If you’ve been using the Internet for long, you’ve probably used tools like Google Translate to convert webpages or snippets of text in languages ranging from Uzbek to Esperanto. But what if you want to translate into more esoteric “languages” like “LinkedIn speak,” “Gen Z slang,” or “Horny Margaret Thatcher”?
This week, many people on the Internet have been amazed to learn that AI-powered Kagi Translate can perform these and countless other unlikely “translation” tasks. And while collective discovery highlights the playful, creative side of large language models, it also highlights the risks of letting users play with generalized LLM tools.
What exactly is “language”?
While you may know Kagi best as a paid competitor to Google’s steadily deteriorating search product, the company launched its Kagi translation tool in 2024, saying at the time that it was a “definitely better” competitor to tools like Google Translate and DeepL. At launch, the company said that Kagi Translate “uses a combination of LLMs, selecting and optimizing the best output for each task,” a fact that “can sometimes lead to quirks that we are actively working to resolve.”
The first versions of the tool had simple dropdown menus to choose from 244 different languages for the source and target of translation. However, in February 2025, at least one unsuspecting Hacker News poster observed that you can play with the URL parameters to set the target language to “rude person with a Boston accent” without breaking anything.
A year ago an HN user looked at more entertaining uses of Kagi Translate, but with little praise.
A year ago an HN user looked at more entertaining uses of Kagi Translate, but with little praise.
Credit: Hacker News
In recent weeks, Kagi’s own social media accounts have highlighted the service’s ability to mimic “Reddit speak” or generate McKinsey consultant speech with a few clicks on a Kagi translation. However, on Tuesday morning, the reins on these unconventional use cases broke when a Hacker News user was pleased to report that “Kagi Translate now supports LinkedIn Speak as an output language.” Further down in that popular HN thread, other users noted that you can change the output language by typing it into the search bar of Kagi Translate’s web interface, and the tool’s built-in AI will do its best to accommodate you.
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