How to localize product descriptions from Spanish to French without changing the specs

A 12 L shopping bag needs to remain a 12 L shopping bag in its French listing. You can rewrite a clumsy sentence or choose a clearer product name, but the material, capacity and care instructions must keep their original meaning.

To localize product descriptions with AI, keep the source records, define the fields that must stay fixed, and review the French beside the Spanish. This example uses three invented products: a storage box, a shopping bag and a desk pouch. Every language version of this article follows the same task, from Spanish into French for France.

Decide which fields the translator can change

Protect product identifiers, dimensions, capacity, composition and every supported product fact. Titles and descriptions can be rewritten in natural French, provided they preserve that information and add no new features.

Keep the Spanish columns and add the French fields beside them. Overwriting the source removes the reference your reviewer needs. For this exercise, the dimension strings also keep the × symbol, making comparison straightforward without converting units.

Start with three source records and a glossary

The sample contains three synthetic products whose specifications were written for this exercise. It is not a customer catalogue or evidence of improved sales.

To repeat the example, download the synthetic Spanish catalogue CSV and the Spanish-to-French glossary.

The box includes a removable lid and is for storing small objects. The bag has 65 cm handles and requires hand washing. The pouch has one compartment and a zip fastening. These are the only additional facts supplied: there is no information about colours, origin, certifications or water resistance.

The glossary sets the vocabulary for this catalogue. These are editorial choices for the sample, rather than a universal glossary for every retailer:

Specify the target market as well as the language. French for France gives the reviewer a clear context for word choices. A later version for Quebec would need a separate terminology review.

Ask for a translation you can check

Supply the catalogue and glossary together, with separate output columns for French. Ask for a draft and a comparison table by SKU so you can trace each translated product back to its source.

Paste the records as text or attach a CSV. This reusable English prompt follows the same Spanish-to-French task; replace the bracketed blocks with your information:

1Adapt these product records from Spanish into French for France.
2Use straightforward shop copy without superlatives.
3
4CATALOGUE
5[Paste records with SKU, name, dimensions, material, capacity,
6supported facts and description in Spanish.]
7
8GLOSSARY
9[Paste approved Spanish-to-French equivalents.]
10
11Keep every source column and the original row order.
12Add nombre_fr, material_fr, hechos_admitidos_fr and descripcion_fr.
13Keep SKUs and collection names unchanged.
14Copy dimensions and capacities with the same numbers, units
15and × symbol. Do not convert units or infer missing information.
16Follow the glossary for materials and product terms.
17
18Do not add colours, origin, certifications, environmental claims,
19water resistance, food uses or warranties.
20Flag missing information without filling it in.
21
22Show the bilingual records and a comparison table by SKU:
23dimensions, material, capacity and supported facts.
24Flag wording questions for independent review.
25Export an XLSX with Catalogo, Glosario and Control sheets.
26Mark the file as a draft awaiting review.

Check the AI's comparison table too. A cell labelled “correct” does not prove that a specification survived the translation. Find the original value and its French counterpart yourself.

The result: preserved specifications and three edited descriptions

The first XLSX preserved all 21 Spanish source cells and all 11 glossary pairs. Independent review found awkward French sentences and clipped text across the three worksheets, so we requested a corrected version.

We ran the example in Ilisai's test environment with Auto selected. Brisa's first description was understandable, but “Inclut” began a sentence without a subject and carried over an ambiguity from the Spanish by linking the lid to storing small objects:

For Olmo and Nube, we also added explicit subjects to sentences beginning with “Mesure” and “Possède”, and used “Composition : 100 % coton” or “Composition : 100 % polyester” for the material. The quantities, materials and other facts stayed intact. These were language improvements: the first draft already contained the correct specifications.

One follow-up message supplied the three exact replacements and requested column widths and text wrapping that made every cell readable. The three descriptions and the review notice changed; all other values stayed the same.

An independent AI agent reviewed the French and checked the downloaded workbook after the correction. The sample has not had human review. The Control notice retains its export-time status, before that final check.

Download the reviewed bilingual XLSX to compare the records and inspect all three worksheets.

Review the French before closing the file

Check each SKU's facts first, then read the French as a shopper would. A separate review should catch changed numbers as well as grammatical sentences that sound awkward in the intended market.

Use specific questions: does Brisa still hold 8 L, does Olmo still have 65 cm handles, and does Nube still have one compartment? Then look for additions such as “étanche”, “écologique” or a washing temperature absent from the source.

For a real catalogue, ask a fluent French reviewer with relevant product knowledge to check the language. They should take technical ambiguities back to the person responsible for the Spanish source. Translating the French back into Spanish may reveal discrepancies, but it cannot replace checking the actual specifications.

Once the wording is settled, request the final file without another free rewrite:

1Apply only these corrections:
2[SKU, field, final wording and reason for each change.]
3
4Preserve the source columns and all other French cells.
5Compare every SKU, dimension, material, capacity and supported
6fact with the Spanish catalogue again.
7Record corrections and unresolved questions in Control.
8Describe who reviewed the file and the scope of their review accurately.
9Export catalogo-es-fr-revisado.xlsx.
10Do not describe it as approved for publication in a shop.

Give someone responsibility for publication

The catalogue owner should approve the copy customers will see and publish it through the shop's own tools. The bilingual workbook is a review file, and its column layout is not a guaranteed import template for every platform.

Shopify advises reviewing automatic translations for accuracy before publication and provides fields for manually entered translations. If you use Shopify, fit the reviewed file to that publication process. This demonstration does not connect Ilisai to Shopify or change a store.

It also leaves product photos, packaging text and verification of the product's physical properties outside the exercise. For catalogue images, see the product photography example. Product sheets with safety warnings or health claims need the relevant specialist to review that content; our box, bag and pouch example does not cover those cases.

In the enterprise, give the category owner responsibility for the glossary and name a reviewer for each language. Retain the Spanish source version, the approved French version and the changes by SKU. When the catalogue changes frequently, the system that manages product information should identify the translations that need updating.

Adapt your own product sheet and download the reviewed file

Ilisai lets you work in the browser with pasted text or a supplied CSV/XLSX, draft the French version and generate a downloadable XLSX. Choose an available model, review the content and request the final export; the AI document generator explains the supported output formats, and pricing covers the current usage options.

Start with a product you know and a short glossary. For choosing other tasks in your business, the generative AI guide explains how to assess the work and decide who should review it.