(Updated) Introducing translation in Outlook for Windows

Updated December 08, 2020: Microsoft has updated content below for clarity.

Translation in Outlook for Windows is a new set of translation features that enable users to translate full messages or specific words and phrases.

Key points

• Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 69305
• Timing:  January 2021, Current Channel
• Roll-out:  tenant level
• Control type: user control and admin control
• Action: review and assess by January 6, 2021

How this will affect your organization

When Outlook detects that a received message is in a language other than that in the user’s mailbox’s language, it will ask the user if they want to translate it by showing that option at the top of the message. Users can select to “Never translate” messages from that language. They can also translate specific words or phrases using the context menu.

In this way, Outlook for Windows will act like Outlook for the web, which we rolled out in the summer of 2019 (MC180441).

No customer content will be sampled or stored with this new translation feature, as outlined in the Microsoft Privacy Statement.

What you need to do to prepare

This capability will be enabled by default.

Translation is considered an connected experience that analyzes your content and will follow your organization’s privacy settings. The new translation features are manageable through both Privacy settings and Group Policies.

• Group Policy: To disable the new translation features, update the Group Policies described in Admin Considerations for the Modern Translator Feature in Office.
  • By doing so, users will keep the existing experience.
  • If you already made changes that affect Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, you do not need to make additional changes.
  • Turning off/on the features via Group Policy, will not affect Outlook on the web.
• Translator for Outlook add-in: If you previously installed this add-in, it will appear side-by-side with the new features. We encourage you to transition users from the add-in to the new features and uninstall the add-in.

Learn more: Translate text into a different language PREVIEW