Google expands AI Mode beyond English for the first time (www.engadget.com)

Google has officially expanded its AI Mode in Google Search beyond English, introducing support for Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, and Brazilian Portuguese. This marks the first time the AI chatbot integrated in Search operates in multiple languages, reflecting a significant step toward making AI-powered search universally accessible. Leveraging the advanced multimodal and reasoning capabilities of its custom Gemini 2.5 Pro model, Google emphasizes that true global search requires more than translation—it demands a nuanced understanding of local contexts to deliver relevant and useful results in each supported language. Since its initial public rollout in the US earlier this year, AI Mode has rapidly increased its global presence, now available in over 180 countries. The multilingual expansion not only broadens user access but also enhances the AI’s ability to interpret and generate nuanced search responses worldwide. This development is especially critical for the AI/ML community as it highlights advancements in natural language understanding and multimodal reasoning across diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds, showcasing the practical scaling of AI models in real-world applications. Amid concerns about declining web traffic exacerbated by AI-driven content summaries, Google’s court admission of the "rapid decline" of the open web contrasts with its optimistic claims on site traffic stability. The rollout of AI Mode in more languages could serve as a strategic response to support publishers and maintain a vibrant web ecosystem, underscoring the evolving relationship between AI-enhanced search and the broader digital content landscape.