Dive Brief:
- Wordly on Tuesday launched Wordly Workspaces, an artificial intelligence-powered platform designed to expand its real-time translation and captioning services for local governments.
- The tool can now be used in a number of government services, including city and county council meetings and public hearings, public safety alerts, employee training and staff meetings, the company said in a press release.
- A Wordly survey of local governments in 2025 found that 94% served a multilingual community and only 11% described their public meetings as “very inclusive.” Language access is “essential to public trust and effective governance,” Wordly CEO Lakshman Rathnam said in a statement.
Dive Insight:
Multilingual communities are on the rise in the U.S. In Wordly’s survey, 61% of local governments reported an increase in non-native English speakers. To meet growing translation needs, many local governments are turning to AI.
After Los Angeles County used AI translation tools for press conferences during the January 2025 wildfires, the Board of Supervisors started using the translation service during board meetings later that year.
San Jose, California, Mayor Matt Mahan said the city council has seen a surge of Spanish speakers participating in meetings since the council started using Wordly AI services in 2024.
Kansas City, Missouri, last year incorporated AI for real-time interpretation services during city meetings through its Office of Language Access, established in 2024.
In June, Maryland launched a bilingual AI chatbot under Anthropic’s Claude Sonnet model for accessing information about the state’s SUN Bucks food benefits program. New Orleans started offering AI translation services through Boostlingo at regular city council meetings in December.
Whether residents will accept and trust AI translation services remains to be seen. A 2025 survey found 50% of U.S. residents were “uncomfortable” with government agencies using AI for public services.
