Google ups its AI push in India, teases Gemini Live in a new ad

Google has launched two groundbreaking advertisement films in India, coinciding with its landmark 'Google for India 2024' event in Delhi. These ads, which showcase the tech giant's AI capabilities through Gemini and Google Assistant, represent a strategically crafted campaign to position Google's AI integration as an indispensable part of daily life in India.

The first advertisement, titled Soch Banao Sach, Chaho Jab (which translates to "Make your thoughts a reality, whenever"), focusses on the transformative potential of AI in critical sectors such as agriculture, healthcare, and disaster management. 

The advert portrays scenarios where Gemini's advanced capabilities could revolutionise traditional practices, from enabling predictive agricultural insights to facilitating rapid emergency response systems. By highlighting these high-impact use cases, Google is positioning its AI technology not just as a technological advancement but as a catalyst for societal progress.

The companion piece, "Make everyday easier with Gemini," takes a more consumer-centric approach, demonstrating how Google's AI seamlessly integrates into daily routines for educational and entertainment purposes. This advert showcases features such as real-time language translation, homework assistance, and creative content generation, effectively illustrating how Gemini can enhance personal productivity and learning experiences. 

The announcements made at the tenth edition of Google for India align with these marketing initiatives. During the event, Hema Budaraju, Google's director of product management, revealed that Gemini is now accessible in Hindi and eight additional Indian languages. This multilingual capability is particularly significant in the Indian context, where over 40% of Gemini's Indian language users already interact with the system via voice commands, highlighting the critical importance of vernacular integration in the market.

The advertisements also subtly showcase new features announced at the event, such as the AI-powered video search capability. As demonstrated in the "Make everyday easier with Gemini" advert, users can now film a problem they're experiencing and ask Google's AI for solutions, marking a significant evolution in search functionality. This feature, along with others like AI-enhanced Google Maps that can summarise restaurant locations and reviews, represents Google's comprehensive approach to integrating AI across its service ecosystem.

Google's AI push in India extends beyond consumer applications. Bikram Bedi, Google Cloud India's managing director, introduced an open-source AI agent framework for backend-enabled open networks, powered by Gemini models. This framework aims to revolutionise transactions and discovery across multiple sectors, including agriculture, education, and employment services. The company has also committed to launching data storage and machine learning processing capabilities for Gemini 1.5 exclusively within India later this year, addressing data sovereignty concerns in sensitive sectors.

The tech giant's commitment to AI development in India is further evidenced by its 'AI Skills House' programme, which aims to empower 10 million Indians with AI literacy, announced by Shekhar Khosla, who is the VP of marketing at Google India. This initiative, supported by a $4 million grant from Google.org to the Central Square Foundation, demonstrates Google's investment in building a robust AI ecosystem in the country.

In the broader global context, as Google aggressively pushes its AI narrative in India, Apple has been orchestrating its own AI strategy under the more subtle banner of 'Apple Intelligence'. While Google's approach is notably more technical and explicit, Apple has opted for a lifestyle-orientated approach, integrating AI capabilities seamlessly into their ecosystem without overtly emphasising the underlying technology.