Help Scout Translation Options: How to Build a Multilingual Docs Site

Help Scout includes AI Assist for translating text snippets, but building a complete multilingual Docs site requires more. Here's what actually works.

What Help Scout's AI Assist Can and Can't Do

Help Scout's AI Assist feature lets you translate selected text directly in the editor. It's included on all plans.

What AI Assist does:

• Translates highlighted text to any language
• Works inline while editing articles
• Available in conversations and Docs

What AI Assist doesn't do:

• Bulk translate entire articles
• Sync translations when source content changes
• Maintain translation memory
• Create separate language versions of your Docs site

For a quick reply translation or fixing a sentence, AI Assist works. For maintaining a complete help center in four languages, you need a different approach.

Option 1: Separate Docs Sites Per Language

Help Scout allows multiple Docs sites. The most common approach for multilingual support:

1. Create a separate Docs site for each language
2. Manually copy and translate articles
3. Link between language versions in the header

Pricing impact:

• Standard plan includes 1 Docs site
• Additional sites: $20/month each
• 4 languages = $60/month extra just for sites

Workflow burden:

• Every update requires updating 4 sites
• No automatic change detection
• Version drift is inevitable

Option 2: Translation Management Systems

Enterprise teams often connect Help Scout to a TMS:

Transifex

• Direct Help Scout integration
• Pulls content, sends to translators, pushes back
• Pricing starts around $120/month
• Best for teams with dedicated translators

Crowdin

• Help Scout app in Crowdin Store
• Similar workflow to Transifex
• Pricing from $40/month for small teams
• Strong developer features

Phrase (formerly Memsource)

• Enterprise TMS with Help Scout connector
• Minimum $500/month
• Overkill for most support teams

Option 3: Website Translation Layers

Some teams add a translation layer on top of Help Scout Docs:

ConveyThis

• JavaScript-based translation overlay
• Translates rendered pages, not source content
• From $7.50/month
• SEO concerns: translations may not be properly indexed

Localize

• Similar approach to ConveyThis
• $95/month minimum
• Translations stored separately from Help Scout

The overlay approach is quick to set up but creates maintenance headaches. You're not translating your knowledge base; you're translating the webpage.

Option 4: Manual Translation Workflow

Many teams use a spreadsheet-based process:

1. Export articles to Google Docs or Notion
2. Share with translators
3. Translate in external tool
4. Copy translations back to Help Scout

True cost calculation:

For 50 articles × 4 languages:

• Initial translation: 200 articles worth of work
• Ongoing updates: 10-20 hours/month
• Translator costs: $0.10-0.20/word

A 1,000-word article × 4 languages = $400-800 per article if using professional translators.

The Real Challenge: Keeping Translations in Sync

Every approach shares the same fundamental problem. When you update an English article:

1. Which translations need updating?
2. What exactly changed?
3. Who's responsible for updating each language?

Without automated change detection, teams either:

• Spend hours manually tracking what changed
• Let translations drift from source content
• Give up and only update critical articles

What Help Scout Translation Should Look Like

The ideal workflow:

1. Connect once to Help Scout
2. Select articles and target languages
3. Translate with quality AI (like DeepL)
4. Publish to language-specific Docs sites
5. Get notified when source articles change
6. See exactly what changed and update only those sections

This is what we built for Intercom with TranslateDesk. Help Scout support is on our roadmap.

Recommendation by Team Size

Solo founder or small team (1-5 people):

• Start with AI Assist for critical articles only
• Consider ConveyThis if you need quick coverage
• Budget: $50-100/month

Growing team (5-20 people):

• Use Crowdin with Help Scout integration
• Maintain separate Docs sites per language
• Budget: $100-200/month + $20/language for extra Docs sites

Enterprise (20+ people):

• Transifex or Phrase for full TMS capabilities
• Professional translators for quality
• Budget: $500-2,000/month

FAQ

Does Help Scout support multilingual Docs natively?

Not directly. Help Scout allows multiple Docs sites, but each site is separate. There's no built-in language switcher or translation sync.

Can I use AI Assist to translate entire articles?

No. AI Assist works on selected text only. You'd need to copy and paste sections manually.

What's the cheapest way to offer multilingual support in Help Scout?

Create separate Docs sites ($20/month each) and use AI Assist for initial translation. Accept that keeping translations updated will require ongoing manual effort.

How do Help Scout's translation options compare to Intercom's?

Intercom offers a multilingual help center with language selection on Advanced plans ($85/seat), but doesn't include native translation. Help Scout requires separate Docs sites. Neither platform includes automated translation - that's why tools like TranslateDesk exist for Intercom users.

Is professional translation necessary or is AI good enough?

For support documentation, AI translation (DeepL, Google, or Help Scout's AI Assist) is usually sufficient. Reserve professional translators for marketing content and legal documentation.