Google Expands AI Mode and Launches Search Live in India with Support for English, Hindi, and Seven Regional Languages

Google has officially rolled out its AI-driven conversational search capability, Search Live, in India in both Hindi and English. The launch represents a significant extension of Google's cutting-edge search experience to Indian users, enabling them to engage with search results through natural, real-time conversations.

Credit: Google

Originally introduced in the U.S. in July 2025, Search Live builds upon Google’s Project Astra technology and integrates seamlessly into the AI Mode within the Google app. The feature enables users to point their phone camera at real-world objects and ask questions in natural language with Google providing real-time, context-aware responses based on what the camera sees.

With this launch in India, the nation is now the second market worldwide to receive access to Search Live, reflecting the region's significance as one of Google's most rapidly expanding and most AI-active territories.

How Google Search Live Works

Users can launch Search Live by tapping the "Live" icon that appears below the search bar in the Google app, or by launching Google Lens and tapping the "Live" tab. When launched, the AI-driven tool performs multimodal interaction, integrating visual comprehension from the camera with conversational AI response.

For instance, one can focus the camera on a laptop and ask, "Is this suitable for video editing?" or on a landmark and say, "Tell me about its history." The system immediately interprets both the image and the question and responds with clear and pertinent answers.

Google announced that Search Live is driven by a custom variant of its Gemini model, optimized for real-time multimodal reasoning. But Google also provides a similar capability in the independent Gemini app under the banner of Gemini Live — a naming convergence that may cause some brief consumer confusion.

India's Growing Role in Google's AI Ecosystem

India users are heavy users of multimodal search, creating our largest voice and visual search user base across the globe," said Hema Budaraju, Google's Vice President of Product Management for Search.

India's enormous pool of early AI users has helped form Google's AI products, such as the Gemini Nano Banana model. With the introduction of Search Live here, Google hopes to train its AI algorithms with varied visual and linguistic inputs to improve the general intelligence and flexibility of its international AI models.

AI Mode Widens to Seven New Indian Languages

In addition to Search Live, Google is also bringing AI Mode to seven more Indian languages:

Bengali, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu.

This is one of a broader global rollouts taking AI Mode to more than 35 new languages and 40 new countries and territories, making the feature available in more than 200 regions around the world.

AI Mode initially launched in the U.S. in March 2025 and made it to Indian users in June, before its global rollout in August. The mode lets people pose complicated, multi-step questions using natural language all processed by the same sophisticated Gemini-driven reasoning engine that powers Search Live.

The "advanced reasoning and multimodal comprehension of our tailored Gemini model for Search enables AI Mode to capture the nuances of local languages, making the experience natural and useful across regions," says Budaraju.

Balancing AI Innovation and Web Ecosystem Concerns

As Google continues to increase its artificial intelligence-driven search experiences, the tech giant remains under intense criticism from publishers and website owners who claim AI-generated search summaries (AI Overviews) cut down organic traffic on their platforms. Google, however, insists that its AI tools are meant to enhance user experience without harming web traffic.

The technology giant claims that AI Mode and Search Live will be enhancing the conventional search, facilitating users to discover and interact with web content more effectively instead of avoiding it.

What's Next for Google Search in India

With Search Live and AI Mode now available in several Indian languages, Google is obviously banking on India's potential as a testing ground for sophisticated AI search capabilities. The synergy of visual context, real-time reasoning, and conversational intelligence could change the way tens of millions of Indians interact with information online.

As the launch continues over the next few weeks, Google will collect helpful insights from Indian users to help perfect Search Live worldwide, even more establishing India as a leader in Google's AI development.