Azure Translator is a cloud-based machine translation service from Microsoft that translates text and documents through a simple REST API. Besides general neural machine translation, organisations can use Custom Translator to build their own translation models based on their terminology. The service was previously called Azure AI Translator and is now offered as Azure Translator in Foundry Tools. It is delivered as an API service within Azure, and containers are also available.
Microsoft is headquartered in the United States, so the service falls under US jurisdiction, including the CLOUD Act. Which datacentre processes a request depends on the endpoint chosen: Americas, Europe (France Central or West Europe), Asia Pacific or, through a dedicated resource, Switzerland. The global endpoint uses the closest available datacentre. According to Microsoft, text translation does not persist customer data and documents are permanently deleted after processing. Microsoft states that Translator is GDPR compliant as a data processor. European organisations translating sensitive text should explicitly select a European or Swiss endpoint.