Functional Isn't Enough: Why Basic Translation Is Costing Brands Multilingual Customers

AI and automated translation have made it easier than ever for brands to publish websites, product information and customer support content in multiple languages. What once required significant time and resources can now happen much faster and across far more markets.

That makes translation easier to scale, but it also puts more pressure on the quality of the experience around it. Wording, tone, cultural references, imagery, local formats, and even customer support can signal whether a brand really understands the audience it’s speaking to. A site can work perfectly from a technical standpoint and still not sound right to the people reading it.

For global brands, the challenge is increasingly about maintaining that local relevance as content volume grows. The findings in this report show where multilingual digital experiences are falling short, what consumers notice, and why getting localization right has become an important part of the overall customer experience.

About the Liferay 2026 Website Localization Report

The Liferay 2026 Website Localization Report is based on a survey conducted in September 2026 via Pollfish among 800 U.S. adults who had used a website, app, or digital service in a language other than English in the past 12 months. Respondents were recruited through Pollfish's online panel, and results reflect their self-reported experiences and perceptions.

The survey measured how multilingual consumers experience translated and localized digital content, which mistakes they notice, and how those mistakes affect trust, purchase decisions, and brand loyalty.

Key Findings of the Liferay 2026 Website Localization Report

• 56% of multilingual consumers have decided not to buy from a company because its website or app felt poorly adapted for them.
• 75% say companies do a good or excellent job translating non-English websites and apps.
• Positive ratings don't prevent lost sales: 54% of consumers who rate companies good or excellent have still decided not to buy over poor localization.
• Only 23% say non-English websites usually feel like they were written for them.
• 82% are confident they can tell when content was machine-translated rather than written or reviewed by a fluent speaker.
• 90% have noticed at least one localization problem on a website or app.
• 48% have chosen one company over a competitor because its website felt better adapted to their language and culture.
• Only 20% think AI tools on their own are responsible for websites that feel genuinely made for their language and culture.
• 43% credit human involvement: AI translation plus human review (22%) or a team of fluent speakers (21%).

Poor Website Localization Is Driving Multilingual Consumers to Abandon Purchases

56% of multilingual consumers have decided not to buy from a company because its website or app in their language felt poorly adapted, and 22% have done it more than once. Another 20% say they've come close. Only 24% say translation quality has no effect on their buying decisions.

When content clearly looks machine-translated and unchecked by a fluent speaker, the most common reaction is to switch the site to English (33%). 14% are annoyed but still use the site because they need to, 12% trust the information on the site less, 11% will assume the brand doesn't actually care about speakers of their language, 11% leave the site to find an alternative, and 10% assume no one who speaks the language checked the translation. Only 9% say it doesn't change how they use or see the site.

32% say a poorly adapted website damages their trust in the brand, and another 34% say it depends on the purchase, with bigger purchases affected most. 22% say it affects their trust in the content, but not the whole brand. Only 12% say poor localization doesn't affect their trust at all.

Consumers Rate Brands' Translations Highly but Still Walk Away

75% of multilingual consumers say companies do a good (40%) or excellent (35%) job translating websites and apps to languages other than English. 20% rate them fair, and 5% rate them poor. However, even among consumers who rated companies good or excellent, 54% have still walked away from a purchase because a site felt poorly adapted.

Only 23% say their most common experience on a non-English website is one that feels natural, like it was written for them. Slightly more (24%) say they usually end up switching back to English. 20% say these sites are usable but don't sound like they were written in their language, 18% say the quality varies widely from one brand to another, and 15% say the sites are obviously machine-translated.

82% of regular users of non-English websites rate companies good or excellent, compared with 69% of occasional users. Regular users are also more likely to have abandoned a purchase over poor localization (64% vs. 46%) and to feel very excluded when a site feels simply translated (28% vs. 8%).

Across all respondents, 53% have felt that a company wasn't thinking about customers like them when it built its website or app in their language.

Most Consumers Are Confident They Can Spot a Machine-Translated Website

82% of multilingual consumers are confident they can tell when website or app content was machine-translated rather than written or reviewed by a fluent speaker, including 36% who say they can almost always tell. 14% aren't very confident, saying AI translation has gotten good enough that it's hard to tell, and only 4% aren't confident at all.

90% have personally noticed at least one localization problem on a website or app. The most common problems involve how the language sounds: wording that's unnatural or stilted (34%), a tone that feels completely off (29%), and literal translations that lose the meaning (29%). Next are support responses that feel machine translated (23%), followed by buttons, menus, or error messages left in English (22%), brand or product names that sound awkward (22%), and humor or references that don't translate (22%). 21% have seen dates, addresses, or phone numbers in the wrong format, 20% have seen images that feel culturally out of place, and 20% have seen the wrong currency, measurements, or shipping options.

When asked which of these issues does the most damage to a consumer’s view of a brand, phrases that don't make sense in the language at all ranks first (28%), followed by obvious errors that make sentences hard to understand (24%), a tone that's completely wrong (20%), and images or content that feel culturally out of place (16%). Buttons, error messages, or headings left in English (8%) and the wrong currency, date format, or phone number style (5%) rank last.

