Google's AI Mode Reaches a Billion Users, Adds Yorùbá and Hausa

What AI Mode actually is

AI Mode is a conversational layer built into Google Search and powered by Gemini 3, according to TechCabal. Instead of returning a familiar page of blue links, it uses what Google calls a query fan-out technique: the system runs several related searches across subtopics and data sources simultaneously, then synthesises the results into a single coherent answer with sources attached.

The feature is distinct from AI Overviews, the AI-generated summaries that already sit atop standard search results. AI Mode is aimed at more involved tasks — comparing products, planning a trip, or exploring a subject a user does not yet have the vocabulary to describe. It can also generate interactive interfaces, such as a built-on-the-spot comparison tool for apartments measured across commute time, rent and square footage.

Google began rolling out AI Mode in May 2025. At Google I/O 2026, the company announced the feature had surpassed one billion monthly users, TechCabal reported.

How it works and how to use it

Because AI Mode reasons through a query rather than matching keywords to indexed pages, TechCabal notes that fuller, more conversational questions tend to produce better answers than stripped-down search terms. The tool also maintains context across a session, so follow-up questions build on earlier ones without a user needing to restate details.

The redesigned search box accepts more than text. Users can feed it images, files, video and even open Chrome tabs, and the system reasons across all of them together. A related feature, Search Live, allows hands-free searching using a camera and voice at the same time — useful for identifying objects or working through a physical repair.

Google has also been expanding Personal Intelligence in AI Mode to nearly 200 countries and 98 languages with no subscription required. The optional feature lets users connect Google apps such as Gmail and Google Photos so the system can draw on personal context like bookings or photos. According to TechCabal, users control which apps are connected and can disconnect at any time.

Access on desktop and mobile

On desktop, an AI Mode tab appears alongside the usual All, Images, Videos and News tabs at google.com. On mobile, users can open the Google app on Android or iOS and access AI Mode from within the search experience.

As AI models reshape how information is found online, South African brands may be underprepared for a shift beyond traditional search optimisation, an industry expert warns.