Translate, review and maintain a knowledge article in another language

Updated Wednesday, October 28, 2026 · Marcel Gravelle

Article translation creates a working version of an existing knowledge article in another language. Use it when customers or support teams need the same verified procedure in their preferred language, while retaining one article identity and a reviewable version history. In a B2B support operation, good localization preserves product labels, technical meaning, prerequisites and customer access. AI supplies a draft; a knowledgeable reviewer confirms that another person can safely follow it.

At a glance

For: knowledge authors, language reviewers, KCS coaches and administrators responsible for multilingual customer support. Applies to: Supportbench Core.

Start here: Knowledge base → open the article → Update Article → language picker

Choose the right content to localize · Prepare the master article and the review team · Understand supported languages and locale states · Generate and review the target-language draft · Review technical meaning as well as language · Review and publish through the normal article workflow · Worked example: localize an SSO setup guide for French administrators · Keep each language current after the master changes · Troubleshoot translation and publication issues

Choose the right content to localize

Situation	Useful translation approach	Review priority
A customer team works in another language	Translate the verified task guide and its essential prerequisites.	Make every required step understandable without switching languages for missing details.
A technical administrator is configuring SSO	Localize explanations while retaining exact supported UI/provider labels where necessary.	URLs, identifiers, configuration values and the difference between example and actual values.
A recurring equipment issue has a reviewed solution	Translate the reusable diagnostic and recovery steps.	Applicability to the product/version, safety prerequisites and expected results.
A regional support team maintains knowledge	Assign both a technical owner and a language reviewer.	Consistent terminology and a clear process when the master changes.
Only a customer-specific case detail differs	Keep private details in the appropriate case context.	Do not create a public translation containing account-specific data or credentials.

Translation is not the same as enabling a portal language, granting access or changing the product interface language. Those are separate settings and checks. A translated article can still be hidden by its workflow state, audience restrictions, topic placement or portal configuration.

Prepare the master article and the review team

Open the existing article and confirm its identity, purpose and current master-language content. Resolve incorrect or incomplete instructions before translating them.
Check Master language and the version you intend to use. The translation feature requires an accessible master-language version; do not assume selecting a different target translates whichever text happens to be visible in the editor.
Save and verify any intended source edits through the normal workflow before starting. Do not rely on unsaved master changes being the source of the generated translation.
Confirm you can edit the article and have the applicable AI capability. Review submission, approval and publication permissions are separate; access to Translate does not automatically authorize publishing.
Identify a reviewer who understands both the language and the supported procedure. Give them the intended product/version, terminology conventions, audience and expected outcome.
Inspect the target language’s current status and versions. If colleagues already have an unfinished translation, agree which revision should continue before generating another.

The current translation admission checks access to the master source; it is not accurately described as a universal rule that the master must always be published first. Use the accessible, reviewed version appropriate to your workflow and verify which source is selected. A published master is a useful editorial recommendation when translating live customer instructions, not a substitute for checking access and version context.

Understand supported languages and locale states

Open the language picker in the article editor. It identifies the master language and can show a target as Draft, Published or Not created. These states apply to the selected language; the presence of a published English version does not prove that the French version is published.

Current built-in AI translation target	Language code
English	en
French	fr
Spanish	es
German	de
Portuguese	pt
Italian	it
Korean	ko

Existing catalog locales may also appear in the language picker. That does not guarantee that the built-in AI translation provider supports them. The current mapping supports the seven language families above and uses the base language of a locale. Do not promise dialect-specific translation from a regional suffix alone. If the provider rejects a target as unsupported, use an appropriate manual localization process rather than repeatedly submitting it.

Generate and review the target-language draft

Open Knowledge base, find the intended article and open it. Choose Update Article to enter authoring.
Open the language picker and choose the target language. Use Search languages when needed. Confirm that the target is not the master and read its Draft/Published/Not created state.
Choose Translate master into this language when available. Wait for the generation result; the initial operation prepares a suggestion for review.
In Review AI suggestion, review and edit the complete proposed body. This dialog shows Original HTML from the currently selected target language and Suggested HTML; it does not show the master article alongside the translation or preview the generated title, summary and slug. Inspect the master separately to compare technical meaning.
Use the review checklist below. If the suggestion is unsuitable, reject or close it and resolve the source or translation issue.
Choose Apply suggestion when the proposed content is ready to become a working draft. Acceptance saves a new target-language draft revision; it does not publish it.
Read the save result, reopen or reload the article as needed, select the target language and confirm the new draft. Inspect its title, summary, URL slug and full content in authoring.
Continue ordinary draft editing and the required review workflow. Keep the master and other language versions separate.

Existing target content is preserved

Accepting a translation creates a separate new working revision, even when the target language already has an editable draft. It does not silently replace the current published target version in place or publish the new translation. Review the version list so your team knows which draft is intended to proceed. Avoid creating repeated competing drafts merely because generation was clicked twice.

