Google’s AI search assistant adds dozens of languages for live chat
▼ Summary
– Google is expanding its Search Live feature, an AI assistant that uses voice and camera for searches, to over 200 countries and dozens of languages.
– The feature, which launched widely in the US last September, provides audio answers and web links when users point their camera at an object and ask a question.
– This global expansion is powered by Google’s new Gemini 3.1 Flash Live AI model, which is multilingual and offers faster, more natural conversational responses.
– Users can access Search Live through the Google app on Android or iOS by tapping the “Live” button or via Google Lens.
– Separately, Google is bringing Translate’s real-time speech translation feature to iOS and expanding its availability to several new countries.
Google is significantly broadening the reach of its interactive AI search assistant, making the Search Live feature accessible to users across the globe. The company announced this week that the tool, which allows for voice and camera-based queries, is now available in over 200 countries and supports dozens of new languages. This major expansion follows its initial wide release in the United States last fall.
The functionality remains intuitive. Users simply open the Google app on their Android or iOS device, tap the Live button below the search bar, and can then point their camera at an object or scene while asking a question aloud. The assistant processes the visual and audio input to deliver a spoken answer, supplemented by relevant web links for further information. This hands-free approach is designed for practical, on-the-go situations, like getting instructions for a home repair project.
Driving this international rollout is Google’s new Gemini 3.1 Flash Live model, an audio-optimized AI that the company describes as inherently multilingual. This specialized technology not only enables the wide language support but also brings claimed improvements in response speed and conversational flow, aiming for more natural interactions.
Alongside the Search Live expansion, Google is bringing a key feature from its Translate app to iPhone users. The real-time translation capability, which lets users hear spoken translations through headphones as someone is talking, is now launching on iOS. This feature is also extending its geographic availability to several new regions including Germany, Spain, France, Nigeria, Italy, the UK, Japan, Bangladesh, and Thailand.
(Source: The Verge)
