June 25, 2025: Google AI Mode is here. Designed for Complexity, Built for Speed—Google’s Most Powerful AI Search Experience Comes to Indian Users
Google is bringing its cutting-edge AI Mode to India, launching today in English as an experimental feature through Google Labs. Positioned as Google Search’s most advanced evolution yet, AI Mode is designed to handle the kind of complex, layered questions that previously needed multiple searches or tools—and it’s opening up new possibilities for startups, developers, and knowledge seekers alike.
After initial success in the U.S. earlier this year, the India rollout marks a critical expansion into one of Google’s most tech-savvy markets. This move signals how AI-powered consumer tools are quickly becoming mainstream—and how startups need to prepare for the AI-first search era.
What Startups Need to Know About AI Mode
At its core, AI Mode is a search upgrade built for depth, nuance, and multimodal input, text, voice, or image. It’s powered by Gemini 2.5, Google’s custom model capable of parsing long-form, multi-part questions with contextual awareness and advanced reasoning.
For startups building in the search, content discovery, commerce, or productivity space, this signals a leap toward more natural, dynamic user interactions.
Instead of simple keyword queries, users can now ask:
“I’m planning a wellness retreat for 8 people near Bangalore in August. Recommend budget-friendly places, activities, and food options with good monsoon views.”
AI Mode can unpack this into micro-queries, scan the web, and return a structured, human-like answer, complete with product suggestions, real-time links, and interactive follow-up capabilities.
A Platform Designed for the Multimodal Future
India leads globally in voice and visual search adoption, and AI Mode builds on this momentum. Users can:
- Tap the mic to ask a question naturally
- Use Google Lens to upload a photo or scan an object
- Ask follow-ups to refine results
This is a clear nudge to Indian startups in voice AI, AR, and visual commerce, your next user experience will likely need to support this multimodal interaction standard.
Example use case:
A user snaps a photo of a skincare product and asks, “Is this safe for sensitive skin? What are cheaper alternatives?”
AI Mode not only analyzes the label but also recommends similar products and pulls in verified reviews and pricing.
Built on Google’s Core Strengths, Designed to Evolve
AI Mode blends the best of Search’s data infrastructure with AI’s reasoning power. It doesn’t just scrape answers, it understands, contextualizes, and then connects users to fresh, high-quality web content.
This has serious implications for:
- D2C brands, whose products may be surfaced more organically through tailored queries
- Content platforms, which can now optimize for long-tail AI-discovered queries
- Search and SEO tools, which must evolve beyond keywords to semantic, contextual optimization
Google says the experience is backed by its ranking and quality systems, and where AI confidence is low, it defaults to traditional web results, ensuring a balance between innovation and accuracy.
Strategic Implication: Search is Now a Conversational, AI-First Surface
The expansion of AI Mode reflects a deeper strategy: search is no longer a static tool—it’s an intelligent, iterative conversation. As over 1.5 billion users already engage with AI Overviews, Google is signaling a long-term shift that startups should closely monitor.
For founders and product teams, this means:
- Rethinking SEO to account for conversational prompts
- Structuring data and content for AI consumption and surfacing
- Preparing for an ecosystem where search queries could be 2–3x longer and more specific than ever before
Early-Stage Rollout in Labs: A Chance to Influence the Future
Currently available in Labs on the Google App (Android & iOS), AI Mode is being rolled out as an experiment to gather feedback. Startups in India now have a rare opportunity to test, observe user behavior, and help shape how the AI-first search experience evolves in a high-growth market.
Why This Matters for Startups
- New Discovery Paths: Niche products and services can get surfaced via long-form, intent-rich queries
- API & Integration Potential: Expect future touchpoints for developers as AI Mode matures
- Voice & Visual Innovation: Opens doors for deeper integrations with India’s booming voice-tech and visual AI ecosystem
- Competitive Edge: Understanding how users search in an AI-first world gives your product a crucial UX edge
Want to Experiment?
Startup founders, PMs, and content teams can sign up for early access via Google Labs and explore how AI Mode might reshape your search strategy or product discovery model
