On Thursday, Amazon unveiled Kindle Translate, an AI-powered translation service designed to help authors using Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) reach a broader global audience. Initially in its testing phase, the service supports translations between English and Spanish, as well as from German into English, with plans to add more language pairs over time.

The retail giant highlighted that fewer than 5% of books on Amazon are available in multiple languages, underscoring the significant opportunity for AI-driven translation in the publishing space.

While AI is far from flawless and may introduce errors into translated text, Amazon has implemented a preview feature that allows authors to review their AI-generated translations before publication. This functionality offers limited benefit to authors who are fluent in the target language and only seeking to speed up the translation process. For those prioritizing accuracy—especially in literary or nuanced content—human editing remains essential to refine the AI’s output.

(Amazon claims its system “automatically evaluates translation accuracy” prior to release but has not disclosed specific details about how this evaluation works.)

Authors can manage and access their translations directly through the KDP dashboard, where they can select target languages, set pricing, and publish their translated editions.

Readers, meanwhile, will see AI-translated books clearly labeled as “Kindle Translate” and will have the option to preview sample translations before purchasing.

Kindle Translate enters a competitive landscape filled with other AI-based translation tools and services, many of which offer broader language support and varied pricing models—including open-source alternatives. Critics within the publishing and literary communities argue that human translators remain superior at capturing linguistic subtleties, particularly in fiction and creative writing. However, AI translation quality continues to improve and is expected to advance further.

For now, Amazon is offering Kindle Translate free of charge, according to its announcement. The company cited feedback from early testers who praised the service’s affordability, noting that independent authors have long sought “cost-effective and reliable solutions.” Translated titles are also eligible for inclusion in programs like KDP Select and can be featured in Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited subscription catalog.