Here’s the short version: Kestrel’s WooCommerce extensions will be bundled with AI-powered translations going forward.
Conventionally, most WooCommerce extensions are served in English, as the primary language and, in the majority of cases, the sole language. This is also true for many plugins downloaded from the WordPress plugins directory.
While the WordPress.org directory allows anybody to contribute by translating any plugin in any language using (the free open source tool) GlotPress, there isn’t sufficient momentum to deliver similar results in commercial plugins. And why would there be?
Setting aside the technical considerations, it’s unrealistic to set the expectation that privately-distributed WooCommerce extensions would receive the same level of community-driven localization contributions.
Why translations are important to us
A (probably surprisingly) large number of the merchants we serve use our plugins in regions where English is not the primary language. Those merchants bear the burden of translating our products and that goes against our aspiration to drive their success by simplifying their workflow and efficiency.
Offering translations also aligns with our goal of building an inclusive, user-friendly experience for any store. While large companies can afford professional translators, smaller merchants often can’t.
Often, these merchants wear many hats: they manage inventory, marketing, customer service, and more.
We don’t want language to become a barrier for anyone who wants to run a successful online store with our plugins. By providing an interface in their native language, we hope to empower them to spend more time growing their business.
Our AI-powered translation approach
We took a cue from our friends at GravityKit and are using an open source tool called GPT-PO to convert WordPress translation sources into a collection of localized strings that WordPress can parse to render text in the language of the current user.
GPT-PO uses OpenAI – it feeds translatable text into the LLM which then sends back translation files in the desired language.
We’ve connected GPT-PO with our internal build tool for our WooCommerce extensions, Owl (not public yet – but we will probably do that eventually).
Owl automatically updates the source language files with any new translatable strings and then run those sources with GPT-PO and OpenAI. Basically, we set it all up and it runs itself.
Initial set of translated plugins
CheckoutWC already bundles a variety of languages, provided by a different build process that Clif set up prior to joining our team last year, and it also leverages AI to make many languages available.
For our other plugins, we have selected the following languages to get started:
- German
- Spanish
- French (in both France and Quebec variants)
- Japanese
- Italian
- Portuguese (in both Portuguese and Brazilian variants)
We plan to add more languages (of course) and expand translations to more of our extensions. (And if we’re missing yours, reach out to us via support and we’ll probably add it!)
So far we have added AI-powered translations to the following plugins:
- Amazon S3 Storage
- Discontinued Products
- Express Shop Page
- Product Samples
- Shipping Calculator
- Variation Prices
And again, if we’re missing yours, let us know!
Future improvements and human oversight
AI-powered translations, while rapidly evolving, aren’t perfect. Here’s what we’ve done and what we plan to make sure that the translations provided are as accurate as possible:
- Utilizing Glossaries – GPT-PO supports glossaries and can read translator comments, helping it maintain consistency across key terms.
- Human Proofreading – Where possible, we plan to incorporate human reviewers to ensure our translations are context-appropriate and grammatically correct. We’re a small team, and while we speak more languages than you might expect, we won’t always be able to double-check every AI-generated string — at least not yet. (Duolingo streaks aren’t easy to maintain across every language on earth.)
- Listening to User Feedback – If you notice a translation error or an awkward phrasing, let us know! We can correct it quickly and improve the overall experience for everyone.
Any corrections won’t be lost between updates as we can force specific renderings of expressions or nouns through glossaries and translator comments mentioned above.
We’re here to help in your language (Yes, thanks to AI-powered translations)
If you spot any translation inaccuracies or need assistance, please reach out to us—in any language you’re most comfortable with. We’ll do our best to reply in your language using the same translation tools that help us bridge these linguistic gaps.
Our goal is simple: no one should bounce from your store just because the interface isn’t in their language. AI-powered translations help us get there faster without you having to do the work yourself, and your feedback helps us make it even better.
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