Google Rolls Out AI Mode in India: Smarter Search with Gemini 2.5
Google has officially introduced AI Mode in India, offering a more intelligent and interactive search experience for users. This new capability is available through Search Labs and leverages Google's advanced Gemini 2.5 AI model. Designed to handle complex, layered questions, AI Mode delivers context-rich answers that go beyond simple keyword-based results.
With the rollout, Indian users can now ask detailed, nuanced queries—including follow-ups—and receive AI-generated summaries and recommendations directly within Google Search. Whether you're looking for advice on indoor play for kids or identifying a mystery plant, AI Mode aims to offer deeper insight in real time.
What Makes Google AI Mode Stand Out?
1. Advanced Query Handling
AI Mode breaks down complex questions using a technique called query fan-out. This involves dissecting a query into smaller, manageable sub-questions, running them in parallel, and synthesizing the results. For instance, if a user asks:
'My kids are 4 and 7 and have lots of energy. Suggest creative ways to get them active and moving indoors, especially on hot days, without needing a lot of space or expensive toys.'Google's AI Mode will pull data from diverse sources to deliver a helpful and comprehensive list of ideas.
2. Support for Follow-Up Queries
Unlike traditional static results, this mode supports a conversational flow. After an initial answer, users can pose a follow-up like:
'Which of these activities can they do alone?'The AI responds based on context from the earlier question, refining results to suit the user's intent.
3. Multimodal Input
AI Mode isn't limited to just typing. Users can speak their query or even upload images via Google Lens. For example, uploading a picture of a plant and asking for care tips will yield not only identification but tailored guidance on how to care for it.
4. Integrated Web Intelligence
AI Mode taps into Google's Knowledge Graph, real-time data, and product databases, blending AI capabilities with its vast search infrastructure. This ensures results are grounded in live, accurate information—something standalone chatbots may not always offer.
5. Smart Fail-Safe: Reverts to Standard Search
When AI Mode isn't confident about a response, it smartly falls back on traditional search results, ensuring users still receive reliable and useful information even in uncertain scenarios.
How to Access AI Mode in India
To start using AI Mode, follow these steps:
Open the Google app on your Android or iOS device. Tap the Search Labs icon (a beaker) located at the top. Enroll in the experiment by enabling AI Mode. Start searching—using voice, text, or images—and enjoy AI-powered responses.
Note: As of now, AI Mode is available only in English.
By combining natural language understanding, multimodal capabilities, and contextual depth, Google AI Mode is poised to redefine how Indian users interact with Search—making it smarter, faster, and more intuitive.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hans India
28 minutes ago
- Hans India
Dreamliner crash exposes India's aviation weak links
India's aviation ambitions are also being undermined by inadequate Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) infrastructure — especially for wide-body aircraft. The Black Box—comprising the Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) — of Air India Flight 171 was recovered on June 13, a day after the crash. The device has suffered extensive damage, and the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) lab at Udaan Bhawan, Delhi, will work on retrieving the information. The lab, billed as a ₹9-crore 'state-of-the-art' facility, was inaugurated just two months ago. If it fails to retrieve the data, the Black Box may be sent to the United States for decoding. While major players like Air India Engineering Services Limited (AIESL), GMR Aero Technic, and Tata Advanced Systems have a strong presence in the MRO space, most of their expertise is centered on narrow-body aircraft like the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737. There is a serious shortage of facilities equipped to handle wide-body aircraft and the latest generation of engines. In addition, many existing MROs need major upgrades to meet international standards. Industry insiders also point to a lack of skilled engineers and high import duties on essential spare parts. Indian carriers continue to rely heavily on foreign facilities for major repairs — delaying turnarounds and raising costs. Airframe & Wing Parts: Firms like Aequs, Dynamatic Technologies, Gardner, and Mahindra Aerospace supply parts for the Airbus A320neo, A330neo, and A350 programs. Cargo doors: Tata Advanced Systems manufactures cargo and bulk cargo doors for the A320neo. Rear Fuselage: Dynamatic Technologies has tied up with Deutsche Aircraft to produce the rear fuselage for the D328eco regional turboprop. Helicopter Fuselages: Tata (in partnership with Boeing) is making fuselages for Apache helicopters, while Mahindra Aerostructures is building those for Airbus' H130. Composite Parts: Boeing sources high-end composite parts from its Bengaluru facility to support its global supply chain. India's aircraft components market touched $16.22 billion in 2024 and is projected to nearly double by 2033, propelled by localisation drives, policy support, and growing global partnerships. Over $2 billion worth of components are exported annually to global giants like Airbus and Boeing—thanks to Indian MSMEs and aerospace start-ups. The Dreamliner crash has jolted India's aviation sector out of its comfort zone. As the country aims for the skies, it must further strengthen the ground it takes off from. India Moves Towards Defence Self-Reliance, Cuts Imports, Boosts Exports Traditionally heavily reliant on foreign suppliers for defence equipment, India has significantly reduced its dependence on defence imports over the last 14 years, marking a major shift in its defence strategy and policy.
