SA among first in Africa to get Google’s AI Mode search
Search engine giant Google has begun rolling out the latest instalment of its artificial intelligence (AI)-powered search in SA, Kenya and Nigeria.
Called AI Mode, the search capability is more intuitive and comprehensive, allowing users to ask nuanced and exploratory questions that would previously require multiple searches, says Google.
It is powered by a custom version of Google’s latest Gemini 2.5 model, to bring advanced reasoning and context understanding to search.
“We’re incredibly excited to bring AI Mode to our users in the region,” says Alex Okosi, managing director of Google Africa.
“We know that people in this region are curious and have complex questions about everything from planning a trip to understanding a new concept. With AI Mode, Google is reimagining the search experience. Users will not only find the information they need more easily, but will also be empowered to explore a wider range of content from across the web.”
According to Google, AI Mode is especially useful for longer, more detailed queries.
It has advanced reasoning, which uses a query fan-out technique to break down a user’s question into subtopics and simultaneously search a multitude of queries on their behalf. This allows for a deeper dive into the web.
Furthermore, AI Mode is designed to be multimodal, allowing users to interact through text, voice, or images.
Google says it remains committed to supporting the open web and ensuring its AI-powered features are rooted in its core quality and ranking systems.
“With AI Mode, web links are prominently displayed, ensuring users can easily click through to discover more. Data from AI overviews shows that AI-powered results lead users to visit a greater diversity of websites and spend more time engaging with them. While AI Mode aims to provide a reliable AI-powered response, in cases where confidence is not high, the system will default to a set of traditional web search results.”
Google says AI Mode will appear as a tab on the search results page and within the Google app for Android and iOS.
