Keep product names and company terms untranslated in Slack
Machine translation treats your product name like any other word. A glossary tells the translator which terms to keep exactly as written, and which to translate the way your company does.
Updated October 11, 2026
Short answer. Slack's help center describes no glossary for its built-in translation, so you need a translation app that has one. In Kiki, a workspace admin runs /translate glossary keep Pulse for a name that must never change, /translate glossary add ticket es=incidencia to fix how a word is translated, and /translate acronym add EOD end of day so shorthand is translated by its meaning. Glossaries and acronyms come with Kiki Pro, $19 per workspace per month, and the plans above it.
What goes wrong without a glossary
Modern translation models leave obvious brand names alone most of the time. The trouble starts with names that are also ordinary words, and with the shorthand every team builds up.
- Product names that are real words. A product called Pulse can come back as "Pulso" in Spanish, and a feature called Spaces as "Espacios".
- Your own terminology. If your Spanish support team calls a ticket an "incidencia", a generic translator may still pick "billete", the kind of ticket you buy for a train.
- Acronyms. "Can you send the QBR deck by EOD?" leaves the model guessing twice. Expanded first, it reads "quarterly business review" and "end of day", which translate cleanly.
The three kinds of glossary entry
| Entry | Command | Example | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Never translate | /translate glossary keep <term> | /translate glossary keep Pulse | Pulse stays Pulse in every language |
| Your translation | /translate glossary add <term> <lang>=<translation> | /translate glossary add ticket es=incidencia | Spanish translations use incidencia for ticket |
| Acronym | /translate acronym add <ACRONYM> <full form> | /translate acronym add QBR quarterly business review | QBR is translated by its meaning |
See what is set with /translate glossary list and /translate acronym list, and remove an entry with /translate glossary remove <term>. Wrap a term with spaces in quotes, like /translate glossary keep "Acme Cloud". The glossary covers the whole workspace, in every channel Kiki translates.
How Kiki makes sure the glossary holds
A glossary only helps if the translator follows it. Kiki checks every translation for the protected terms that appear in the original message. If one was changed or dropped, Kiki translates the message again with the term locked in place, so it comes back exactly as written.
The same check protects the parts of a Slack message that should never change: @mentions, links and emoji. Code blocks are never translated at all.
Build a useful glossary in ten minutes
- List the words that must not change: product and feature names, team names, customer names, and anything that is also an everyday word.
- Add them as keep terms, one command each:
/translate glossary keep Pulse. - Agree on the words your teams translate on purpose, like ticket or onboarding, and add the version each language should use.
- Add the acronyms people actually type, such as EOD, QBR or OKR.
- Post a test message that uses a few of the terms, and check the translation in the thread.
Workspace admins make glossary and acronym changes. On Business you can also ask in plain language, for example "Hey Kiki, never translate Pulse."
Do other Slack translation tools have glossaries?
Few do. Slack's help center describes no glossary for Slack's own translation. Among the Slack translation apps we checked in October 2026, on their own websites and Slack Marketplace listings:
- Straker Translate supports a do-not-translate list, uploaded through its back end.
- Kiara says in its help center that it has no translation memory.
- RikaiAI can switch translation off per language, but describes no glossary of terms.
- Translate, Lingvanex, Vorbee, Translate Channels and Smart Translate don't mention a glossary.
If consistent terminology matters to you, test it before you commit: post a few messages that use your product names and check what comes back. Our comparison of Slack translation apps lists what else each one offers.
Common questions
Does Slack's built-in translation support a glossary?
Slack's help center describes no glossary or terminology setting for its built-in translation, which translates one message at a time for the person who asks, on the Business+ and Enterprise+ plans. Slack's AI message explanations, on the same plans, can explain acronyms and jargon, but they don't change how a message is translated.
Will Kiki translate my product name?
Not if it's in the glossary as a keep term. Without an entry, Kiki usually leaves obvious brand names alone, but a name that is also an ordinary word can get translated, which is what keep terms are for.
Can a term have a different translation in each language?
Yes. Give one translation per language in a single command, for example /translate glossary add ticket es=incidencia de=Ticket.
Are code blocks translated?
No. Code blocks are never sent for translation, and @mentions, links and emoji are checked so they come back exactly as written.
Which Kiki plan includes the glossary?
Glossaries and acronym expansion are included in Pro at $19 per workspace per month, and in Business and Enterprise. The Free plan translates without them.
Does the glossary apply to people from other companies in a shared channel?
Yes. In a Slack Connect channel, Kiki translates everyone's messages with the glossary of the workspace that set Kiki up in that channel.
Related guides: Translate a Slack Connect channel · Best Slack translation apps compared · How to translate Slack messages
Make translations use your company's words
Glossaries and acronyms come with Kiki Pro. Start free and upgrade when your terms need protecting.