Google expands Gemini AI to Search and smart-home devices

Google began a major expansion this week of Gemini, its flagship artificial intelligence system, rolling conversational, multimodal AI into both Search and select smart‑home devices. The company said its AI Mode for Search is now available in more than 200 countries and territories and supports over 35 additional languages, and it launched Search Live, a real‑time camera-and‑voice conversational search feature, in India in English and Hindi alongside support for seven more Indian languages. At the same time, early access users in a handful of countries are receiving an upgraded Gemini for Home experience for compatible cameras and doorbells.

Google says AI Mode, powered by its Gemini models, shifts Search from keyword matching to contextual reasoning and multimodal inputs, so users can type, speak, or submit images and receive layered, conversational answers. The company reported that users are asking questions nearly three times longer than with traditional queries and described a Query Expansion or query fanout technique that breaks complex prompts into multiple subquestions to gather broader results. Hema Budaraju, vice president of product management for Search, said the...