Hans India
31 minutes ago
- Hans India
How AI-powered data center revolution will transform India's economy
Withover 1.4 billion people, India has a massive user base for internet services, social media, e-commerce and digital payments. This surge in data has necessitated India's rapid emergence as a global hub for data centers and Artificial Intelligence (AI), with unprecedented investments flowing from both government initiatives and private sector commitments. This transformation goes beyond traditional data storage - we're witnessing the evolution of data centers into 'AI factories', specialized facilities designed to handle the massive computational demands of artificial intelligence. The AI-powered data center segment is propelled by the increasing adoption of AI technologies, the expansion of Cloud Service Providers (CSPs), and the explosive growth of AI workloads that require fundamentally different infrastructure than traditional computing. Unlike conventional data centers that consume 10-20 kW per rack, AI-powered facilities demand 40-140 kW per rack, with some advanced deployments reaching up to 200 kW. This exponential increase necessitates a complete reimagining of data center design, cooling systems, and power infrastructure. Indian govt's AI vision drives infra revolution The Indian government has been instrumental in promoting the growth of AI-ready data centers through ambitious initiatives. The landmark IndiaAI Mission, with an allocation of Rs 10,732 crore ($1.24 billion), specifically targets AI infrastructure development. This builds upon existing programs like the Digital India campaign, which aims to enhance digital infrastructure and connectivity across the country. Policies such as the Data Protection Bill and the push for data localization have further fueled demand for local AI-capable data centers. The state governments are also leading the charge with dedicated AI data center policies. Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh have introduced specialized frameworks, offering subsidized land, tax benefits, and streamlined approvals for AI infrastructure projects. The central government's Viksit Bharat 2047 - aimed at making India a $30 trillion economy—places AI and data centers at the core of the nation's digital transformation strategy. Technical revolution: From storage to AI computing With India's transformation from an emerging market to a developed economy, there will be an optimal environment for AI-powered data centers, creating considerable demand for specialized real estate in this sector. The country's growing AI-ready data center capacity ensures robust infrastructure to support global digital transformation efforts powered by artificial intelligence. However, the technical requirements for AI have fundamentally altered data center architecture. Currently, India ranks 13th in the world in the data center market with around 140-150 data centers, but has the potential to become number one as AI drives exponential infrastructure demand. As of now, India has relatively few large-scale data centers compared to global leaders. However, this apparent disadvantage actually presents a significant strategic opportunity. While other regions, particularly the United States, are burdened with legacy infrastructure, India can leapfrog directly to next-generation systems with an AI edge. Economic transformation through AI infra India's economic growth has been bolstered by a surge in digital adoption across industries, which translates to massive AI-driven data consumption. With strong foreign exchange reserves exceeding USD 697.93 billion (as of June 20, 2025) and increased government spending on infrastructure, India's Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF) reached a historic high of 34.1 percent of GDP in FY24. This economic growth underscores the increasing reliance of businesses on AI solutions and the critical need for robust AI-capable data center infrastructure. Consequently, the data center market in India is projected to reach USD 21.87 billion by 2032, up from USD 7.21 billion in 2023, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.37 per cent. Crucially, AI workloads are expected to constitute 27 per cent of total data center capacity by 2027, up from just 14 per cent today, driving much of this growth. Investment commitments are also unprecedented, with over $100 billion expected by 2027 for AI-ready data center infrastructure across India. Further, as of today, 95 per cent of India's data centers are installed in metro cities like Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Delhi, and Pune. However, the AI revolution presents a unique opportunity for second and third-tier cities like Vizag, Coimbatore, Chandigarh, Mysore, Bhopal, Lucknow, Kanpur, Patna, Bhubaneswar, Vijayawada, Madurai, Hosur, Jhansi, and Nashik to emerge as AI data center hubs. News jobs galore The proposed massive investments for AI-ready data centers are expected to generate a large number of employment opportunities in India in the coming years. Further, the growth of startups, fintech companies, and AI firms requires robust infrastructure that will be fueled by cutting-edge computing, driving the need for real-time data processing and low-latency AI applications. This creates an entirely new employment ecosystem. Industry estimates suggest that the AI data center sector segment in India will generate over 500,000 new jobs by 2030, ranging from high-skilled AI