Amazon announced the launch of Kindle Translate — a machine translation service for authors publishing their books through Kindle Direct Publishing. The new tool is AI-powered and currently supports translation between English and Spanish, as well as from German to English. The service is still in beta, but the company plans to add more languages in the future.
Amazon notes that less than 5% of books on its platform are available in more than one language, so the new service aims to help authors reach a broader audience. Authors can review translations before publishing, choose languages, set prices, and manage their translations through the Kindle Direct Publishing portal. Translations can also be added to the KDP Select and Kindle Unlimited programs.
Readers will see a clear label on books translated using “Kindle Translate” and can preview translation excerpts before purchasing. The service is currently free for users, which can be beneficial for independent authors seeking affordable ways to translate their works.
Amazon emphasizes that AI automatically assesses the quality of the translation before publication, but does not disclose details of this process. If an author does not speak the second language, they may still need human assistance to review the text.
