Google has introduced its AI-powered conversational search feature, Search Live, to India, launching it in English and Hindi, extending its AI mode to seven new languages in India, strengthening its presence in one of the fastest growing markets.
First introduced in the US in July, Search Live is built on Google’s Project Astra technology and is available through the company’s AI mode. This feature allows users to point their phone cameras towards objects and receive real-time assistance, supporting round-trip conversations that leverage visual context from the camera feed.
With this launch, India will be the second market to introduce Search Live after the US. This is a natural move given the country’s vast early AI adopter base, which has helped Google grow its products such as Gemini’s Nano Banana model. Google will leverage early adoption in India to train the system in a wider range of visual contexts and enhance the functionality of Search Live over time.
“Indians are power users of multimodal search and form the largest user base in both voice and visual search across the world,” said Hema Budaraja, vice president of search product management at Google, in a new blog post.
Search Live is now rolling out to Indian users today and will be available to more users in the coming weeks. Once available, users can access it by tapping the “Live” icon under the Google app’s search bar, or by opening the lens and selecting “Live” from the bottom of the screen.
Earlier this year, Google revealed that Search Live is using a custom version of Gemini. The Gemini app includes a separate feature with a similar name called Gemini Live. It was introduced in May and will deliver a comparable experience. This overlap can easily confuse some users.
Google has also expanded its AI mode to seven Indian languages: Bengali, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu. This is part of a global expansion of AI modes, which will be available in over 35 new languages and 40 new countries and territories, providing access to AI-powered search experiences in over 200 countries and territories around the world.
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Google’s AI mode debuted in the US in March and rolled out to more US users in May, allowing users to ask complex, multi-part questions through an AI-powered interface. It was released in India in June and expanded worldwide in August. Last month, Google added five new languages to the feature, including Hindi, Indonesian and Japanese.
“A sophisticated inference and multimodal understanding of custom Gemini models for search allow AI modes to truly grasp the subtleties of the local language, ensuring that AI modes are truly useful and are relevant to every new language we introduce,” Budaraju said in a post.
Other AI features, including Google’s AI mode and AI overview, have faced criticism for reducing search traffic to online publishers. However, the company denied that AI-powered search tools have negatively affected website visits.
