation rentals and hotels.
Illustrative conversation in Spanish
Illustrative example, not a real customer conversation. The visitor asks whether the company deep-cleans carpets on Saturdays. The assistant answers from English knowledge, checks the service area and offers the request form.
Visitor: Hola, ¿hacen limpieza profunda de alfombras los sábados?
Assistant: ¡Hola! Sí, hacemos limpieza profunda de alfombras de lunes a sábado. ¿En qué código postal está su casa? Así le confirmo si llegamos a su zona.
Visitor: 60629
Assistant: Gracias, esa zona está dentro de nuestra área de servicio. Si desea una cotización, puede enviar sus datos con el formulario y el equipo le responderá.
Not sure which plan fits? Read Standard vs. Premium.
Questions and answers
Does the assistant translate my knowledge word for word?
No. It answers each question in the visitor's language using the facts in your knowledge, and keeps names, prices and contact details as written. It doesn't publish a translated copy of your knowledge.
Can a visitor switch languages in the middle of a chat?
Yes, as long as the new language is configured for your assistant. Each reply follows the language the visitor writes in.
Do I need to write the knowledge in each of my languages?
No. Most businesses write it once in English. Add a note in another language only for terms that need a specific local wording.
Are AI replies in other languages checked by a person?
Not before they are sent. You test each configured language in the setup wizard and can request corrections, but chat replies are generated live. For text you publish, use human-reviewed translation.