At the 10th edition of the Google for India event, the global search engine giant announced several updates tailored specifically for the Indian market, reaffirming its commitment to the world’s fastest-growing smartphone market. The announcements spanned across popular products such as Google Gemini AI, Google Lens, and Google Maps, with a strong focus on regional language support and AI advancements.
Google for India 2024: Top tech announcements
One of the key highlights was the announcement of Hindi support for Google Gemini Live, which is a more sophisticated version of its Gemini AI chatbot you can talk to and have a free flowing conversation with, like you would with another person. Now live in both English and Hindi, Gemini Live will soon expand to include eight additional Indian languages, including Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil, and Urdu.
The Indian localisation announcement comes soon after Gemini Live was made “live” for all Android smartphones. Previously, Gemini Live was only available to Pixel 9, 9 Pro, 9 Pro XL, and 9 Pro Fold users. This marks a significant step in making “conversational” AI more accessible to a wider range users, both globally and in India.
Moving on, Google also revealed that Indian users listen to AI Overview responses more frequently than users in other countries at the event. These AI Overviews, which provide concise summaries at the top of search results, are already available in English and Hindi. In the coming weeks, languages such as Telugu, Tamil, Bengali, and Marathi will also be supported, making it easier for users to get quick answers in their native tongue.
Google for India 2024: Other updates
Google Maps will soon introduce two new weather-related alerts: one for low visibility during fog and another for flooded roads. These alerts aim to improve road safety by allowing users to both see and report harsh conditions—like fog or flooding—in real-time, ensuring safety of travellers.
Elsewhere, Google Lens will now allow users to search with videos and ask more complex questions about things in motion. The feature, soon to be available for Search Labs users enrolled in the “AI Overviews and more” experiment, is currently limited to mobile English queries.
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