For decades, translation was treated as the final step in global expansion. Build the product. Launch the campaign. Then translate.
That model no longer works.
In this episode of Localization Fireside Chat, I sit down with Fabiano Cid, Global Content Strategist and long-time industry leader, to unpack a reality many organizations are only starting to confront: translation alone cannot support global scale anymore.
What replaces it is something broader, more complex, and far more strategic: global content experience.
🎧 Listen to the full episode:
https://localization-fireside-chat.simplecast.com/episodes/pod-why-translation-is-no-longer-enough-for-global-growth-rgt5jq6u
Translation Was the Output. Content Is the System.
The core issue is not language. It is how organizations think about content.
Traditional localization models assume content is stable, linear, and finite. You create something in one market, then adapt it for others. That assumption breaks down in a world where content is:
Generated continuously
Distributed across dozens of channels
Accelerated by AI
Shaped by cultural, regulatory, and emotional context
As Fabiano explains in the conversation, translation is an execution function. Global content experience is a leadership responsibility.
When content becomes a system rather than an artifact, decisions about structure, governance, intent, and accountability move upstream. That shift fundamentally changes who owns the problem and how success is measured.
The AI Acceleration Problem
AI has dramatically increased the speed and volume of content creation. That speed creates the illusion that language barriers are disappearing.
They are not.
What AI has actually done is expose weak strategy faster.
Fabiano cautions against assuming that AI-generated content automatically scales. Without governance, multilingual intent, and cultural context, AI can amplify bias, inconsistency, and risk at a pace humans never could.
The issue is not AI replacing translation.
The issue is organizations deploying AI without redefining how global content decisions are made.
Faster output does not equal better outcomes.
From Localization to Global Content Experience
A central theme of the episode is the industry’s shift from traditional localization to global content experience.
This is not a rebrand. It is a structural change.
Global content experience asks different questions:
Who is this content for across markets?
How does it land emotionally and culturally?
How is it governed across regions, teams, and technologies?
How do we ensure consistency without flattening meaning?
Fabiano argues that organizations that cling to a purely operational view of localization will struggle. Those that elevate content strategy to an executive-level concern gain leverage.
This shift also changes the role of localization professionals. The future is not about processing volume. It is about influencing systems, frameworks, and decisions.
Governance Beats Tools
Another clear signal from the conversation: tools are not the bottleneck.
Most organizations already have more technology than clarity.
What is missing is governance.
Who decides what gets created, adapted, automated, or retired?
Who owns accountability when content fails in-market?
How are quality, trust, and intent defined at scale?
Fabiano emphasizes that without governance, even the best tools become liabilities. With governance, even imperfect tools can deliver strong outcomes.
This is where global content experience becomes a true differentiator.
What Leaders Must Rethink Now
The biggest takeaway from this episode is not tactical. It is directional.
Leaders need to stop asking:
How do we translate faster or cheaper?
And start asking:
How do we design content systems that scale responsibly across markets?
That shift requires:
Treating content as infrastructure, not output
Involving leadership earlier in content decisions
Aligning AI use with intent and accountability
Investing in governance, not just automation
Organizations that make this transition will move faster with less friction. Those that do not will experience mounting complexity and diminishing returns.
Final Thought
Translation is not disappearing. It is being repositioned.
As Fabiano Cid makes clear, translation remains essential. But it is no longer sufficient on its own.
Global growth now depends on how well organizations design, govern, and execute global content experience.
That is the real work ahead.
🎙 Listen to the episode
YouTube:
https://youtu.be/UR_xnpO4OLk
Robin Ayoub 
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