Yes, as a drafter that a bilingual reviewer signs off. AI can draft letters to authorities, clients and consultants in Arabic and English from your templates, project records and earlier correspondence, keep technical terms consistent across both versions, and log every version. A named person who reads both languages checks the meaning, especially where the Arabic text prevails, and signs.
#Key takeaways
- Most formal construction correspondence follows patterns: permit applications, responses to authority comments, notices, transmittals and replies to the client.
- AI drafts both language versions from your templates and a shared glossary of project terms, so the two stay aligned.
- Where the Arabic version is the binding one, the reviewer reads the Arabic first, not the English.
- Machine translation of a finished English letter is the weakest approach; drafting both from the same facts works better.
- A bilingual coordinator with good templates may be all a small firm needs.
#What does bilingual correspondence look like on a project?
A project team writes to the municipality about a permit, to civil defence about fire comments, to the utility about a connection, to the client's engineer about a delay, and to subcontractors about everything else. Some of it must be in Arabic, some in English, and much in both. The engineers who know the facts often write English; the one bilingual coordinator becomes the bottleneck.
The weight on Arabic is growing. Saudipedia, checked november 2026 records that Saudi Arabia's national policy for the Arabic language was approved in february 2026, with Arabic as the official language and another language usable alongside it where needed. CMS, checked november 2026 suggests businesses review their Arabic use across contracts, customer materials and dealings with government.
#What can AI do with formal Arabic and English letters?
- draft from facts, not from a translation. the engineer supplies the facts and references; AI drafts both versions from your template.
- keep a project glossary. element names, authority names and contract terms rendered the same way in every letter.
- respond to comments. read an authority's comment sheet in Arabic and draft a point-by-point reply for the engineer to complete.
- summarise incoming letters in the reader's preferred language, with the original attached.
- log versions. every draft, edit and signed letter stored with who approved it.
This builds on the same Arabic testing approach described in can AI understand Gulf Arabic customer messages?, adapted to formal written Arabic rather than dialect.
#What must a person always check?
- That both versions say the same thing, with special care for obligations, dates and conditions.
- The right form of address and register for the authority or client.
- References to drawings, permits and contract clauses.
- Anything that could be read as an admission, a commitment or a waiver.
The signatory is accountable for the letter, whatever drafted it. AI never sends formal correspondence.
#When is a bilingual coordinator and a template library enough?
If you send a modest number of letters to a small set of authorities, a strong bilingual coordinator with a good template library and a term list in Excel will do the job well. A company plan for ChatGPT, Claude or Copilot can help them draft faster, provided project documents are allowed in that tool.
A workflow makes sense when several projects run at once, letters pile up behind one or two people, terms drift between versions, and you need a clear record of who approved what.
#Where does Stennir fit?
Stennir works in Arabic and English as standard. The AI consulting audit maps your correspondence alongside other document workflows and ranks five, each with a cost and a payback case. AI implementation builds the drafting workflow on your templates and document control system, with your bilingual reviewer approving each letter. You pay for finished work. AI training teaches engineers to brief the drafter and reviewers to check it.
We are
Stennir builds a bilingual drafting workflow on your templates and records, with a named reviewer approving every letter in both languages.
We aren't
Stennir is not a certified translation service, and AI never signs or sends formal correspondence.
#What should a project director do next?
Collect a sample of recent letters in both languages, mark where the versions drifted or a reply was delayed, and list the authorities you write to most. See AI for operations, take the free readiness assessment or book a 30-minute call.
#Common questions
What do you need from us?
Your letter templates in both languages, a sample of signed correspondence, any term lists you already keep, access to the project records letters refer to, and the bilingual reviewer who would approve drafts. Stennir builds the glossary with that reviewer and agrees which letters always need senior sign-off.
Is the Arabic good enough for formal letters to authorities?
Stennir tests the drafts on your own past letters with your bilingual reviewer before anything is used, checking register, terms and accuracy. Formal written Arabic is fully supported. Where a document needs a certified translation, that still goes to a certified translator; the workflow does not replace one.
Where does our correspondence stay?
In the region your rules and client contracts require. Stennir hosts the workflow and runs the AI where your data protection obligations point, every draft and approval is logged, and you own the accounts, the data and the off switch.
What could go wrong?
An Arabic and English version that differ on an obligation, a wrong authority reference, or a tone that reads as a commitment you did not intend. That is why a bilingual reviewer reads both versions, terms come from an approved glossary, and nothing is sent without a named signatory.
