Translate Document Feature

Question

Does Word’s built-in Translate Document feature uses standard neural machine translation exclusively? If not, curious whether tenant administrators can disable or exclude any LLM-based translation models?

Answer 1

Dear Jasper Montesi,

Based on the information currently available from Microsoft, the built-in Translate Document feature in Word uses the Microsoft Translator service, which is documented as using Neural Machine Translation (NMT) technology for standard document translation.

At this time, I have not found any Microsoft documentation indicating that tenant administrators can selectively choose between NMT and LLM-based translation models, nor a setting that allows administrators to exclude specific translation model types while continuing to use the Translate Document feature.

Tenant administrators can control or disable the translation capability through Microsoft 365 connected experiences and related Office policy settings. However, these controls enable or disable the translation service as a whole rather than provide model-level selection.

If your organization's requirement is to prevent the use of cloud-based translation services for compliance or data governance reasons, an administrator may consider disabling the translation feature or the associated connected experiences in Office.

Please note that Microsoft may update service architecture and underlying technologies over time. For the most current details regarding translation technologies and available administrative controls, I recommend reviewing these articles below:

• Word - Microsoft Translator for Business
• What is Azure Translator document translation?

I hope this helps clarify the current behavior. Thank you very much for your valuable time and your cooperation.