(Your explanation of how to access and utilize Google’s new AI search)
India has been a traditional testing ground for Google, with its vast internet population and multilingualism running wild. In the form of Search Labs, Google is launching its new AI Mode to India as an experiment, beginning in English today. This is an important step away from traditional search into a more conversational, multimedia, and contextual search experience.
What Is AI Mode?
AI Mode is Google’s most advanced search capability yet, powered by a customized GEMINI 2.5–a powerful large language model. It allows users to ask longer, nuanced queries that encompass complicated context–far beyond keyword searches. Using what Google calls “query fan‐out,” AI Mode splits a single question into multiple queries at once, and then combines this data to give cohesive responses with practical steps and links to the web .
For instance, Rather than typing kids indoor activities hot weather India your query could be:
“My kids are 4 and 7 years old, and have a lot of energy. Please suggest creative ways for them to be active indoors on hot days without any expensive toys.”
AI Mode digested this into a thoughtful answer and could follow up with related questions like “Which of these can they do independently?
The Importance of Google’s Ai Mode in India
Google has highlighted India as the best context for launching AI Mode. India is mobile-first, voice-first, and Lens first— India is the number one country globally in the use of Google Lens. In India, multimodal search—text, speech, image—is becoming commonplace, and thus Google has designed AI Mode to launch here first. Voice search: Click the mic icon to ask long-form and detailed questions while learning on the go. Image queries: Take a picture of a plant, product, or object, and AI Mode will identify it and share relevant recommendations—such as care instructions for the plant or the pros & cons for the product.
These are not for discovery—for curiosity; they illustrate how India behaves and the power of its motivation for intuitive, multimodal use!
3. AI Mode vs AI Overviews
Google’s earlier AI Overviews already summarize search results—but AI Mode takes things much further.
| Feature | AI Overviews | AI Mode |
|---|---|---|
| Depth of Response | Summary-style | Multi-step reasoning, detailed |
| Input Types | Text | Text, voice, image (multimodal) |
| Follow-Up Support | Limited | Seamless conversational follow-ups |
| Model Used | Gemini 1.5 / 2.0 | Customized Gemini 2.5 |
| Source Integration | Summarized web links | Synthesized text + real-time sources (Knowledge Graph, product/shopping data) |
AI Mode in India will be a game changer, as users desire richer responses and conversational search.
How to Try Google’s Ai Mode:
If you’re excited and want to try AI Mode in India, here’s how to set it up:
- Go to labs.google.com on mobile or desktop.
- Join the AI Mode experiment.
- In Google Search, tap the “AI Mode” tab above results to use.
For now, it is only English and opt-in only. Google is in the beta stage of usage for feedback and is refining performance before going wider .
Early Feedback & Benefits
Despite being in the early stages, AI Mode is already impressing users:
- The lengths of queries are up approximately 2-3× over regular search; users engage with more complex, niche queries
- Users are reporting that AI Mode is faster, more dynamic, and thus more natural than regular search.
For Indian users, this translates to richer and more individualized experiences, from travel planning and cooking suggestions to cultural queries or education tasks.
An Edit on Transparency and Accuracy
Google states a dedication to factuality and transparency. AI Mode is layered on top of its essential ranking systems, and only produces AI-sourced answers when it has a high level of confidence. When it has a lower level of confidence, it defaults to a curated list of traditional search results.
Even so, it is not perfect. Google acknowledges it is an experimental feature and that it welcomes ongoing, user-generated feedback to improve its responses.
Implications for Users
AI Mode offers everyday searchers in India:
- Conversational ease—you’ll feel like you’re chatting with the AI (with follow-ups and context).
- Multimodal versatility—you can use voice or images.
- Time savings—you can avoid jumping back and forth between results and get the answers integrated by AI.
For creators, marketers, and publishers, AI Mode potentially changes everything:
- Long tail, conversational SEO could become more important.
- Pages that present content optimized for more elaborated questions could rank higher than simple keyword pages.
- Multimodal content (like images, transcripts and FAQs) could rank higher.
- Being cited in an AI response could become just as valuable as a high ranking snippet.
The Road Ahead
Currently, while the AI Mode is pilot testing with English users in beta, Google has plans for the following:
- Local language support: With this massive amount of languages, India would be the perfect country to add local language support. While Google’s Gemini models can already do some AI search in multiple Indic languages, direct use of AI Mode in local languages is still Ahead
- Mining voice and visual intent tests: With India’s high usage of voice search and Lens, it makes perfect sense that India is a target market for the refinement of how audio and visual queries are handled.
- Iterating on what works in the Labs ecosystem: As Google collects more and more feedback, it’ll be easier for them to iterate on model performance, user interface, and trust.
In the longer term, India potentially shaping Google’s global search practices is huge—moving search away from “click-and-type” search and keeping the human engaged with an interactive AI agent instead.
The Last Word
India’s introduction of AI Mode marks a pivotal moment: search is no longer just a list of links—it is a conversation, guidance, and engagement. With the perfect storm of voice-first behavior, multimodal readiness, and AI appetite, India is in a position to influence the direction of Google Search.
Whether you’re a student, a parent, travelling, or a creator, this is your time. Engage with Search Labs, experiment with AI Mode, explore its quirks, and contribute to its development—and you may help reshape how the world finds information.
