Published Jul 17, 2024
Microsoft Teams Live Interpretation now supports bidirectional translation, enabling interpreters to switch between two languages. The rollout timeline has been updated, with completion expected by mid-January 2025. This feature reduces operation costs by requiring fewer interpreters. No admin action is needed for the update.
Updated November 26, 2024: We have updated the rollout timeline below. Thank you for your patience.
With bidirectional support in Teams Live Interpretation, interpreters can now switch the translation direction between two languages by clicking on the button of the language they want to interpret into at the bottom of the screen. The highlighted language button will be the language the interpreter is translating into and attendees hear.
This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 403103.
When this will happen:
Targeted Release: We will begin rolling out early September 2024 (previously early August) and expect to complete by mid-September 2024 (previously mid-August).
General Availability (Worldwide, GCC): We will begin rolling out mid-September 2024 (previously mid-August) and expect to complete by mid-December 2024 (previously late September).
General Availability (GCC High, DoD): We will begin rolling out early December 2024 (previously ate October) and expect to complete by mid-January 2025 (previously early December).
How this will affect your organization:
The new bidirectional capability allows tenants to hire fewer interpreters to do live translation in Teams meetings, reducing the operation costs for tenants.
What you need to do to prepare:
This rollout will happen automatically with no admin action required. You may want to notify your users about this change and update any relevant documentation as appropriate.