BabelBot DocsBabelBot voice chat translation guide
Translate live Discord voice calls into readable text in your voice channel chat.
Use this when people talk in a Discord voice channel and others need to read translations in the voice channel's text chat.
Not the same as voice notes
Voice notes are short audio clips posted in text channels. Voice chat translation is for live calls. You talk in voice, and BabelBot posts translated text while the session is running.
For server admins
Before you start: your server needs an Ultra or Founder Access plan, at least one target language in dashboard settings, and BabelBot installed with permission to use the voice channels you care about.
The dashboard controls server eligibility and how translated messages look. Members operate live sessions from Discord with /voice start, /voice stop, and /voice status.
Turn the feature on
- Open the dashboard and select your server.
- Go to Settings → Voice chat translation.
- Enable Allow voice chat translation.
Choose how translations look
Pick one Voice message style:
- Clean speaker messages: translated text appears under the speaker's name and profile picture. Use this if you want the chat to feel like people are posting.
- Detailed embeds: BabelBot posts a card with what was said, the detected language, and the translation. Use this if mods want more context.
Check bot permissions in voice channels
BabelBot needs to view, connect to, and send messages in the voice channels you use.
If you chose Clean speaker messages, it also needs Manage Webhooks in those channels. Re-invite BabelBot from babelbot.xyz if you recently changed roles or permissions.
Once this is set up, any member can start translation in voice. You do not have to run the call yourself. Each session uses the target languages configured for that voice channel (channel overrides included) the moment the member runs /voice start.
For members
Join voice first
Connect to the voice channel you want translated.
Start translation
In any text channel in the same server, run /voice start.
BabelBot joins the voice channel right away and translates every speaker into all of that channel's configured target languages. There is no language picker.
Read along in voice channel chat
Open the text chat for that voice channel. As people speak, BabelBot posts translations there.
BabelBot listens in voice but does not speak back. Translations are text only.
Stop translation
Any of these work:
- Run
/voice stop - Click Stop translation on the start message in voice channel chat
- If you started the session, or you are in the voice channel, or you can manage the server, you can stop it
The session also stops on its own when everyone leaves the voice channel.
Limits worth knowing
| What | Limit |
|---|---|
| Plan | Ultra or Founder Access |
| Languages per call | All of the voice channel's configured target languages |
| Active calls per server | 1 at a time |
| Longest call | 4 hours. Run /voice start again if you need more |
| Quiet call | Stops after 30 minutes with nothing new posted |
| Recordings | BabelBot does not keep voice recordings |
| Message quota | Voice chat does not use your normal AI message limit |
If BabelBot restarts (for example during an update), the call translation stops. Start again with /voice start.
Tips for better results
- Pause briefly between sentences so BabelBot can catch a full thought.
- Use a voice channel where BabelBot has the permissions listed above.
- Make sure the voice channel has at least one target language configured before starting.
Related pages
- Dashboard Guide: admin settings
- Command Reference:
/voice start,/voice stop,/voice status - Troubleshooting: when
/voice startfails or a session stops early - Billing and Limits: which plans include voice chat