Google expands AI Mode to five new languages globally

Google AI Mode search experience now serves users in Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, and Portuguese. The expansion bridges language gaps while introducing advanced multimodal capabilities to new markets through artificial intelligence integration.

Google announced September 8, 2025, that its AI Mode search feature would support five new languages worldwide: Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, and Portuguese. According to Hema Budaraju, Vice President of Product Management for Search, this expansion represents a major step toward making "truly global Search" accessible to more users in their preferred languages.

The announcement highlights Google's emphasis on localized artificial intelligence rather than simple translation services. "Building a truly global Search goes far beyond translation — it requires a nuanced understanding of local information," according to Budaraju's statement on September 8.

AI Mode utilizes a custom version of Gemini 2.5 technology to process complex, multi-part queries through conversational interfaces. The system employs what Google terms "query fan-out technique," breaking down user questions into multiple subtopics while simultaneously processing hundreds of related searches. This approach enables comprehensive responses that synthesize information from numerous web sources rather than ranking individual pages.

Technical capabilities include advanced multimodal processing and enhanced reasoning functions. The new language support builds upon existing infrastructure that already handles queries measuring two to three times the length of traditional search inputs. Users can submit complex inquiries that previously required multiple separate searches, addressing intricate research needs through natural language interactions.

The September 8 expansion follows Google's systematic global deployment strategy for AI Mode capabilities throughout 2025. The company initially launched the feature through its Search Labs experimental program in March 2025, targeting United States users with Google One AI Premium subscriptions. Broader US access began in May 2025, eliminating waitlist restrictions and making the feature available to all American users.

International expansion commenced with India's deployment in June 2025, introducing multimodal search capabilities including voice, image, and text-based queries. The United Kingdom received AI Mode access in July 2025, marking the second major international market expansion. Google extended the feature to Workspace accounts across the United States in July 2025, bringing AI search capabilities to business environments.

Recent developments indicate Google's commitment to making AI Mode the primary search interface. Logan Kilpatrick, Group Product Manager at Google DeepMind, signaled on September 6, 2025, that AI Mode will become the default search experience. The announcement generated substantial industry attention, with Kilpatrick's post receiving 369,900 views and extensive engagement from technology professionals.

The language expansion addresses Google's recognition of diverse global search patterns and information needs. Each new language implementation incorporates local context understanding rather than direct translation of English-language results. This approach ensures that AI-generated responses reflect regional preferences, cultural nuances, and locally relevant information sources.

Competitive pressures from AI-powered platforms have accelerated Google's artificial intelligence integration across search products. The company reported a 65% surge in visual searches as AI Mode drives multimodal adoption, according to data announced during a July 23, 2025 podcast interview. This growth demonstrates changing user behavior toward complex, interactive search experiences that combine text, voice, and visual inputs.

Marketing implications extend beyond simple language localization strategies. Google removes language targeting from search campaigns by 2025, shifting from manual advertiser configuration to automated AI-powered language detection. This transition reflects broader automation trends that reduce manual campaign management while potentially improving targeting precision through machine learning algorithms.

The technical infrastructure supporting multilingual AI Mode requires substantial computational resources. Google's parent company Alphabet reported capital expenditures of $22.4 billion in the second quarter of 2025, primarily directed toward data centers and artificial intelligence computing infrastructure. CEO Sundar Pichai revealed that Google plans to spend $75 billion on AI infrastructure throughout 2025, representing a significant increase from previous investment levels.

Industry analysts note potential impacts on website publishers and content creators in newly supported language markets. Research indicates that AI search visitors demonstrate 4.4 times higher conversion value compared to traditional organic search visitors, though overall traffic volumes may decline as users receive answers directly from AI-generated summaries. This pattern, observed in existing AI Mode markets, could replicate across the five new language regions.

Search behavior patterns in the new language markets may differ from established AI Mode usage in English-speaking regions. Cultural preferences for information discovery, trust in AI-generated responses, and expectations for source attribution vary significantly across Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, and Portuguese-speaking communities. Google's deployment strategy acknowledges these differences through localized implementation approaches.

The announcement comes as Google enhances AI Mode with embedded links to boost web exploration. Updates introduced on August 25, 2025, include embedded link carousels within AI Mode responses and improved pathways to original content sources. These modifications address user behavior patterns showing strong preferences for accessing source material when engaging with AI-generated responses.

Enterprise applications for multilingual AI Mode extend beyond consumer search scenarios. Google extends AI Mode to Workspace accounts in the US, providing business users with conversational search interfaces for complex organizational queries. The expansion to five new languages enables similar capabilities for international business environments requiring native language support.

Future development priorities for AI Mode include expanding agentic functions that enable users to complete restaurant reservations and ticket bookings directly through search interfaces. Google announced these capabilities during its broader international expansion to more than 180 countries in August 2025, though specific deployment timelines for the five newly supported languages remain unspecified.

The September 8 language expansion positions Google's AI Mode as a comprehensive alternative to traditional search methodologies. Users in Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, and Portuguese-speaking markets can now access advanced reasoning capabilities and multimodal input options through conversational interfaces tailored to their linguistic and cultural contexts.

Technical documentation indicates that AI Mode processes these new languages through the same Gemini 2.5 infrastructure used for existing markets, ensuring consistent performance and capability standards. The implementation maintains Google's emphasis on source attribution and factual accuracy while adapting to regional information preferences and local content ecosystems.

Timeline

• March 5, 2025: Google introduces AI Mode as experimental feature in Search Labs
• April 7, 2025: Multimodal capabilities expansion enables image processing through Gemini 2.0 integration
• May 20, 2025: AI Mode becomes available to all United States users, removing waitlist restrictions
• June 11, 2025: Google begins testing AI Mode button directly in homepage search bar
• June 24, 2025: Google launches AI Mode in India with multimodal search capabilities
• July 2, 2025: Google extends AI Mode to Workspace accounts across United States
• July 28, 2025: Google introduces AI Mode to UK users marking second major international expansion
• July 29, 2025: Google expands AI search with new canvas and video features
• August 25, 2025: Google enhances AI Mode with embedded links to boost web exploration
• September 6, 2025: Google product manager signals AI Mode will become default search experience
• September 8, 2025: Google expands AI Mode to five new languages: Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, and Portuguese

Summary

Who: Google, through Vice President of Product Management for Search Hema Budaraju, announced the expansion of AI Mode to new language markets, affecting users who speak Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, and Portuguese.

What: AI Mode, Google's advanced AI search experience powered by a custom version of Gemini 2.5, now supports five additional languages with full multimodal capabilities including text, voice, and image-based queries using query fan-out technique for comprehensive responses.

When: The announcement was made on September 8, 2025, following a systematic global deployment strategy that began with Search Labs testing in March 2025 and expanded through the United States, India, and United Kingdom throughout 2025.

Where: The language expansion affects global users in regions where Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, and Portuguese are primary languages, building upon Google's existing AI Mode availability in the United States, India, and United Kingdom.

Why: Google aims to create truly global search experiences that understand local information contexts rather than relying on translation, while responding to competitive pressures from AI-powered platforms and changing user behavior toward complex, multimodal search interactions that require advanced reasoning capabilities.