Google has begun rolling out Search Live in AI Mode for its Android and iOS apps in the United States. This new feature invites users to speak naturally and receive real‑time, spoken answers powered by a custom version of Google’s Gemini model. Search Live combines the conversational strengths of Gemini with the full breadth of Google Search.
How to Access Voice Chat
To start a voice conversation, open the Google app and tap the sparkle‑shaped waveform icon under the search bar. A full‑screen interface appears with a prompt to speak. Questions you might ask include how to avoid wrinkling of clothes in a suitcase. Follow-up questions are seamless, and they are displayed on the screen with connection points to other web pages.
Multitasking and Accessibility
Search Live is designed for on‑the‑go use. It continues listening even if the phone is locked or another app is open. There is a mute button in that a user can use to silence AI. The transcript view enables users to access the entire conversation and alternate between voice input and text input. Past uses of AI Mode are kept in a history panel, which can easily be referred to.
Voice Styles and Controls
Four stylistic voices are available, Cassini, Cosmo, Neso, and Terra, so users can customise their experience. Controls within the interface let users adjust the speaking rate or pause responses. These options aim to make interactions clearer and more comfortable while walking, driving, or cooking.
Behind the Technology
Search Live employs a technique called query fan‑out. It dispatches voice prompts to multiple sub‑systems within Google’s search infrastructure to gather diverse web results. Such outcomes come into the Gemini model, which creates and drafts short and casual responses. Speed and depth go hand in hand in this architecture; keep tags on both accuracy and richness of answers.
Comparison to Gemini Live
Search Live has numerous similarities with the standalone Gemini Live app, including support of live camera‑based sources in the future. Both apps run on variants of the Gemini model, but Search Live leverages Google’s search index more directly. This integration may yield faster fact checks and broader coverage of niche topics.
Availability and Future Plans
Search Live in AI Mode is now available in the United States for users enrolled in the Google Labs AI Mode experiment. Google has so far not declared when it will expand internationally. Coming up are supposed to be visual search, increased use of multimedia in response, and greater compatibility with Android gadgets. The idea behind Google to include Search Live in its main app, enabling individuals to search using fewer hands, which is what suits the multitasking world. This capability can become the staple feature of mobile search that is used worldwide with the further evolution of conversational AI.