Consumers Choose Brands With Better Website Localization Over Competitors

48% of multilingual consumers have chosen one company over a competitor because its website or app felt better adapted to their language and culture, and 18% have done it more than once. Another 23% haven't yet but say they'd consider it. 19% say they don't make decisions that way, and 10% say they haven't seen an experience good enough to affect their decision.

Looking ahead, 48% say that when choosing between two similar products, they would favor the company whose website felt made for their language. Most of that group (32%) would lean toward it only if the product and price were similar, while 16% would strongly favor it. 28% say it would be a small consideration, 15% say it wouldn't affect their decision, and 10% say they'd trust the English site more regardless.

54% say a well-adapted website increases their loyalty to the brand, including 20% who say it increases their loyalty significantly. 35% say it's nice to have but doesn't really change their loyalty, and 11% say they've never thought about it in relation to brand loyalty.

Consumers Blame Poor Localization on Missing Quality Checks More Than Budgets

When a company's website or app in their language is poorly adapted, 27% of multilingual consumers believe it's because the company outsourced the work and didn't check the quality themselves. 24% believe the company didn't even realize how noticeable the problems are. Fewer believe the company lacks the budget or resources (21%) or decided their market wasn't worth the investment (20%). The remaining 8% don't try to explain it, saying it simply reflects poorly on the company.

30% of multilingual consumers believe most companies know there's a difference between translating words and adapting content, but settle for word-for-word translation. 27% believe most companies treat translating and adapting as the same thing, and 13% believe most companies don't think carefully about it either way. Only 20% believe most companies understand both and invest in doing them well.

Asked what matters most when a company offers its website or app in their language, the top answer is consistent quality across every page, not just the homepage (40%). Close behind are writing that sounds like a fluent speaker wrote it (38%), prices and dates formatted correctly for their country (36%), and customer support from someone who speaks the language (35%). A tone that matches what's normal for that language and examples, images, and references that make sense for their culture each come in at 29%.

Consumers Credit Human Review, Not AI Translation Alone, for Great Localization

When a website or app feels genuinely made for their language and culture, only 20% credit AI tools working on their own. More point to people: 22% credit AI translation tools paired with human review, and 21% credit a team of fluent speakers who wrote or reviewed the content.

Combined, 43% see human involvement behind the localized experiences that work, more than double the share who credit AI alone. Another 21% credit company leaders who invested in serving people who speak that language. 16% say good localization happens so rarely that they’re not sure who to credit.

 

One thing that stands out to me in this data is how quickly people notice when something doesn’t feel right. You can translate every page and technically have everything working, but that doesn’t mean the experience feels natural to the person using it. That’s where a lot of companies can underestimate the difference between translation and localization.

AI can absolutely help companies create and translate content faster. We use AI in our own content process at Liferay, but there still needs to be someone taking a pass at the work. Especially with localization, you need people who understand the language and local context well enough to catch the things a translation tool won’t. Translation gets the content into another language. Localization is what makes it feel natural to the people using it.

Bryan Cheung Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer, Liferay

Frequently Asked Questions About Website Localization and Translation Quality

How often do consumers abandon purchases because of poor website translation? According to the Liferay 2026 Website Localization Report, 56% of U.S. multilingual consumers have decided not to buy from a company because its website or app felt poorly adapted to their language and culture. 22% have done so more than once.

Can consumers tell when a website is machine translated? Most believe they can. 82% of U.S. multilingual consumers are confident they can tell when content was machine translated instead of written or reviewed by a fluent speaker. 36% say they can almost always tell.

What are the most common website translation mistakes? The most common problems U.S. multilingual consumers notice are wording that sounds unnatural or stilted (34%), a tone that feels completely off (29%), and literal translations that lose the meaning (29%). 90% have noticed at least one localization problem.

What's the difference between translation and localization? Translation converts words from one language to another. Localization adapts the full experience, including tone, cultural references, images, currency, and date formats, for a specific market. 30% of U.S. multilingual consumers believe most companies know there's a difference but settle for word-for-word translation, and 27% believe most companies treat translation and localization as the same thing. Only 20% believe most companies understand both and invest in doing them well.

Does poor localization affect brand trust? Yes. 32% of U.S. multilingual consumers say a poorly adapted website damages their trust in the brand, and another 34% say it depends on the purchase, especially bigger purchases. 22% say it affects their trust in the content, but not the whole brand. Only 12% say it doesn't affect their trust.

Does good localization increase customer loyalty? 54% of U.S. multilingual consumers say a well-adapted website increases their loyalty to the brand. 48% have chosen one company over a competitor because its website felt better adapted to their language and culture.

Do consumers think AI translation alone is enough? Most don’t. Only 20% of U.S. multilingual consumers think AI tools on their own are responsible when a website feels genuinely made for their language and culture. 43% credit human involvement, including 22% who credit AI translation tools plus human review.

Why do consumers think companies get website localization wrong? 27% of U.S. multilingual consumers believe the main reason is that a company outsourced the work and didn't check the quality. 24% believe companies don't realize how noticeable the problems are, and 21% believe companies lack the budget or resources.

What do multilingual consumers want from localized websites? The top priority is consistent quality across every page, not just the homepage (40%), followed by writing that sounds like a fluent speaker wrote it (38%) and prices, dates, and other details formatted correctly for their country (36%).