Is machine learning on the verge of revolutionizing global trade?
Until now, the main cause of business failure in foreign markets was broken communication with local businesses and customers. Today, thanks to the use of machine learning technology, the language barrier is starting to break down.
So, you can translate customer inquiries, product descriptions, and marketing materials in near real-time.
Communication is one of the most important aspects in global e-commerce. This has been made perfectly clear to companies that trying their hand on foreign markets.
In practice, a customer who cannot read product descriptions in their own language usually doesn’t make the purchase.
According to the EU, in 2015, only 16% of Europeans were shopping online in stores outside of the EU1. This figure is changing fast, as more and more online stores start to meet the need of customers by “speaking” their mother tongues.
After all, to reach 88% of all internet users, your products and services only need to be available in 11 languages.
Products and Services Change with Technology
Machine translation is a chance for companies to reach new client groups across the world. But this isn’t just limited to products. Machine translation also helps companies to widen the audience for their services.
Thanks to machine translation, countries like China—where eight million graduates enter the job market every year—can supply services in English, French, German or Spanish.
Suddenly, the entire world is open to remote work opportunities.
Examples of Machine Learning in Action
So how does machine learning enhance machine translation?
Machine translation initially earned a reputation for error-ridden, laughable results. But today, automatic translation tools like Google Translate tool are used to process half-a-billion translations a day.
On top of that, Microsoft Outlook translates our emails, Twitter automatically translates tweets, and even Skype allows the users to better understand foreign-language speakers.
This rapid shift in machine translation technology is all thanks to artificial intelligence and machine learning technology.
It’s because of advances in machine learning that we can easily plug CAT tools into a customer’s CMS for quick and (mostly) accurate translation.
If we add to that the ability to automate processes, we gain the ability to perform near-immediate translation of a huge amount of language data.
Machine Learning in Banking & FinTech
Machine learning can also find its use in banking, where it enhances communication with the client and reduces the risk of abuse.
The data from Digital Banking report indicates that 35% of financial organizations have implemented at least one machine learning solution.
Advanced artificial intelligence algorithms to assess the creditworthiness of potential clients, or to support customer communication via chatbots and automated call centers.
So does machine learning impact world trade? It’s definitely starting to break down language barriers, which is influencing the global e-commerce and services industries.
Companies that adopt machine translation sooner will increase their chances at competing for clients from all over the world.
