The tcworld conference 2026 took place in Stuttgart, Germany, from November 10 to 12. The conference ran alongside the tekom fair at the International Congress Center. Together, they form the largest technical communication event in the world. This year’s program covered AI and automation, terminology, regulation, and UX. Additionally, Prof. Dr. Thomas Knothe of Fraunhofer IPK delivered a keynote on the EU Digital Product Passport.
Vistatec’s Aneta Sapeta, Senior AI/MT Engineer, joined the program as a speaker on November 10. She presented alongside Julia Faltenbacher, Localization Lead at SUSE. Their session explored what breaks, what works, and why humans are still essential when moving to AI translation. In particular, they shared how SUSE and Vistatec connected Phrase AI with GitHub to localize SUSE’s user documentation.
Terminology Makes or Breaks AI Translation
Aneta and Julia opened with a lesson every software company will recognize. SUSE product names such as Rancher, Longhorn, and Cattle look like ordinary nouns to a machine. Without firm controls, AI engines translate them literally and erode brand consistency.
As a result, the speakers made a strong case for governed terminology as the foundation of any AI workflow. Julia leads SUSE’s global terminology database, which gave the AI pipeline a reliable reference point. Investing in Global Terminology Management before automating gives AI engines the context they need from day one.
Hybrid Workflows Demand Strong Engineering
Moving files between Git repositories and a translation platform was only part of the challenge. SUSE also runs community-driven translations in Weblate alongside professional AI pipelines in Phrase. Keeping both ecosystems synchronized required careful planning and ongoing attention.
Consequently, the session showed that integration work drives much of the real value in AI translation. Vistatec’s Automation and Systems Integration team brings this kind of engineering to multilingual content operations at scale. Meanwhile, community contributors stay focused on language rather than file logistics.
Humans Remain Essential in Production
The speakers also explained why a hands-off approach failed without ongoing human review. Even a well-configured AI engine produced issues in context that automated checks could miss. Therefore, expert reviewers remained a core part of the production workflow.
This message echoed across the wider program. Several sessions examined human accountability in AI writing and the hidden costs of self-built AI translation tools. Similarly, Vistatec’s Human-Centered Language AI approach pairs machine efficiency with expert judgment at every stage.
Documentation Now Serves AI Readers Too
Technical writers have always written for people. Today, retrieval pipelines and autonomous agents also consume documentation. Several sessions explored how structured content, metadata, and reuse make information findable for both audiences.
Furthermore, speakers discussed agentic AI that drafts documentation from code repositories under writer oversight. This shift places new weight on clean, well-governed source data. Vistatec’s AI Data services enable organizations to prepare and annotate the multilingual data these systems depend on.
Regulation Raises the Stakes for Product Information
Regulation formed another major thread throughout the three days. In his keynote, Prof. Knothe drew on lessons from the Digital Battery Passport pilot. Other sessions covered the Cyber Resilience Act and the EU Machinery Regulation.
For global manufacturers, these rules turn product information into a compliance asset. As a result, every language version must stay accurate, consistent, and traceable. Quality Evaluations of AI give teams confidence that AI output meets those standards before it reaches customers.
If your team is planning a move to AI translation, speak with one of our experts. To see how Vistatec has guided technology companies through similar transitions, explore our case studies.