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Automatic Translation — OpenAI, Google, DeepL, Azure

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The Automatic Translation screen in WPResidence Translate lets you pre-fill translations for posts, properties, agents, and individual strings using an AI translation service. This saves hours of manual work and gives translators a strong starting draft instead of a blank page. Automatic translation is one of several features covered in our complete multi-language real estate website guide.

Screenshot: Automatic Translation admin page with engine selector and API key field

Supported Providers

The plugin is architected for four providers. In the current version, only one is production-ready:

Provider Status Notes
OpenAI (ChatGPT models) Available The recommended path today. Uses the gpt-4o-mini model via the official OpenAI API.
Google Translate Planned Handler is present but returns “not implemented yet”. Do not rely on it in this release.
DeepL Planned Handler is present but returns “not implemented yet”.
Microsoft Azure Translator Planned Handler is present but returns “not implemented yet”.

Step 1 — Get an OpenAI API Key

Create an account at platform.openai.com, add a payment method, and generate an API key. Keys look like sk-.... Keep the key private: anyone with it can spend from your OpenAI account.

Step 2 — Configure the Plugin

Go to WPEstate Translate → Automatic Translation:

  • Automatic Translation — tick to enable auto-translation for new content.
  • Translation Engine — choose OpenAI.
  • OpenAI API Key — paste the key. It is stored in the WordPress options table.
  • System prompt — the base instruction sent as the system message. Default: You are a translator that converts WordPress post data into the requested language. You can customise the tone (formal vs informal) here.
  • User prompt — the base instruction sent as the user message. Default: Translate the following WordPress post payload into the %1$s language. The %1$s placeholder is replaced with the target language code.

Click Save Settings.

Screenshot: System prompt and User prompt textareas on the automatic translation page

Step 3 — Choose Post Types

The second card, Select post type for translation, lists every public post type on your site (Posts, Pages, Properties, Agents, etc.). For each one pick:

  • Translate — include in bulk auto-translation runs.
  • Do Not Translate — skip.

Step 4 — Pick the Target Language

Use the Translate into language dropdown to choose which language is being filled this run. Auto-translate handles one target language at a time; repeat the run for each additional language.

Step 5 — Run the Bulk Job

Click Start translation. A progress status area shows processing per post. You can halt a run at any time with Stop translation. Partial progress is kept — restarting picks up where it left off.

Screenshot: Start translation button and the live status area during a bulk run

Auto-Translate on the String Grid

The same OpenAI settings power the Automatic translate strings block on Theme & Plugins Strings. Pick a domain, a target language, and click Automatic Translate to fill untranslated textareas.

Auto-Translate From the Post Editor

When editing a post, page, or property, the editor header language selector also offers a one-click auto-translate action. This is handy for one-off items you don’t want to run as a bulk job.

Glossary & Translation Memory

A Glossary screen lets you define fixed translations for specific terms (brand names, legal phrases, domain jargon). Each entry takes a Source Term, a Preferred Translation, and optional Context / Notes. The plugin also maintains a translation memory keyed by similarity hash, so repeated sentences reuse previous translations and reduce API cost.

Cost Considerations

  • OpenAI bills per token. Translating a typical property description costs a fraction of a cent; translating thousands of posts at once can add up.
  • Use the Do Not Translate radio for post types you don’t need (for example utility CPTs).
  • Always review machine output. Real estate language (legal terms, measurements) benefits from human review.

Rate Limits & Timeouts

Each request can take several seconds (the HTTP timeout is 540 seconds). The plugin retries up to 3 times on transient failures. If OpenAI returns a rate-limit or transient 5xx error, wait a minute and re-run — processed items will be skipped automatically.

Fallback Behaviour

  • If the API key is missing, the button shows an error; nothing is written.
  • If OpenAI returns malformed JSON, the plugin rejects the response and leaves the post untouched.
  • If you select Google, DeepL, or Azure today, the request returns a “not implemented yet” message.

Related Articles

  • Settings Page — global translation options.
  • Translating Theme & Plugin Strings — pair auto-translate with the string grid.
  • Custom Field Rules — decide which meta fields should be translated.

For the full product overview of our multilingual setup, see the multi-language real estate website guide.