# Google DeepMind Launches SL2T: Sign Language AI Now In Gboard and Live Transcribe

> Google DeepMind has quietly shipped one of the more useful accessibility features in years. Its new SL2T model translates sign language directly into written text, and it is now built into Gboard and Live Transcribe on the Pixel 11, starting with American Sign Language to English at no extra cost. Rather than reading only the hands, the system uses whole-body pose tracking to capture the facial expressions and movement that carry real meaning in signed languages. The numbers behind it are striking. DeepMind trained SL2T on more than 100,000 hours of footage spanning over 50 sign languages, and it reports a 70 BLEURT score, a large jump over earlier translation attempts. Just as notable is how it was built, with input from Deaf communities through an AI Sign Language Advisory Committee rather than around them. Why it matters: sign language has long been left out of the speech-to-text boom, and putting a working translator inside everyday keyboard and transcription apps is a rare case of AI closing a genuine access gap. DeepMind says support for more languages is on the way.

_Section: [Daily AI Updates](https://www.wortins.com/daily-ai) · Source: Google DeepMind Blog · Published Saturday, August 22, 2026_

## Wortins' read

Google DeepMind has quietly shipped one of the more useful accessibility features in years. Its new SL2T model translates sign language directly into written text, and it is now built into Gboard and Live Transcribe on the Pixel 11, starting with American Sign Language to English at no extra cost. Rather than reading only the hands, the system uses whole-body pose tracking to capture the facial expressions and movement that carry real meaning in signed languages. The numbers behind it are striking. DeepMind trained SL2T on more than 100,000 hours of footage spanning over 50 sign languages, and it reports a 70 BLEURT score, a large jump over earlier translation attempts. Just as notable is how it was built, with input from Deaf communities through an AI Sign Language Advisory Committee rather than around them. Why it matters: sign language has long been left out of the speech-to-text boom, and putting a working translator inside everyday keyboard and transcription apps is a rare case of AI closing a genuine access gap. DeepMind says support for more languages is on the way.

## Source

[Read the full story at Google DeepMind Blog](https://deepmind.google/blog/putting-sign-language-ai-into-users-hands/)

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