Digital Visibility for Translators: What AI Search Tools Reveal About Your Business

With the growing importance of AI, whether in the form of chatbots, LLM-powered search engines, agentic browsers, or AI overviews, the question of how AI impacts search behaviour and, by extension, SEO requirements, has been raised repeatedly.

Among the recommendations I received on this topic, two main points stand out:

1. The established rules of classical search engine optimisation still apply, and even more so now, including strategic keyword choices, balanced repetition of relevant terms, and a clear, well-organised structure that enables automated systems to understand your content.

2. Users who turn to AI for their searches want fast, structured information. Therefore, content structured in a question-and-answer format is more likely to be picked up and presented by AI-powered tools.

While exploring this topic, I came across the suggestion from an SEO expert to ask Perplexity about myself or my business to assess how I “exist” in this new AI-driven search landscape. So I tried it and I found the insights both enlightening and revealing.

Why Ask Perplexity About Yourself?

In a first step, I asked Perplexity to tell me what it knows about me with the following question:

What can you tell me about a translator named Geneviève Granger?

This is the kind of question a potential client might ask to get a sense of your professional background and reputation.

The Results

This is the answer provided by Perplexity:

Geneviève Granger: Professional Translator Overview

Profile

Geneviève Granger is a seasoned freelance translator specializing in technical and SEO translation. She has amassed nearly 30 years of professional experience, primarily translating documents from English, German, and Dutch into French. Her expertise spans standard and highly technical texts, making her a valuable asset for companies looking to expand their reach in French-speaking markets.

Areas of Specialization

• Technical Translations: Automation, home automation, automotive/mobility, electrotechnics, medical technology, agricultural machinery, environmental engineering, and energy.
• SEO and Marketing: Offers SEO writing and subtitling services, supporting clients' marketing campaigns and enhancing the visibility of their products or services for French-speaking audiences.
• Subtitling: Specializes in French-language subtitling for corporate videos.

Professional Reputation

• Known for her reliability, professionalism, and organizational skills.
• Frequently receives positive feedback from clients and colleagues for the quality and consistency of her work.
• Recognized as an expert in translation memory (TM) tools and contemporary translation technologies.

Additional Competencies

• Localization and transcreation for marketing, advertising, and web content.
• Experience working with businesses aiming to build trust and loyalty among French-speaking clients.
• Emphasizes intuitive, clear, and attractive translations for software interfaces and user documentation.

Professional Presence

• Active on professional translation platforms and freelance marketplaces such as ProZ, Malt,and LinkedIn, where she offers detailed profiles and direct contact options.
• Reputation for smooth, uncomplicated collaboration and high-quality results backed by consistent positive reviews.

Summary Table

Attribute	Details
Core Languages	English, German, Dutch → French
Years of Experience	Nearly 30 years
Major Fields	Technical, SEO, Automotive, Medical, Environment
Additional Skills	SEO writing, subtitling, localization, TM tools
Client Feedback	Highly positive, emphasizing reliability & quality
Professional Networks	ProZ, Malt, LinkedIn

Geneviève Granger stands out for her deep technical knowledge, proven linguistic expertise, and a strong track record of client satisfaction in the translation industry

I was happy to discover that Perplexity’s summary actually reflected my profile, reputation, and the image I’ve been building in my marketing efforts over the years.

When I ran the same search in German, Perplexity returned however a few minor inaccuracies, such as a photo of another person with the same name.

Takeaways

This experience taught me that this kind of analysis can help you understand:

1. Whether your SEO or marketing strategy is adapted to the AI-driven way people browse the internet today, and whether it enables you to be featured in AI-powered searches (provided, of course, someone is searching for a topic related to your services).

2. Whether AI considers you, your profiles, or your website a trustworthy source of information, and would therefore refer to them in relevant search results.

3. Whether the image AI presents of you and your services aligns with the one you intended to convey.

4. Whether your image/brand is consistent across different platforms (LinkedIn, ProZ, MALT, etc.)

How Would Your Services Stand Out in an AI-Driven Search?

In a second test, I asked Perplexity to recommend a translator with a profile similar to mine. My query:

Please recommend a German > French translator who specialises in automation and has a good reputation.

The Results

In response to this request, Perplexity only recommended translation agencies. Fortunately however, those included agencies I’ve worked with.

When I pushed further and asked specifically for freelancers, Perplexity redirected me to professional associations like BDÜ and ProZ. It refrained from naming individual translators, explaining:

There are many freelancers, but 'the best' are often operating above average capacity. […] Real experts for technical German > French translations are usually not mass professionals, but highly specialized individual practitioners with an established client base.

Unfortunately, this kind of statement might discourage potential clients from even trying to contact a qualified freelancer.

Performance compared to a Google search

A similar pattern emerged in a traditional Google search using a phrase like:

translator German into French in the field of automation

The top results were again dominated by translation agencies, with Google additionally listing machine translation services like DeepL in the SERP.

Takeaways

With the abundance of machine translation services and agencies currently dominating the market, it can be difficult for solo freelance translators to stand out to clients who rely on internet search.

A website still makes sense for freelancers, especially to strengthen credibility and convey professionalism, but in light of this, it may be sensible to offer your website primarily as a business card and invest your time only moderately in its SEO.

Perplexity’s results suggest that building and maintaining strong, well-structured profiles on professional platforms such as ProZ, national translators’ associations, and LinkedIn may be more effective. In my case, this is confirmed by the fact that most of my direct clients to date have found me via ProZ rather than my website.

That said, blog articles can still attract attention, especially when they offer valuable insights for your peers, potential clients, or referrers. In those cases, it’s worth being mindful of your article structure (e.g. using a Q&A format as mentioned in the introduction) and incorporating relevant keywords that align with your area of expertise.

Conclusion

AI tools are increasingly shaping how people find and assess information. Tools like Perplexity offer a valuable reality check for your business: They show not just how visible you are, but how you are perceived based on the data available about you online. This kind of feedback can help you refine your strategy, sharpen your positioning, and ensure your expertise is clearly communicated to both humans and machines.

As visibility in AI-powered searches may still favour large agencies and platforms, the true power for solo freelancers lies in cultivating a consistent, trustworthy presence across professional networks.

In the end, it’s not just about being found – it’s about being remembered for the right reasons.

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