CAT, also known as Computer Aided Translation, are all kinds of tools that are created to make the work of a translator even more efficient and effective. Translation memory systems deserve special attention here, as they contribute to the fact that CAT programs accelerate the translation process by standardizing it. Solutions of this kind turn out to be impossible to overestimate, among other things, when we deal with technical translations, because they often repeat not only the same words and names, but also the same sentences.

CAT software draws attention to itself primarily because it speeds up the work of the translator and makes it easier. It allows for faster and better translations, which in turn increases the competitiveness of translations. CAT also enables the creation of translation and terminology databases, which contribute to the quality of translation. They also make the drafting of texts easier and more coherent, both stylistically and in terms of the terms used. At the same time, they enable the translation of documents in all common formats. They are important, among other things, because customers increasingly use their own terminology databases and expect them to be used.

CAT makes meeting such expectations no longer a complicated task. When we talk about the use of CAT programmes, we must also pay attention to their use in electronic texts, for which there is a high or moderate degree of repetition, such as birth certificate copies, car registration documents, instructions of the same type, commercial agreements and licences. Nor should they be underestimated in the case of translations with a high degree of thematic diversity and made for different clients, as this often involves taking into account different preferences relating to either stylistics or terminology. There is no denying that if the translation does not concern a literary text, one should expect that some parts of it will be repeated. Often these are not only individual names, but also phrases and whole sentences. It sometimes turns out that even if opinions differ, these differences are related to a maximum of one or two phrases. In such situations, the use of previously translated materials seems natural, but it is also acceptable to copy and paste them. In such moments, one cannot underestimate CAT programs that suggest an earlier translation, if only they discover that we are dealing with a fragment that resembles a previously translated one.

The most popular division says that there are two categories of CAT programs. So if we mean their functionality, we should talk about programs that work with MS Word as its overlays and about those that have their own text editor. The advantage of the first group is that it allows the translator to work in an environment that he or she knows well, but the second group of programs is often referred to as both more flexible and more convenient, which allows the translator to use a wide range of file formats. CAT programs are not complicated, but they can be used mainly when we are dealing with knowledge of both the possibilities and functions of such a solution. Files are usually divided into segments, but such a division is not arbitrary, so the size of the segments can be adjusted to our needs.