How do I set up Multi-Language Chat?

Chat can detect and converse with visitors in 31 supported languages. Greetings, node text, and conversations adapt to the visitor's language automatically. A single journey serves all languages – there is no need to create separate journeys for each language.

Table of Contents

• How Language Detection Works
• Supported Languages
• Step 1: Enable Languages in Branding & Language
• Step 2: Configure Language Settings on Your Journey
• Step 3: Publish Your Journey
• How Greetings Are Translated
• Limitations
• FAQ
• Related Articles

How Language Detection Works

When a visitor opens the Chat widget, the system detects their language from the following sources, in priority order:

1. Query parameter – A lang or locale parameter in the page URL (e.g., ?lang=fr or ?locale=pt-br). This takes the highest priority;
2. URL path segment – A language code as a standalone path segment in the URL (e.g., /fr/, /de/, /pt-br/). Two-letter codes and full locale codes are both supported;
3. Browser language – The visitor's browser language setting. This is off by default and must be enabled per journey;
4. Journey default language – The default language configured on the journey. This is the fallback if no other signal is detected.

The first source that matches a supported language wins. For example, if a visitor is on a page with /fr/ in the URL and their browser is set to Spanish, the language is detected as French.

Note: If the detected language is not in the journey's enabled language list, the system falls back to the journey default language.

Supported Languages

Chat supports 31 languages:

This includes right-to-left (RTL) languages: Arabic and Hebrew.

Step 1: Enable Languages in Branding & Language

Before configuring multi-language on a journey, enable the languages your website supports at the Admin Center level.

1. Go to Admin Center > Branding & Language;
2. Select the Languages & Copy tab;
3. Enable the languages you want to support. English is enabled by default;
4. Click Publish Changes.

Note: Languages can also be configured at the workspace level in Workspace Settings > Branding & Language. Data field form labels are translated regardless, but the translations are only editable when the language is enabled at the Admin Center level. Configure languages in the Admin Center if you need to edit the translated labels.

Step 2: Configure Language Settings on Your Journey

Each journey has its own language settings that control which of the enabled languages it supports.

1. Open the journey in the Journey Builder;
2. Click the 🌐 globe icon in the top bar to open Language settings;
3. Select which languages this journey supports. By default, all languages enabled in Branding & Language are selected;
4. Set a default language for the journey. This is the fallback language when no other signal is detected;
5. Optionally, enable browser language detection. When enabled, the visitor's browser language is used as a detection source (priority 3 in the detection chain). This is off by default.

Step 3: Publish Your Journey

After configuring language settings, publish the journey to generate translations.

1. Click Publish in the Journey Builder;
2. Welcome messages, reply buttons, and other node text are translated at publish time. You can preview translations in the builder by switching the language dropdown before publishing;
3. Chat AI greetings (both smart and fixed) are translated automatically the first time a visitor opens the widget in that language. See How Greetings Are Translated for details.

Note: Publishing may take slightly longer than usual because translations are being generated for all enabled languages.

How Greetings Are Translated

Greetings in the Start Chat AI node (both smart and fixed) are translated automatically the first time a visitor opens the widget in that language. After the first visitor, the translation is served instantly for all subsequent visitors in that language.

Welcome Message nodes and other journey node text (reply buttons, messages) are translated when you publish the journey. You can preview these translations in the builder by switching the language dropdown in the top bar.

Good to Know

• Translations are generated by the AI model and cannot be manually edited;
• URL path detection works with standard locale codes (e.g., /fr/, /pt-br/). Subdomain-based routing (e.g., fr.example.com) is not supported;
• Picklist, radio, and multi-checkbox data field values are not translated;
• If a visitor switches language mid-conversation, the AI follows their lead in responses. However, UI elements (buttons, data field labels, booking flow) remain in the originally detected language;
• Knowledge base content is retrieved in its original language. The AI translates its response to match the visitor's language;
• Browser language detection is off by default. It must be explicitly enabled per journey in language settings.

FAQ

Do I need to create separate journeys for each language?

No. A single journey supports all enabled languages. The system detects the visitor's language and translates greetings, node text, and conversations automatically.

What happens if a visitor's language is not in my enabled list?

The journey falls back to its default language.

What happens if I already have a Guidance instructing the bot to respond in the visitor's language?

A Guidance is a workspace-level instruction appended to the Chat AI system prompt, configured in bot settings. If you have one that instructs the bot to respond in the visitor's language, it coexists with multi-language without conflict. It becomes redundant once multi-language is enabled and can be removed.

Does multi-language affect Concierge or other products?

No. Multi-language detection and greeting translation are specific to Chat journeys. The Branding & Language settings (data field form labels, booking flow headers) are shared across products, but the language detection chain is Chat-only.

Can I restrict a journey to a single language?

Yes. In the journey's language settings, select only the language you want (e.g., French) and set it as the default. The journey will only serve content in that language.

Related Articles

• Admin Center's Branding & Language Settings
• Enable Chat AI in Journeys
• Setting Up Chat AI
• Customizing and Deploying Chat Bot Settings