Google brings AI Mode to India: ‘Ask anything, any way you want,' says Hema Budaraju

Indian Express

16 hours ago

'Talk to AI mode like you would talk to a friend and express the nuance that you want,' said Hema Budaraju, Google's VP of product management for Search. Google has officially rolled out AI Mode in India, marking a major milestone in search technology. First launched in the US on June 25, the feature lets users ask free-form, even complex, questions in natural language.
In an exclusive conversation with Indianexpress.com, Budaraju explains why India is the first market outside the US to get AI Mode and what it means for the future of search. Budaraju has described AI Mode as Google's 'most powerful AI search'. The feature is now live for Indian users with no sign-up required. Budaraju offered insights on what this new experience means for the future of search and what users can expect from it.
The conversation began with Budaraju offering an insightful overview of the AI Mode in Search and how it works. When asked about the search giant's decision to make India its first international market for the technology, she attributed it to the unique relationship between Indian users and the penchant for technology adoption. 'We are always excited about bringing technology to India,' Budaraju explained.
'I think the acceptance of technology, the embracing of technology, especially AI overviews, lens, multimodal maps – this is bar none when it comes to the Indian diaspora and how Indian users actually help us learn and advance these technologies forward. So for us, this is a privilege to bring AI Mode to India as the first market out of the US,' said Budaraju.
The choice wasn't random, explained the executive, as Google's data reveals that Indian users have shown exceptional proficiency with multimodal search capabilities. India leads globally in Google Lens usage, with more monthly users than any other nation. This multimodal expertise made India an ideal testing ground for AI Mode's advanced capabilities.
When asked about the response from Indian users, Budaraju shared that during the Labs phase, it has been overwhelmingly positive. 'People are appreciating the speed and the quality of the response and the freshness of the content that's coming back,' Budaraju shared.
She pointed out that Indian users have showcased a particular appetite for complex queries. 'We're learning that people are asking really much longer questions. Open-ended topics would be an interesting one – how do you think about asking deeper, complicated subjects, getting detailed instructions, comparing different pros and cons of various products, asking it for educational needs and so on,' she said.
The new AI Mode is signalling a fundamental shift in how users interact with search engines. It is built on a custom version of Gemini 2.5 and effectively addresses the persistent challenge while looking for information. 'There are still questions and tasks that feel too hard,' Budaraju said, highlighting Google's vision for making search truly effortless.
It allows users to ask significantly longer and more complex questions than traditional search. 'You're finding that people use AI Mode where the length is two to three times the length of traditional searches,' Budaraju shared, indicating a dramatic shift in user behaviour.
During the chat, Budaraju revealed that what sets AI Mode apart is its sophisticated 'fan-out' technique. As Budaraju explained, 'AI Mode uses fan-out techniques. This means it can break down your question into subtopics and issue a multitude of queries simultaneously on your behalf. This enables search to retrieve, go deeper into the web and bring back and discover content that is hyper-relevant and has deep diversity to help others.'
This capability essentially transforms search from a simple information search tool into an intelligent assistant that is capable of reasoning and synthesis. The technology can dabble with complex, multi-layered and long questions with nuance. Earlier, such queries might have required multiple searches and hours of research.
Considering the complexity of AI-generated responses, accuracy and safety remain paramount. Google, which offers an assortment of AI products, has been spearheading responsible AI. When asked how Google ensures AI Mode is safe and reliable, Budaraju emphasised, 'With any update, with any feature that we bring to search, our top priority is holding the bar for quality. AI Mode is rooted in our core search quality and safety systems, which we've been refining for more than 20 years.'
The Google executive revealed that the system incorporates extensive testing protocols, including 'rigorous internal testing as well as what we call adversarial red teaming', ensuring that the AI can handle challenging scenarios while maintaining safety standards.
Technology like AI Mode could likely impact publishers and content creators who rely on Google's search ecosystem. Addressing concerns about AI Mode's impact on publishers and content creators, Budaraju was clear about Google's commitment to the broader web ecosystem. 'At Google, our core mission remains connecting people with information across the web and the diversity of human perspectives,' she stated.
The fan-out technique actually enables deeper web exploration than traditional search. 'With the query fan-out technique, the fact that you can enable search to dive deeper into the web than traditional search, enabling surfacing content vastly more than that which was possible before – all of this will lead to, first of all, people bringing newer questions.'
With AI Mode coming to India, users are not just bracing for a feature update but will be seeing a glimpse of the future of human-computer interaction, where simply using natural language will bring information from around the world right to their fingertips.
'Ask anything, any way you want, effortlessly, and find what you're seeking,' Budaraju concluded, showing what AI Mode aims to achieve.
Bijin Jose, an Assistant Editor at Indian Express Online in New Delhi, is a technology journalist with a portfolio spanning various prestigious publications. Starting as a citizen journalist with The Times of India in 2013, he transitioned through roles at India Today Digital and The Economic Times, before finding his niche at The Indian Express. With a BA in English from Maharaja Sayajirao University, Vadodara, and an MA in English Literature, Bijin's expertise extends from crime reporting to cultural features. With a keen interest in closely covering developments in artificial intelligence, Bijin provides nuanced perspectives on its implications for society and beyond. ... Read More