Set up Phrase’s AI translation once, then carry the settings into the next project

Phrase’s weekly release notes for 27 October add a small but useful control: AI Translation Agent can now be saved as the translation service in a project template. New projects created from that template start with the agent selected. The same release says Content Groups are available to all customers.[1]

For a team translating a recurring product bulletin, the opportunity is to preserve a considered setup between editions. Here is a documentation-based way to assemble that workflow. The bulletin is an illustrative example, not a customer case study.

1. Give the recurring job its own template

In Phrase TMS, open Settings, then Automation and Project Templates. Create a template directly, or open an existing project and choose Save as a template. Give it a recognisable name and configure the project details, resources and file-import settings. When saving from a project, linguists are not carried over automatically; add them separately if required.[3]

A name such as “Monthly product bulletin — French” is more useful than “AI template 1”. It tells a colleague what the configuration is intended to produce. Write down any choices that would be expensive to rediscover, such as who approves new product terminology.

2. Select the agent and attach the language resources

Choose AI Translation Agent under the template’s AI/machine translation service settings. If it is missing, Phrase’s guidance says to enable multiple profiles in Phrase Language AI. The agent uses attached translation memories and term bases, then performs translation, correction and refinement. In the CAT web editor it operates through batch pre-translation; it does not supply fresh, real-time suggestions as someone types.[2]

Phrase’s term-base guidance separates terminology from whole translated passages and supports a glossary across projects. That makes it a useful place to settle a recurring product term instead of asking each translator to resolve it again.[6]

3. Match the content group to the work

A project’s Content group can be selected in the project or template details. Phrase matches the group with the job’s language to apply the relevant rules and checks. Each project belongs to at most one group; groups can span languages. Uploading a replacement style guide for the same group and language replaces the rules extracted from the previous guide.[4]

The documentation still says UI access may require enablement, despite the release note’s broader availability statement. If the field is absent, the documented route is the organisation’s Customer Success Manager. Avoid interpreting a missing control as proof that the template itself was built incorrectly.[4]

For the sample bulletin, keep its lively product explanations separate from warranty wording that needs a different editorial treatment. That is a decision about the content before it is a decision about the model.

4. Check one new project before making it routine

Create a project, select the saved configuration in Use Template, inspect the populated options and adjust them where necessary. Changes to a template do not alter projects already created from it. Phrase also says templates retain only their current configuration, without a restorable change history. Keep a dated note of important setup changes outside the template.[3]

Use a short, representative sample: a repeated passage, a new product term and a sentence whose intended tone matters. Ask a competent reviewer to compare the output with the source and the chosen language resources. Record corrections in the appropriate place so the next edition starts from a better brief. This is a suggested review exercise, not a benchmark of Phrase’s accuracy.

Phrase explicitly warns that rule adherence is probabilistic. Usage is calculated from target words and charged through AI Units or credits, depending on the plan. A repeatable configuration therefore still needs an editorial owner and a clear understanding of the account’s charging basis.[2]

The practical payoff is a repeatable starting point: the next person opening the job can understand the intended language, content and review choices without reconstructing them from scattered conversations.

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