Google ups AI game in India with localised search, Gemini expansion, skilling, and more

AI Overviews provides consumers a quick AI-generated summary of a topic along with links to go deeper, at the top of the search results. In India, one can also listen to these summaries and toggle between English and Hindi summaries. The company also recently started featuring links to relevant web pages directly within the text of AI Overviews, making it easier for people to visit websites that interest them.

The feature was first announced at the company's annual developer conference Google I/O 2024 in May, after nearly a year of experimenting with a generative AI-powered search experience called Search Generative Experience (SGE) in a few markets, including India.

At the time, Google mentioned that "hundreds of millions" of users will have access to AI Overviews, and the tech giant expects to make it available to over a billion people by the end of the year. Apart from India, the feature is available in the US, UK, Mexico, Brazil, Indonesia and Japan.

This launch came as the tech giant seeks to reimagine its search product in the generative AI era and fend off fresh competition rivals such as Microsoft and OpenAI and upstarts such as Perplexity. Earlier this week, Microsoft's search engine Bing launched a feature called Bing Generative Search that provides similar AI-powered summaries to consumers. However, it is currently limited to users in the US.

Hema Budaraju, senior director of Product Management for Search at Google, told Moneycontrol in an interview that Indian users listen to AI Overviews responses more often than other countries.

People in India will also be able to use Google Lens, the company's visual search tool, to search by capturing a video and asking more complex questions about moving objects. This capability was first announced at Google I/O 2024 in May.

Budaraju cited an example of a pressure cooker whose whistle is not working correctly or a washing machine that is making unpleasant noises. One can now take a video to possibly figure out a solution. This capability will be soon available in English language through the Search Labs initiative, which houses the firm's early-stage experiments in Google Search.

Later this month, Google Maps will start showing summaries of places like restaurants in India. The company said the feature is powered by a Gemini model that has analysed billions of user reviews.

Google Maps also allows users to search for not just places, but also specific items and experiences like "themed birthday cakes" or "unique picnic spots". AI-powered image recognition analyses billions of images shared by the Google Maps community to deliver relevant, photo-first results and a map for visual exploration of consumers, it said.

Apart from this, Google Maps is introducing two new weather-related alerts in India, including low visibility areas due to fog and flooded roads. So, if people are driving through a foggy area or if a downpour has impacted their route, they can both see and report these alerts.

Enhanced fraud protection on Android

Google is also piloting an enhanced fraud protection feature with Google Play Protect, the company's built-in Android security tool. This feature will analyse and automatically block the installation of apps that may use sensitive permissions commonly abused for financial fraud when the user attempts to install the app from an Internet-sideloading source like web browsers, messaging apps or file managers.

The permissions, which include access to text messages, notifications, and accessibility features, are frequently used by fraudsters to intercept one-time passwords as well as remotely view on screen content of a device. The new feature will support all devices running on Android 6.0 or later.

Eugene Liderman, director of Mobile Security Strategy at Google, told Moneycontrol that 95 percent of installations of financial fraud malware campaigns that exploit sensitive permissions came from Internet-sideloading sources, based on their analysis of major fraud malware families.

During the pilot, when a person attempts to install an application downloaded from an internet-sideloading source, such as WhatsApp or Google Chrome, and the app requests one of the sensitive permissions, Play Protect will automatically block the installation while providing an explanation to the user.

India will be the fourth country where Google is piloting this feature after Singapore, Thailand and Brazil. In Singapore, the company claimed that this pilot blocked 900,000 high-risk app installations.

Gemini's open networks push

Google Cloud is also announcing an open-source Gemini Agent Framework that brings together the power of Gemini with Beckn-enabled open networks.

This framework will enable users to search and discover listings – from electronics to seeds, from jobs to educational courses – and make transactions seamless across key sectors like agriculture and skilling from a single interface. People will be able to access this information using their voice, on any network compliant app, in the language of their choice, the company said.

In addition, Google's latest large language model Gemini 1.5 Flash will be hosted entirely in India later this year, enabling organisations to securely deploy Cloud and AI solutions.

Google Cloud is also collaborating with the Nandan Nilekani-led EkStep Foundation to create DPI in a box – a plug-and-play model to enable other nations to build their digital infrastructure. The model will be based on Open network, identity, digital credentials, and other Digital Public Goods, the company said.

AI tools for merchants

Google is also introducing new AI-powered tools for merchants to engage more deeply with their customers. This includes new tools in Product Studio in Google Merchant Center that will help businesses showcase products more creatively to shoppers.

Restaurants will be able to convert their menu photos into formatted online menus. They can also showcase deals from their social media posts, alongside deals from popular aggregators like Zomato, Swiggy, EazyDiner, and MagicPin by linking their social accounts through their Google Business Profile.

Businesses can also now offer chat options through text messages or WhatsApp right from their Search listings, making it easier to connect directly with customers. Google said that India is one of the first markets where it has rolled out this facility with a select set of merchants, with plans to expand to all businesses in the coming months.

The internet giant also announced a new skilling initiative, AI Skills House, that is designed to empower 10 million Indians with AI literacy. Through this initiative, Google will offer its AI courses to a diverse audience, including students, job seekers, educators, developers, and civil officials on YouTube and Google Cloud Skills Boost platform. The courses are available in English, and will soon be extended to seven Indian languages, the company said.

Other key announcements include the ability for users to store their Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) ID cards on Google Wallet, in partnership with Eka Care, from next year. ABHA ID holders will be required to authenticate their device – with a fingerprint or a PIN or passcode - to add or access their health ID in Google Wallet, the company said.

Google Pay is partnering with Muthoot Finance to offer gold-backed secured loans to consumers, particularly in rural India. The payments app is also expanding its portfolio of credit providers with the addition of Aditya Birla Finance Limited.

Last year, Google had announced a range of credit-focused products for consumers and merchants, partnering with banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) such as Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, ePayLater, and DMI Finance among others.

Google is also launching a Google Safety Engineering Center (GSEC) in India in 2025, aimed at building and advancing security and online safety products and solutions that meet the needs of users in the world's second largest Internet market.