Meta just expanded its AI-powered translation feature for Reels to include Hindi and Portuguese, marking a strategic push into two of its largest markets - India and Brazil. The move comes as the company doubles down on Reels as its primary short-form video weapon against TikTok, with automatic dubbing and lip-sync technology that could unlock millions of cross-language viewers for creators.
Meta is making its biggest bet yet on breaking down language barriers for creators. The social media giant just launched Hindi and Portuguese support for its AI-powered translation feature across Instagram and Facebook Reels, directly targeting two of its most valuable markets.
The expansion builds on Meta's August launch that initially supported English and Spanish translations. "We believe there are lots of amazing creators out there who have potential audiences who don't necessarily speak the same language," Instagram head Adam Mosseri explained in a post announcing the original feature. The goal: help creators "reach across cultural and linguistic barriers" to grow their following.
The timing isn't coincidental. Meta has been aggressively pushing Reels as the centerpiece of Instagram, recently rolling out Reels-first interfaces in India and South Korea and launching dedicated iPad support. With India representing over 230 million Instagram users and Brazil boasting 120 million, these markets represent massive untapped creator economies.
The technology behind Meta's translation feature goes beyond simple voice-over work. Creators can enable "Translate your voice with Meta AI" before publishing, then review AI-generated versions complete with automatic dubbing and lip-sync matching. The system preserves the creator's original voice and tone while syncing mouth movements to match the translated audio - a technical challenge that's stumped many competitors.
Meta isn't stopping at voice translation. The company is rolling out text translation for caption stickers and on-screen text, crucial for viewers watching without sound. Facebook Reels already support multi-speaker translations, with Instagram getting the same capability soon.
The move puts Meta in direct competition with YouTube, which has been developing auto-dubbing features for years. Last month, YouTube rolled out , making this a direct features race.
