Facebook’s translations are now powered entirely by neural machine technology

Social media company Facebook has just updated its translation feature, now providing users with better translations from one language to another. The company is now using neural machine (AI) technology instead of phrase-based statistical machine technology.

The phrase-based statistical machine technology; breaks down sentences into words and then translate them, on the other hand, neural machine technology does not break sentences instead analyze full sentence and their context, generating more accurate translations in the process. This is the reason Facebook adopted neural machine technology and abandoned the old-school phrase-based technology.

“Completing the transition from phrase-based to neural machine translation is a milestone on our path to providing Facebook experiences to everyone in their preferred language. We will continue to push the boundaries of neural machine translation technology, with the aim of providing human like translations to everyone on Facebook.” the company said in a blog post.

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The company has also recently acquired an AI startup to make its Messenger platform smarter. AI startup specializes in understanding text-based conversations. It will embed its text-based technology in Messenger platform to let Messager give a proper response to the people who ask questions such as what is the cheapest way to watch or stream a particular Television show?, instead of just replying with Yes and No.

Moreover, the company is also planning to launch Facebook Stories feature on desktop platforms.