Google Rolls Out AI Mode in India to Reinvent Search Amid Growing AI Competition

By siliconindia  |  Tuesday, 24 June 2025, 11:08 IST

Google Rolls Out AI Mode in India to Reinvent Search Amid Growing AI Competition
  • Google introduces AI-powered search experience with advanced reasoning and multimodal input.
  • Users can ask complex queries using text, voice, or images, powered by Gemini 2.5 and Google Lens.
  • Rollout comes as Google faces rising AI competition and antitrust scrutiny in the U.S.
Google has launched AI Mode, its next-generation AI-powered search experience, for Indian users, marking a significant step in its strategy to maintain global search dominance amid rising competition from rivals like Perplexity AI, OpenAI's ChatGPT, and others.
The India rollout follows the feature's initial launch in the United States, where it was first introduced as an experimental Labs feature in March. AI Mode is now available to Indian users via a dedicated tab on the Search results page, offering a more interactive, intelligent, and nuanced search experience.
According to Hema Budaraju, Vice President of Product Management for Search at Google, AI Mode empowers users to ask longer, more complex questions, which previously would have required multiple traditional searches. “It’s particularly helpful for exploratory questions and for more complicated tasks like comparing products, planning a trip, or understanding complex how-tos”, she said in a blog post.
Powered by a custom version of Gemini 2.5, AI Mode leverages Google's core AI models along with real-time information from the Knowledge Graph, product databases, and web content. It uses a technique called 'query fan-out', breaking down user queries into smaller subtopics, searching across various data sources simultaneously, and then delivering a comprehensive, easy-to-understand response.
AI Mode builds upon last year’s launch of AI Overviews, which offered summarized topic explanations with supporting links. However, the new feature introduces more advanced reasoning, deeper comprehension, and multimodal capabilities, allowing users to interact via text, voice, or images. It also integrates Google Lens, enabling visual search functionality users can now ask complex questions about what they see.
During Google I/O 2025, CEO Sundar Pichai highlighted that early adopters of AI Mode were submitting queries that were two to five times longer than typical search inputs. This reflects a growing shift in how users seek and consume information in the AI era.
AI Mode remains available in English and is currently offered as a limited Labs experiment in India. Google plans to expand the feature based on user feedback and evolving search behavior.
The launch comes as part of Google's broader ambition to reimagine its flagship Search product using AI, ensuring it remains the go-to platform for information retrieval. “AI Mode expands what AI Overviews can do with more advanced reasoning, thinking and multimodal capabilities”, Budaraju said.
The rollout also coincides with heightened regulatory pressure on Google in the U.S., where the Department of Justice is pursuing antitrust remedies following a federal court ruling that found the company had violated competition laws. Possible outcomes include the breakup of Google’s ad tech business, divestment of the Chrome browser, and changes to distribution agreements.
As the digital landscape rapidly evolves, Google's AI Mode signals a strong push to adapt to changing user expectations and stay ahead in the AI-driven future of search. 

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