Translate a document with AI, without losing the layout

What happens when you translate a document

A supplier contract in German, a brochure for an overseas office, the manual for a machine: translating the text is the easy part. What takes time is putting the tables, headings, and images back in place. That is where the tools differ.

• A document translator gives you back the same file, translated, with its layout: DeepL, Reverso Documents, iLovePDF.
• Your word processor translates the document into a copy, with nothing to install: Word, Google Docs.
• An assistant such as ChatGPT or Euria reads the document and tells you what it says in your language. It helps you understand or check, not produce a formatted file.
• A PDF tool that translates without keeping the layout: Smallpdf gives you the translated text, without the images or the original design.

Which tool to use to translate a document

Plans and limits come from Nova’s tool pages, checked on October 12, 2026 on the vendors’ pages. Euro prices are those listed in France.

For a document you will send as is

DeepL gives you back the same file, translated, with its layout. It is Nova’s pick for translating at work, with the Individual plan as soon as the files are work documents. Reverso Documents does the same and lets you review sentence by sentence before you download. It can produce up to three target languages from the same file. For a single large document, its pay-per-use credits cost less than a subscription: €10 for 2,500 words.

For a quick PDF

iLovePDF translates a PDF without a paid account: open its PDF translation tile, pick the source and target languages, then choose to keep the layout. Smallpdf translates the whole document or just a summary: handy to see whether a long document is worth translating, but you lose the design.

For a document already open in Word or Google Docs

In Word: Review, Translate, then Translate Document. Choose the language: a translated copy opens, and the original stays as it was. You need an internet connection. In Google Docs: Tools, Translate document, give the copy a name, and choose the language. If the option is missing, the file is still in Word format: convert it to Google Docs format first.

The method, in five steps

1. Check that you can select the text in the PDF. If it is a scan, use a tool that accepts scanned PDFs, such as DeepL or Reverso Documents.
2. Before the first document, build a glossary with the ten key terms of your field. In DeepL, the glossary setting makes sure, for example, that “quote” is always translated the same way, every time.
3. Drop in the file, choose the target language and, if the tool offers it, the tone: formal or informal, for languages that make the distinction.
4. Open the result next to the original. Look at the tables, headings, and footnotes: a translated text that runs longer can shift a busy layout.
5. Check the numbers, dates, negatives, and legal terms. Have anything that commits the company reviewed by someone fluent in the language.

For the review, an assistant helps you spot differences. The prompt to copy: “Here is a text and its translation. List every sentence where the meaning, a number, a date, or a negative differs between the two. Do not fix the style. If everything matches, say so.”

To adapt the request to your document, see how to write a good prompt.

A contract, a pay slip: what not to upload just anywhere

A translated document goes through the vendor’s servers. What happens to it next depends on the tool and the plan.

• DeepL Free: your texts may be used to improve DeepL, and its policy forbids putting personal data into it. On a paid plan, texts and files are deleted once the translation is delivered.
• Reverso Documents: files are encrypted on upload, never used to train its AI, and you can delete them at any time.
• iLovePDF: files are deleted within two hours, and the vendor states that it does not use your content to train AI.
• Smallpdf: files are deleted one hour after processing, except those you choose to keep in your account.

For a customer contract or a document marked confidential, use the tool your company provides or a paid plan. The guide what not to share with AI at work gives the simple rule.

A text, an email, a web page

For a few lines, there is no need for a file. With the DeepL or Reverso desktop app, select the text in any program and press C twice while holding Ctrl (⌘ on Mac with DeepL): the translation appears without switching windows.

To find the right wording for a set phrase, Reverso Context shows it in real sentences that have already been translated. For an email you want to write directly in another language, the guide AI for email explains the method.

What Nova brings

Nova is subscription software that shows what these tools do in your job: procurement specialist, in-house counsel, executive assistant, or sales representative. You will find the up-to-date pages for DeepL, Reverso, and the PDF tools, with their check date, and demos to recreate step by step, prompt included. To read a long document rather than translate it, see summarize a PDF with AI. Try the interactive demo.

Frequently asked questions

How do you translate a PDF and keep the layout?

Drop it into a document translator that keeps the layout: DeepL, Reverso Documents, or iLovePDF’s PDF translation tool with the keep-layout option. You get the same file back, translated. Open it next to the original to check the tables and images.

Can you translate a document for free?

Yes, with limits. DeepL translates 1 file per month, up to 5 MB. Reverso gives 2,500 credits for files up to 2.5 MB. iLovePDF translates one PDF at a time in standard AI mode. Word does it at no extra cost for Microsoft 365 subscribers. Plans checked on October 12, 2026.

How do you translate a Word document in Word?

Review, Translate, then Translate Document. Choose the language: Word opens a translated copy in a separate window and leaves the original alone. The feature requires a Microsoft 365 subscription or Office 2021, and an internet connection.

Can you translate a scanned PDF?

Yes with DeepL and Reverso Documents, which accept scanned PDFs. With another tool, run text recognition first (iLovePDF’s OCR tool does it for free, one file at a time), then check the numbers: recognition makes mistakes on stamps and handwriting.

Can you translate a document with ChatGPT?

ChatGPT reads a PDF, a Word file, or a spreadsheet and tells you what it says in the conversation. To get the same file back, formatted, use a document translator instead. ChatGPT is still useful to check a translation: ask it to list the sentences where the meaning or a number differs.

Is machine translation good enough for a contract?

No. It helps you understand and prepare, but a number, a negative, or a legal term can slip. Anything that commits the company should be reviewed by someone fluent in the language. And a confidential contract does not go into a free plan.

Sources

• Document translation (in French), DeepL
• DeepL Pro plans (in French), DeepL
• Reverso Documents (in French), Reverso
• Reverso Documents pricing (in French), Reverso
• Translate PDF (in French), iLovePDF
• Translate PDF (in French), Smallpdf
• Translate text into a different language, Microsoft, support
• Translate documents or write in a different language, Google, Docs Editors Help
• Privacy policy (in French), DeepL

Go further

• DeepL: the full tool page, plans, and prices
• Reverso: the full tool page, plans, and prices
• iLovePDF: the full tool page
• Smallpdf: the full tool page
• Euria, Infomaniak’s assistant
• Summarize a PDF with AI
• AI for email
• What not to share with AI at work
• AI training for translators
• AI training for hotel and guesthouse owners
• AI training for employees
• AI training for procurement specialists
• AI training for in-house counsel
• AI training for executive assistants
• AI training for sales representatives
• All AI tools, by family