Deaf and hard-of-hearing people now have a faster way to text, search, and stay in touch — no keyboard required. Google’s new sign language AI, called SL2T, turns American Sign Language straight into text on Pixel 11 phones. Users sign in front of the camera, and their words appear as typed text.
That might sound like a small convenience. For someone who signs faster than they type, though, it changes how much of the day feels effortless.
How the New Sign Language AI Works
SL2T works through two apps: Gboard and Live Transcribe. A signer opens a text box, faces the camera, and signs a sentence. The phone reads hand shape, movement, and facial expression, then converts it into written English within seconds.
The system never uploads video. An on-device model tracks the geometric position of the signer’s hands, arms, and face. It sends only those coordinates to the cloud for translation. The system discards the original video right away, so no one has to hand over footage of their own face just to send a text.
Left-handed and one-handed signers get support too. The model accounts for both signing styles — useful for anyone holding a phone in one hand while signing with the other.
Who Benefits Most
Parents who sign with their Deaf kids can text teachers and doctors without switching to a keyboard mid-conversation. Deaf professionals can draft emails and search the web by signing instead of typing on a touchscreen. On video calls, a Deaf participant can sign their answer, and Live Transcribe captions it instantly for hearing coworkers.
Small moments add up. Refilling a prescription, replying to a group chat, or looking something up before a doctor’s appointment — all of it now moves at signing speed, not typing speed.
A Tool Built With the Deaf Community
Google didn’t build this alone. A Deaf Google engineer named Sam Sepah started the project. Google then formed an advisory committee of Deaf organizations and experts to guide the design and rollout.
The team trained the model on more than 100,000 hours of sign language data and tested it with Deaf users before release. That community-first approach echoes a bigger shift happening across assistive technology. AI-powered hearing aids are already letting people skip costly audiologist visits, and now sign language AI is closing a different communication gap.
Google DeepMind first announced SL2T on its blog. Forbes reported this week on how much the Deaf community shaped it from the start.
SL2T only handles ASL for now, though Google trained it on data from more than 50 sign languages and plans to expand support. It’s live today on the Pixel 11 — one phone update that could make a Deaf person’s Tuesday afternoon noticeably easier.
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