The Challenge: Serving Our Spanish-Speaking Community
As a native Spanish speaker at Planning Center, I saw our growing Spanish-speaking customer base going unserved. We had zero Spanish support capacity, and adding bilingual agents would cost $60K+/year while taking months to implement.
The Problem:
- Growing Spanish customer inquiries with no support infrastructure
- Delays of 2-3 days for Spanish responses
- Customer frustration and potential churn
- Team feeling helpless when they couldn’t assist Spanish speakers
My Solution: Custom AI Translation System
Instead of waiting for budget approval for bilingual hires, I built a scalable AI system that preserved Planning Center’s brand voice and technical accuracy.
System Architecture
Spanish Translation GPT with Advanced Guardrails:
- Terminology Preservation: Keeps Planning Center product names in English with Spanish explanations
- Context Awareness: Recognizes UI elements, button names, and feature references
- Tone Guidelines: Maintains professional, supportive tone while avoiding overly formal language
- Pattern Recognition: Smart handling of technical instructions and navigation steps
Technical Implementation
Custom Prompt Engineering:
See the complete Planning Center Documentation Translation Guidelines prompt for detailed implementation specifications.
Workflow Integration:
- Agent receives Spanish inquiry in Front
- Uses GPT to translate response while preserving terminology
- Reviews for accuracy and sends to customer
- Knowledge base updated with common Spanish translations
Training & Team Adoption
Comprehensive Training Program:
- Live demonstrations with real customer conversations
- Step-by-step Notion documentation
- Hands-on practice sessions with feedback
- Ongoing support channel for questions
Documentation Created:
- Spanish Support Process Guide
- Spanish Translation GPT Tool
- Training videos and troubleshooting guides
Results & Impact
Immediate Business Impact:
- 100% team adoption - All support agents now use the system
- Same-day Spanish responses - Eliminated 2-3 day delays
- Zero additional hiring costs - Saved $60K+/year in personnel expenses
- Improved customer satisfaction - Spanish speakers receive timely, accurate support
Quality Improvements:
- Consistent terminology across all Spanish communications
- Maintained Planning Center’s helpful, approachable brand voice
- Reduced translation errors through AI guardrails
- Standardized responses for common Spanish inquiries
Team Benefits:
- Agents feel empowered to help all customers regardless of language
- Reduced stress and frustration from language barriers
- Improved confidence in handling diverse customer needs
- Streamlined workflow integration
Key Innovation: Smart Guardrails
The breakthrough wasn’t just using AI for translation - it was engineering terminology guardrails that preserve technical accuracy:
Before: Generic translation tools would translate “Calendar” to “Calendario” everywhere, confusing users about UI navigation.
After: Smart system recognizes context: “Click Calendar (Calendario) to access your events” - preserving both clarity and technical accuracy.
Lessons Learned
Technical Insights:
- AI implementation requires deep understanding of business context
- Guardrails and constraints often matter more than the base AI capability
- User feedback loops are essential for continuous improvement
Organizational Insights:
- Training and documentation are crucial for adoption
- Small, focused solutions can solve big business problems
- Cross-cultural communication requires empathy, not just translation
Why This Matters for Support Operations
This project demonstrates exactly what the Support Operations Specialist role requires:
- Problem identification from frontline experience
- System design thinking for scalable solutions
- AI implementation with business-specific guardrails
- Team training and documentation
- Measurable impact on customer experience and operational efficiency
The Spanish Support AI system shows how I approach challenges: understand the real problem, build the right tool, train the team, and measure success through customer impact.