Key Highlights:
- India becomes the first country outside the US to receive Search Live, available in English and Hindi with voice and camera integration.
- AI Mode now supports Bengali, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu, powered by a custom Gemini model that understands local language nuances.
- Users can ask questions nearly three times longer than traditional searches, diving deeper into complex topics with AI Mode’s conversational interface.
- Search Live enables multimodal interaction, so you can show your camera what you see and get instant, conversational help for troubleshooting, DIY projects, and learning.
Google is making a big change in the way Indians search for information with the new Search Live, an AI-based conversational search experience that is fundamentally different from the usual keyword searches. While the traditional Google Search asks the user to type in particular queries and go through the various web pages for information, Search Live allows for natural and flowing conversations through the use of voice and camera, turning search from a mere lookup to an interactive dialogue.
Traditional search follows the query-response model: you enter some keywords, Google gives you a list of links, and you have to look till you find the answer. Search Live, which is included in Google’s AI Mode, reverses this traditional search. Users will be able to speak in a very natural way, ask any further questions without repeating the context, and also show Google what they are looking at, through their camera, for immediate visual help.
Comparing Capabilities: Advantages and Limitations
The transition from conventional search methods to an AI-powered search comes with both transformative advantages and new issues to consider. Search Live is the best tool for creating a natural conversation and understanding the context, as it lets users ask questions that are almost three times longer than what traditional searches can handle. The combination of different modes, like voice, text, and camera, provides assistance in real-time for visual problems, like pointing at a broken appliance for troubleshooting suggestions.
On the other hand, the approach features some disadvantages. Traditional search, while being less efficient, allows users to verify the information by checking several sources and offers the straightforwardness of source citations. AI Mode, on the other hand, mixes the information in a dialogue-like manner, giving the user less control over source selection.
Additionally, initial rollouts of AI Mode experienced some glitches, though Google has been quick to improve the situation on the whole. The real-time factor, however, also means that there is a greater dependence on internet connectivity when compared to traditional search results, which can be partially cached.
India Leads Global Rollout After US Launch
By choosing India as the first international market for Search Live, Google has virtually made the country its ecosystem’s most reliable partner. Indians are heavy users of multimodal search, and they are also the largest voice and visual search users worldwide for Google. This sort of usage pattern made India a natural choice for the worldwide expansion of Search Live from its US launch.
Search Live has officially launched in English in the U.S. — no more Labs opt-in required. Try it out today in the Google app for Android and iOS. https://t.co/FWhZolDDF7
— News from Google (@NewsFromGoogle) September 24, 2025
The rollout occurs in two major waves. First, Search Live is released in English and Hindi, recognizing the linguistic diversity of India while starting with the most widely spoken languages in the country. It is accessible to users through the Google app, where they need to touch the new ‘Live’ symbol below the search bar or by opening Lens and selecting ‘Live’ at the bottom of the screen.
Secondly, AI Mode expands to seven more Indian languages: Bengali, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu. The advanced reasoning of Google’s tailored Gemini model for Search enables it to get local language nuances, making the experience seem genuinely beneficial instead of being mechanically translated.
The phased rollout starts now, with AI Mode in new languages available in a week’s time, whereas Search Live will reach more users in the next few weeks. This cautious tactic allows Google to adapt the experience to the actual usage patterns of India’s varied user base, thus making Google not only a search engine but also a conversational assistant that is always ready to help.
