Google has launched its AI Mode in Search across Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa, positioning the three countries as testbeds for Africa’s first AI-powered search experience.
AI Mode will begin rolling out today and will appear as a tab on the Search results page and within the Google app for Android and iOS.
The rollout marks a new era in how users engage with Google Search, bringing advanced reasoning, multimodal inputs, and more intuitive exploration of topics.
Powered by a custom version of Google’s latest Gemini 2.5 model, AI Mode transforms traditional search by helping users break down complex, multi-part questions into meaningful answers. Instead of multiple searches, users can now rely on AI Mode to generate nuanced, context-driven responses while providing prominent links to relevant sources across the web.
Alex Okosi, the managing director, Google Africa, in a statement, said the company is excited to bring AI Mode to users in the region.
“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,” Okosi added.
Read also: Google unveils first AI community center in Accra
AI Mode is especially useful for longer, more detailed queries. A key feature of AI Mode is its 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, uncovering hyper-relevant content. Furthermore, AI Mode is designed to be truly multimodal, allowing users to interact in the most natural way for them, whether through text, voice, or even images.
Simply tapping the microphone icon or uploading a photo allows users to ask questions using their voice or camera. A core principle of AI Mode is to help users find the best of the web. The AI-powered response includes prominent links to web sources, expanding the types of questions people can ask and opening up new opportunities for content discovery.
Okosi averred that Google remains committed to supporting the open web and ensuring that 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.