Review technical meaning as well as language

Check	What the reviewer should verify	Example of a consequential error
Scope and prerequisites	The translation names the same product/version, access and preparation.	Dropping the requirement for an administrator or a compatible integration.
Numbered procedure	Steps stay in the correct order and retain required controls.	Translating “Save Draft” as though it publishes the article.
Product UI labels	Use the label the reader can actually find, with an explanation when localized UI differs.	Inventing a translated button name for a product screen that still displays English.
Values and syntax	Preserve IDs, paths, placeholders, commands, code and configuration values unless the procedure explicitly requires localization.	Changing an endpoint, removing a character from a token or replacing an example value without explanation.
Numbers and timing	Retain quantities, date meaning, timezones and units.	Converting a deadline into an ambiguous local time.
Links and audience	Open every meaningful destination in the intended language/customer context.	Linking a public guide to an internal-only case or a different-language prerequisite the reader cannot use.
Images and captions	The screenshot is current and its caption/alternative text helps the intended reader.	Assuming translation recreates an old screenshot with localized UI.
Troubleshooting and verification	Expected results, failure causes and corrective actions remain complete.	Omitting the negative test that confirms access is restricted.
Tone and terminology	Use natural, helpful support language and consistent feature terms.	A literal translation that is grammatical but misstates the operational task.

Where the review interface shows HTML, preserve the structure needed for headings, tables, links and accessible descriptions. Do not translate markup or code as ordinary prose. After applying the suggestion, inspect the rendered draft as well as the source text.

Review and publish through the normal article workflow

Confirm the target language and intended draft version again. Review title, summary, slug, content and any current screenshots.
Check article visibility, Division, topic placement, customer-role/tag restrictions and any other applicable audience controls. Translation is not a reason to make restricted guidance public. Shared article metadata changes can affect more than one locale, so review them deliberately.
Use Save as a Draft while further work is needed. When ready, use the action your role and policy provides, such as Submit for Review or Finalize & Publish. Follow any required reviewer assignment and approval.
Review publication timing and Notify subscribers. Use a scheduled publication only when intended. Leave subscriber notifications off for a quiet maintenance update unless the communications owner wants an eligible subscription email.
Complete the displayed action and inspect its result. A submitted or scheduled translation is not necessarily the current public version yet.
Open the saved agent reader in the target language, then test the intended customer portal language and audience. Verify the correct title/content, images, links and key procedure.
Recheck the master and another existing language when shared metadata changed. Record the reviewed source revision and the person responsible for keeping the translation current.

An AI translation operation and a publication operation have different outcomes. The success message that a translated language draft was created proves draft persistence; verify the final workflow status and actual portal access separately.

Worked example: localize an SSO setup guide for French administrators

Confirm the master SSO guide matches the current supported configuration and provider instructions. Identify terms that must retain their exact product/provider label.
Select French as the target and inspect whether a French draft or published version already exists. Coordinate with its owner before generating another working revision.
Translate master into this language and review the proposed body. Verify sign-in URLs, entity identifiers, certificate instructions, role prerequisites and recovery steps character by character where necessary.
Apply the reviewed suggestion to create the French draft. Check its generated title, summary and slug; improve the wording so the task is recognizable to a French-speaking administrator.
Have the technical and language reviewers follow the procedure in an approved test context. Do not use a translation review as permission to change production authentication settings.
Publish the approved French version through the normal workflow, then test its portal language selection and related links. The existing published French guidance remains the live version until its reviewed replacement is published.
When the master changes later, assess the French version explicitly and assign the corresponding update.

Keep each language current after the master changes

Changing the master does not automatically synchronize previously created translations. A procedure can become unsafe or confusing when one language retains an old navigation label, missing prerequisite or retired capability.

For each customer-facing source change, identify the affected translated versions and the exact passages or screenshots that changed.
Decide whether a focused manual edit or a new translated draft is appropriate. A small corrected label does not always justify replacing an extensively reviewed localized article.
Have the language reviewer verify the technical change and retain useful local wording. Record any unresolved terminology or regional-service difference.
Publish through the normal review route and verify the intended language again. If an important correction cannot be localized promptly, follow your knowledge-governance process for the stale version instead of leaving it silently marked current.
Use article suggestions and KCS review to collect translation problems from agents and customers. Keep the report specific: article ID, language, incorrect passage, intended meaning and a proposed correction.

Troubleshoot translation and publication issues

Problem	Checks and corrective action
Translate is missing	Confirm the selected language is not the master, you have article edit access and AI capability, and the article/master source is accessible. Do not broaden customer visibility to obtain an authoring tool.
The target language is rejected	A catalog locale is not automatically a supported AI target. Check the seven current supported language families and use a manual localization route when needed.
The suggestion used older wording	Verify the accessible master version and whether the intended source edits were saved. Do not assume unsaved text in another locale was the source.
The generated wording is inaccurate	Reject or edit the suggestion, improve ambiguous master instructions and have a technical language reviewer validate the result.
A draft already existed	A new translation creates a separate working revision. Review Versions and agree which one should continue; do not assume the prior draft was overwritten.
The save outcome is unclear	Follow the reload/reconciliation instruction. The draft may have committed even if the following refresh failed. Reopen the target language and verify versions before translating again.
Translation saved but customers see old content	Check the target locale’s draft/review/scheduled/published status and actual portal language. Translation acceptance alone does not publish.
The right language is still inaccessible	Check article and portal audience rules, topics and language availability separately from translation generation.
Images remain in another language	Translation does not capture new product screenshots. Replace or explain images where they are needed, preserving essential written steps.
The master changed after review	Reassess each affected locale and update its reviewed draft. Existing translations do not synchronize automatically.

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