Translate Documents with Copilot: Word, PDF, PowerPoint and Teams
The short answer: for a whole Word document, the tool that keeps your formatting isn't Copilot. It's Word's own Translator (Review, Translate, Translate Document), and it doesn't need a Copilot licence. Copilot's job comes after, making the translation sound local. PowerPoint is the exception: since spring 2026 you translate a deck by asking Copilot.
Below: the right route per app, the prompts, and the limits Microsoft actually documents.
Word: Translator for the file, Copilot for the wording
1Translate the whole document
Select Review, Translate, Translate Document, pick the language and select Translate. A translated copy opens in a separate window. It keeps the original formatting and leaves your original file untouched.
2Or just a selection
Review, Translate, Translate Selection, then Insert. Careful: the translation replaces the text you highlighted.
3What you need
A Microsoft 365 subscription or Office 2021, an internet connection, and Office connected experiences switched on. No Copilot licence. Word even offers to translate by itself when you open a document in a language you don't have installed.
And Copilot? Microsoft has no support article for translating a whole Word document with Copilot. You can ask Copilot in Word to translate a sentence, but a formatted, translated copy of the file comes from Translator. Microsoft's own recommended combo: Translator for the translation, then Copilot to adapt the wording for the reader.
Rewrite this translated section for a [country] audience. Keep the meaning and product names unchanged, use language that sounds natural to local readers, and simplify any sentence that feels like a direct translation.
Copilot Chat: translate a file into text
In Copilot Chat, type / and find the document, or select +, Add and manage sources, Add work content. Then tell Copilot what to translate. What you get back is text in the chat, not a formatted file. Great for understanding a contract from the Paris office, less great for sending one.
Translate /[file] into French in a casual, conversational tone. Keep the original meaning and give me 2 versions: a simple one and an expert one.
Summarize this document in [language] from [country] and help me understand the main points.
Translate /[file] into German for our sales team in Munich. Keep product names and job titles in English, and list at the end every term you weren't sure about.
PDF: 3 routes, no magic button
Microsoft offers no one-click Copilot feature that translates a whole PDF. What you have instead:
1Open it in Word, then Translator
Word converts the PDF into a Word document (it works best with PDFs that are mostly text, and line and page breaks may move). Then run Translate Document. This is 2 Microsoft features chained together, not a single documented workflow, so check the layout.
2Edge, for a passage
Select the text in the PDF and use the translate icon on the PDF toolbar. It translates into a side pane, with over 70 languages to choose from.
3Copilot Chat, for the meaning
Upload the PDF and use the prompts from section 02. Text out, not a file.
PowerPoint: the Translate menu is gone, ask Copilot
If you're looking for the Copilot translate option on the slide menu (the sparkle icon), stop looking. Microsoft removed it from PowerPoint for the web in mid-March 2026, and from Windows and Mac in April. Translation now runs through Copilot chat, for a text box, a selected slide or the whole presentation.
Translate this presentation to German.
1Save a copy first
Microsoft warns that Copilot may edit the current file during translation. So duplicate the deck, then translate the copy.
2Know the limits
No translation for decks over 1 million text characters, over 500 MB, or with a large number of slide masters.
3Languages
All Copilot-supported languages, but English and Spanish without regional variants. So no "British English, please".
The good news from August 2026: translation got faster, and text boxes now resize to fit the translated text. No Copilot licence? Review, Translate still translates a selection in PowerPoint. The whole-file Translate Document is Word only.
Teams: chats, captions and the Interpreter agent
1Chat messages (free)
Select Translate above a message, or let Teams translate received messages automatically. It's on by default, not a Copilot feature, and it works in Chat only.
2Live translated captions
Part of Teams Premium and the Microsoft Copilot licence. If the organiser has either, everyone in the meeting can use them. Check that the Meeting spoken language is right, turn on Translate to and choose a language. (Microsoft's admin docs still say the organiser needs Premium, so if the toggle is missing, ask IT.)
3Interpreter agent
Real-time speech-to-speech interpretation, part of the Copilot licence, with 20 hours per user per month included. More actions, Language and speech, Interpreter, Turn on for me. Microsoft's admin page lists 9 languages: Chinese (Mandarin), English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish (the support page adds Taiwanese).
Running a team across several languages is its own training topic. That's what my Copilot training for multilingual teams covers. For the rest of Copilot in meetings, see the Copilot for Teams guide.
What to check, whatever the route
1Quality varies by language
Microsoft says quality is expected to be highest in English, in both its Word and PowerPoint FAQs. For anything legal or customer-facing, a native speaker reads it before it goes out.
2Terms that must not move
Product names, job titles, contract terms. Say so in the prompt, then search the result for them.
3Tables and layout
Open the translated copy and scroll every page before you send it.
More on the Word side in my Microsoft Copilot for Word guide. Need the gist of a document rather than all of it? See what Copilot can summarize.
Questions about translating with Copilot
Can Copilot translate a Word document?
Copilot can translate text you ask it about, but the formatted translated copy comes from Word's Translator: Review, Translate, Translate Document. It doesn't need a Copilot licence. Then use Copilot to adapt the wording for local readers.
Can Copilot translate a PDF?
There's no one-click Copilot feature for a whole PDF. Open the PDF in Word and use Translate Document, translate passages in Edge, or upload it to Copilot Chat and get the translation as text.
How do I translate a PowerPoint presentation with Copilot?
Open Copilot in PowerPoint and ask it, for example: Translate this presentation to German. Save a copy first, because Copilot may edit the open file. The limit is 1 million text characters and 500 MB.
Can Teams translate a meeting live?
Yes. Live translated captions come with Teams Premium or the Copilot licence, and the organiser's licence covers everyone. The Interpreter agent adds speech-to-speech translation for Copilot users, in a limited set of languages.
Do I need a Copilot licence to translate documents?
Not for Word's Translator or Teams chat translation. You need it for the Interpreter agent. Live translated captions need Teams Premium or the Copilot licence.
Is your team working across languages?
I run live online Copilot workshops for groups of up to 20 people, from 1.5 to 4 hours. For teams that write, meet and present in more than one language, there's a version built around that.