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Google Translate now lets you transcribe conversations in real time

The feature is available in eight languages.

Abrar Al-Heeti Technology Reporter
Abrar Al-Heeti is a technology reporter for CNET, with an interest in phones, streaming, internet trends, entertainment, pop culture and digital accessibility. She's also worked for CNET's video, culture and news teams. She graduated with bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Though Illinois is home, she now loves San Francisco -- steep inclines and all.
Expertise Abrar has spent her career at CNET analyzing tech trends while also writing news, reviews and commentaries across mobile, streaming and online culture. Credentials
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Abrar Al-Heeti
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Google is rolling out a new transcribe feature for Translate. 

Angela Lang/CNET

Google on Tuesday said it's launching a feature that lets users transcribe conversations in other languages in real time using its Translate Android app. The transcribe feature will roll out over the next few days to support eight languages: English, French, German, Hindi, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Thai. 

To use the feature, open up the Translate app on your Android device and make sure it's up to date. Hit the "Transcribe" icon from the home screen and choose the source and target languages from the dropdown menu. Tap the mic icon to pause or restart a transcription. 

"We'll continue to make speech translations available in a variety of situations," Google Translate product manager Sami Iqram said in a release. "Right now, the transcribe feature will work best in a quiet environment with one person speaking at a time. In other situations, the app will still do its best to provide the gist of what's being said."

The app's conversation mode allows users to have a translated back-and-forth conversation with someone.