Yelp announced the launch of automated review translation in its iPhone app. They offer reviews in fifteen languages in 27 countries. As the company continues to expand internationally, this will only become more important.

The app makes use of Bing Translator (you didn’t think they were going to go with Google, did you?), and lets you tap to translate a single review or all reviews.

“Although machine-translation is not perfect, it’s a fantastic resource for understanding the overall meaning and context of a review that would otherwise be unavailable to a Yelper who does not speak that language,” says Yelp international product manager Stepanie T. “Use this feature to get a general idea of a reviewer’s experience, but understand that some details may be lost in translation.”

“Yelp has always given both locals and travelers alike the ability to find the best hidden gems through the knowledge of the Yelp global community, and mobile review translation makes that even easier,’ she adds. “This tool also gives local businesses that are a bit off the beaten path a better chance to be discovered by travelers. Sounds like a win-win situation to us!”

Yelp supports English, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, German, Spanish, Italian, Norwegian, French, Polish, Portuguese, Swedish, Turkish, and Japanese.The translation feature will come to its Android app soon.

Image via Yelp