The problem
Translation is checked in the CAT tool, but the client receives a typeset PDF, and text can go missing between the two: a dropped paragraph, an untranslated caption, a table that lost a row, a figure retyped wrongly. Checking a 90-page annual report or manual against the source by eye takes about 3 hours. At 8 long documents a month that's 24 hours, and a missing paragraph found by the client costs a correction round and some trust.
What the AI does
Claude reads long PDFs in one go: up to 20 files in a chat and PDFs of up to 1,000 pages, with a context window of up to 1 million tokens. The project manager uploads the source PDF and the typeset translation and asks for a table of every place where text seems to be missing or untranslated, and every number, date, product code or name that differs between the two, with page numbers in both files. A reviser checks each item in the files and fixes real problems before delivery. Claude only points to where to look; the linguistic review stays with the reviser in the CAT tool. Client documents are often confidential and can hold personal data the agency processes for the client, so the agency uses the Team plan, which doesn't train on business data by default, and only for clients whose contracts allow it.
A worked example
A translation agency in Edinburgh with 2 project managers delivers about 8 long typeset documents a month, mostly annual reports, product manuals and tender documents of 60 to 120 pages. Both project managers use Claude Team for the final check before each file goes back to the client.
Before
About 3 hours checking each typeset translation against the source by eye: 24 hours a month
After
About 1.25 hours each checking Claude's list and spot-checking pages: 10 hours a month
What it's worth
About $559£420€500A$806C$790 a month in project manager time saved, against about $40£30€36A$58C$56 to $51£38€45A$73C$71 for two Claude Team seats. 1.75 hours saved on each of 8 documents is 14 hours, at an assumed $40£30€36A$58C$56 an hour.
How to set it up
- Check each client's contract and NDA allows documents to be processed by an AI provider, and ask the client where it doesn't say.
- Set up Claude Team for the two project managers: $20 (about $20£15€18A$29C$28) per user a month billed annually, or $25 (about $25£19€23A$36C$36) billed monthly, minimum 2 users.
- Upload the source PDF and the typeset translation in one chat, and ask for a table of missing or untranslated text and of any numbers, dates, codes or names that differ, with page numbers in both files.
- Have the reviser check every item in the original files and fix real problems in the CAT tool or the layout file.
- Turn the pages yourself as well, looking at images, charts, headers and footers, before delivering.
What goes wrong
- In PDFs over 100 pages Claude reads the text only, so words inside images and charts aren't compared. Scanned PDFs with no text layer need OCR first.
- It can miss a dropped sentence, or flag a correct change such as a date written the target-language way. Treat the list as places to look, not as a pass.
- It checks completeness and figures, not translation quality. Accuracy, terminology and style stay with the reviser and the client's glossary.
- Free and Pro are personal plans whose chats can be used for training unless you opt out, which many client NDAs won't allow. Use Team, and keep documents from clients who refuse AI processing out of it altogether.