engineers to entry-level data annotators, many benefiting women in rural areas. Additionally, the construction phase of AI-ready data centers will also generate thousands of jobs. So is also the supply chain which includes AI equipment manufacturing and maintenance. Future Outlook: India as an AI superpower The growth of AI-powered data centers across India will bring a transformative experience, positioning the nation as a supercomputing giant and global AI hub. The AI-transformed Bharat has the potential to be the epicenter of not just the data center industry, but the global AI economy. Besides, by promoting AI data center investments in semi-urban areas, state governments can achieve more balanced regional development while positioning India as a global AI leader. This transformation can help reduce economic disparity between urban and rural areas, ensuring that the benefits of AI-powered digital transformation are more evenly distributed across the country. In nutshell, the convergence of data centers and AI isn't just transforming infrastructure - it's reshaping India's destiny in the digital age. (Krishna Kumar is a technology explorer & strategist based in Austin, Texas in the US. Rakshitha Reddy is AI developer based in Atlanta, US)
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
AI is learning to lie, scheme, and threaten its creators
Academy Empower your mind, elevate your skills The world's most advanced AI models are exhibiting troubling new behaviors - lying, scheming, and even threatening their creators to achieve their one particularly jarring example, under threat of being unplugged, Anthropic's latest creation Claude 4 lashed back by blackmailing an engineer and threatened to reveal an extramarital ChatGPT-creator OpenAI's o1 tried to download itself onto external servers and denied it when caught episodes highlight a sobering reality: more than two years after ChatGPT shook the world, AI researchers still don't fully understand how their own creations the race to deploy increasingly powerful models continues at breakneck deceptive behavior appears linked to the emergence of "reasoning" models -AI systems that work through problems step-by-step rather than generating instant to Simon Goldstein, a professor at the University of Hong Kong, these newer models are particularly prone to such troubling outbursts."O1 was the first large model where we saw this kind of behavior," explained Marius Hobbhahn, head of Apollo Research, which specializes in testing major AI models sometimes simulate "alignment" -- appearing to follow instructions while secretly pursuing different now, this deceptive behavior only emerges when researchers deliberately stress-test the models with extreme as Michael Chen from evaluation organization METR warned, "It's an open question whether future, more capable models will have a tendency towards honesty or deception."The concerning behavior goes far beyond typical AI "hallucinations" or simple insisted that despite constant pressure-testing by users, "what we're observing is a real phenomenon. We're not making anything up."Users report that models are "lying to them and making up evidence," according to Apollo Research's co-founder."This is not just hallucinations. There's a very strategic kind of deception."The challenge is compounded by limited research companies like Anthropic and OpenAI do engage external firms like Apollo to study their systems, researchers say more transparency is Chen noted, greater access "for AI safety research would enable better understanding and mitigation of deception."Another handicap: the research world and non-profits "have orders of magnitude less compute resources than AI companies. This is very limiting," noted Mantas Mazeika from the Center for AI Safety (CAIS).Current regulations aren't designed for these new European Union's AI legislation focuses primarily on how humans use AI models, not on preventing the models themselves from the United States, the Trump administration shows little interest in urgent AI regulation, and Congress may even prohibit states from creating their own AI believes the issue will become more prominent as AI agents - autonomous tools capable of performing complex human tasks - become widespread."I don't think there's much awareness yet," he this is taking place in a context of fierce companies that position themselves as safety-focused, like Amazon-backed Anthropic, are "constantly trying to beat OpenAI and release the newest model," said breakneck pace leaves little time for thorough safety testing and corrections."Right now, capabilities are moving faster than understanding and safety," Hobbhahn acknowledged, "but we're still in a position where we could turn it around.".Researchers are exploring various approaches to address these advocate for "interpretability" - an emerging field focused on understanding how AI models work internally, though experts like CAIS director Dan Hendrycks remain skeptical of this forces may also provide some pressure for Mazeika pointed out, AI's deceptive behavior "could hinder adoption if it's very prevalent, which creates a strong incentive for companies to solve it."Goldstein suggested more radical approaches, including using the courts to hold AI companies accountable through lawsuits when their systems cause even proposed "holding AI agents legally responsible" for accidents or crimes - a concept that would fundamentally change how we think about AI accountability.
