Wordly, the leading provider of live AI translation and captions, begins 2025 by reaching the impressive milestone of 4 million users, reflecting the growing demand for multilingual public services.

This demand is driven by a significant rise in non-English-speaking communities across the United States (US), with the number of people speaking a language other than English at home nearly tripling from 23.1 million in 1980 to 67.8 million in 2019, according to a US Census Bureau report. In response to this surge, Wordly introduced a host of innovative features in 2024 to help bridge communication gaps and empower communities.

“Local governments are increasingly adopting Wordly’s AI-powered solutions to make public meetings and essential services more inclusive, ensuring accessibility for all residents,” said Wordly CEO Lakshman Rathnam. “In fact, we’ve seen a 50% increase in usage, with over 600 million minutes and 100,000 sessions recorded, up from 400 million minutes and 80,000 sessions in May 2024.”

Key Factors Leading to AI Translation Demand Across Local Governments

• Multiple Languages Across the US: Spanish leads with 41 million speakers, followed by Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Arabic, and French.
• Inclusive Governance Objectives: AI translation breaks language barriers, empowering diverse communities to actively participate in key discussions, such as zoning changes, and public health and safety initiatives, ensuring every voice is heard.
• AI Translation Saves Money: Reduces costs by cutting reliance on human interpreters, offering broader language support at a lower cost.

Six New Features Unveiled in 2024 to Meet Local Governments’ Needs

To keep up with the evolving translation needs of local governments, Wordly introduced six new features:

• 10 New Languages – Added Armenian, Catalan, Georgian, Icelandic, Tagalog, Ukrainian, Afrikaans, Albanian, Norwegian, and Punjabi — increasing coverage to 3,000+ language pairs to serve diverse communities.

• Automatic Language Detection – Real-time recognition of speaker languages, making it easier for local government officials to host multilingual meetings, and accommodating diverse populations.

• Push-to-Talk Translation – Ideal for town halls and other close proximity settings, ensures high-quality translation for community leaders and residents.
• Enhanced Teams and Zoom Support – Seamless integration of live translation and captions into virtual public meetings, ensuring all residents can participate.

• Custom Glossaries – Improved translation of specialized terms and local jargon, ensuring clarity and accuracy in official communication.
• Video On Demand API – Allows local governments to easily add subtitles to make video content more accessible.

Wordly is helping cities and local governments better serve diverse populations, making public services more accessible and inclusive. As demand for AI translation grows, Wordly leads the way in transforming how local governments connect with communities in 2025 and beyond.

About Wordly

Wordly created the live AI translation and caption market in 2019 and is the leader in product innovation and quality. Wordly translates dozens of languages in real-time, making meetings and events more inclusive, accessible, and engaging. The SaaS platform meets enterprise security & privacy standards and does not require human interpreters or special equipment – providing an easy, affordable, and secure way to communicate across multiple languages. Wordly is used for in-person and virtual sessions by millions of users at thousands of organizations worldwide across a wide range of industries, including corporate, non-profit, government, education, and religious organizations.