BabelBot voice chat translation guide
Read live translations of what people say in a Discord voice call.
Voice chat translation lets members read what people say in a voice call, in their own language. BabelBot listens in the voice channel and posts translated text in that channel's chat. It does not speak. Ultra
Voice messages use a different feature
To translate voice messages and audio files that members post in chat, use Media translation. Voice chat translation is for live calls.
๐ ๏ธ Set it up
You need Ultra or Founder Access, and at least one target language. Then members can start a session at any time.
Turn it on
Open DashboardVoice chat and turn on the Voice chat switch.
Choose a message style
Choose a Voice message style. See the table below.
Check BabelBot's permissions
In each voice channel you use, BabelBot needs View Channel, Connect, and Send Messages. For Clean speaker messages, it also needs Manage Webhooks.
| Style | What members see |
|---|---|
| Clean speaker messages | The translated text, under the speaker's name and picture. The chat looks like people typed it. |
| Detailed embeds | A BabelBot card with what was said, the detected language, and the translation. Useful for moderators. |
๐๏ธ Start a session
Join the voice channel
Connect to the voice channel that you want to translate.
Run /voice start
Run /voice start in any text channel in the same server. BabelBot joins your voice channel right away.
Read along
Open the chat of the voice channel. BabelBot posts a translation each time a speaker pauses.
BabelBot translates into the target languages of that voice channel. A channel rule can change them. There is no language picker. When a speaker already uses the only target language, BabelBot posts nothing for that speech. BabelBot also posts nothing for sounds that are not words, such as "um", "uh", or "hmm", or for noise such as music or a laugh. Short answers such as "yes", "ok", or "wait" still get a translation.
๐ Stop a session
Run /voice stop, or select Stop translation on the start message in the voice channel chat. You can stop a session if you started it, if you are in the voice channel, or if you have Manage Server or Manage Channels.
The session also stops when everyone leaves the voice channel. Run /voice status to check if a session is running.
To block new sessions, turn off the Voice chat switch in the dashboard.
๐ Limits
| What | Limit |
|---|---|
| Plan | Ultra or Founder Access |
| Sessions per server | 1 at a time |
| Longest session | 4 hours. Run /voice start again to continue. |
| Quiet session | Stops after 30 minutes with nothing new posted |
| Recordings | BabelBot does not keep voice recordings |
| AI translations | Voice chat does not use your monthly AI translations |
โก๏ธ Next steps
- ๐งฉ See all voice commands in Commands.
- ๐ ๏ธ Fix a session that does not start in Troubleshooting.
- ๐ณ Compare plans in Billing and limits.