Bryan Murphy, CEO of Smartling, confronts a $40 billion industry stuck in the slow lane, the world of translation. Most companies still handle translations like it’s 1999: manual, expensive, and painfully slow. Bryan saw AI as the game changer that could rewrite the rules, but integrating it wasn’t a walk in the park.

He shares how Smartling harnessed AI to not just cut costs and speed up translation but to finally boost quality close to human-level precision without losing control over brand voice or nuance. Yet, making this leap meant upheaval: reorganizing teams, hiring AI experts, and establishing ruthless R&D discipline to separate winning ideas from distractions.

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Key chapters:

(00:00) - Introduction to Bryan Murphy and Defining the Translation Challenge
(02:30) - The Hidden $40B Translation Market and Its Untapped Potential
(04:00) - The Evolution of Translation Services: From Manual to AI-Driven Automation
(06:00) - Early AI in Translation: Faster and Cheaper, But Not Yet Better
(08:00) - Defining Quality: The MQM Standard and Bridging AI-Human Gaps
(09:20) - Human-in-the-Loop AI: Boosting Translator Productivity Tenfold
(10:30) - Full AI Translation Approaching Human Grade: The Game Changer
(11:45) - The Future Mix: Human Expertise vs. Automated Scale in AI Translation
(13:00) - Unlocking Market Expansion Through Improved SEO and Digital Footprint
(15:00) - The Moment of Truth: Recognizing GPT’s Impact and Rolling Out Rapid Innovation
(16:30) - Founder’s Speed: Breaking Plans and Aligning Teams for Urgent AI Adoption
(18:00) - Overcoming Organizational Challenges: From Excitement to Structured Execution
(20:00) - R&D Reimagined: Timeboxing Experiments With Clear Metrics to Avoid Spinning Wheels
(22:00) - The Discipline of “Customer-First” in AI Development and Roadmapping
(24:00) - Leadership Lessons: Listening Without Losing Vision Amidst Painful Change
(26:00) - Winning Customer Trust: Betting On Proofs of Concept Against Skeptics
(28:00) - Personal Insights: Favorite Leadership Books and the Role of Intellectual Curiosity
(29:30) - Staying Sharp: Daily Reading and Customer Conversations as Strategic Tools
(31:00) - Managing Stress and Longevity: The Art of Mental Compartmentalization for Founders
(32:30) - Final Thoughts: The Unseen Power of Humility in Leadership and Continual Learning
(33:00) - Wrap-up and Invitation to Follow Smartling’s AI-Empowered Evolution

SPOTLIGHT: AI Isn’t Just Faster Translation, It’s a $40B Tug-of-War for Global Attention with Bryan Murphy of Smartling

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