Microsoft announced Interpreter, a new Teams feature that will allow users to clone their voices for real-time translation in meetings. The tool, launching in early 2025, will support nine languages including English, French, German, and Mandarin Chinese.
The feature aims to maintain speakers’ personal voices while translating their words into different languages. It will be available exclusively to Microsoft 365 subscribers.
Microsoft emphasizes privacy and security measures, stating the tool doesn’t store biometric data or add artificial emotions. Users must explicitly consent to voice simulation through meeting notifications or settings.
The technology joins similar efforts from other companies, including Meta’s Instagram Reels translation tool and ElevenLabs’ speech generation platform.
However, concerns exist about potential misuse of voice cloning technology. Recent incidents involving deepfake scams and impersonation have led to significant financial losses, with impersonation scams exceeding $1 billion last year.
Microsoft promises additional safeguards for the Interpreter feature before its launch, though specific security measures haven’t been detailed yet.
