Google Expands AI-Powered Search Summaries and Local Language Support to Six More Countries

In a move to bring AI-powered search summaries and local language support to a wider audience, Google has announced its expansion into six additional countries. The countries include India, Brazil, Japan, the U.K., Indonesia, and Mexico. With this expansion, users in these markets will now have access to AI overviews in their local languages.

In addition to expanding its reach, Google is also making changes to how it displays source material links. The company is introducing a new feature that shows icons of sites on the upper right-hand side of the AI overview, both on desktop and mobile devices. By tapping on these icons, users can directly access the links cited in the AI overview to read more on the topic.

Furthermore, Google is testing a new way to display relevant links within the text of AI overviews, aiming to drive more traffic to external sites. The company believes that this will encourage users to explore a greater diversity of websites for help with more complex questions.

Google's decision to enhance its AI-powered search summaries comes amidst scrutiny faced by AI-powered tools for not prominently displaying links to sources while providing summaries. Previous criticisms have accused tools such as Perplexity AI of plagiarism and unethical web scraping. To address this concern, Google's new approach ensures that users have access to the source links for transparency and authenticity.

With the introduction of AI overviews, Google has observed that users are visiting a wider range of websites for assistance with complex queries. These visits are considered higher quality as they lead to increased user engagement and longer browsing durations on external sites.

While Google has not released specific data regarding the impact of its AI-powered search results on website traffic, the company aims to drive more traffic to external sources and improve user experience overall.

Additionally, in the case of India, Google has added country-specific features to its AI overviews. Users can now toggle between Hindi and English search results without leaving the page, providing greater ease of use. Indian users will also have the ability to hear responses generated by tapping the "Listen" button, which seems to be a popular feature in the country.

However, during early testing, some queries in Hindi did not yield satisfactory results when sentence structure or words were switched. Google has been asked for more information about its approach to answering questions in Hindi, and any updates will be shared accordingly.

As Google expands its AI-powered search summaries and local language support to these six new countries, users can expect a more comprehensive and personalized search experience. By providing access to source links and incorporating user feedback, Google aims to improve its AI-powered search results and help users find accurate, relevant information more efficiently.