Google has launched a new feature called AI Mode in its Search service for users in South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria.
The feature allows users to submit more complex or multi-part queries and receive AI-generated responses alongside traditional web results.
AI Mode is powered by Google’s Gemini 2.5 model, which breaks down user queries into subtopics and searches multiple sources simultaneously.
The system then provides a synthesised response, alongside clickable links to web content for further exploration.
Users can interact with AI Mode via text, voice, or images, making it possible to ask questions in the format that is most convenient for them.
According to Google, AI Mode is designed to assist with queries that may previously have required several separate searches. By combining multiple search results into one response, the feature aims to make it easier for users to access relevant information in a single view.
In cases where the AI is uncertain of the answer, the system defaults to traditional web search results.
The rollout of AI Mode will appear as a tab on the Search results page and within the Google app for Android and iOS.
This development follows similar AI-powered initiatives by major technology companies to integrate artificial intelligence more directly into online search tools.
While Google highlights AI Mode as a tool for exploration and research, it also maintains standard web links to ensure that users can verify information or access additional sources.
By providing both AI-generated summaries and traditional web links, the feature attempts to balance the emerging capabilities of AI with the established structure of web search. AI Mode will be available to users gradually as Google continues the rollout in the region.
