Google has announced the addition of Hausa and Yorùbá to its AI Search capabilities, including AI Overviews and AI Mode. This update empowers speakers of these two Nigerian languages to access AI-driven Search functionalities in their native tongues, enabling quicker summaries and conversational browsing.
In a statement to our correspondent, Google highlighted that this enhancement is part of a wider initiative to make AI more inclusive across Africa. With this update, support now extends to 13 African languages.
For Nigerians, this means that features previously available in Google Search can now serve individuals such as students in Kano asking questions in Hausa or traders in Ibadan seeking guidance in Yorùbá.
By eliminating language barriers, this update ensures that technology mirrors the cultural identities of the communities it serves. Users can now leverage AI Mode to pose intricate queries in their preferred languages, enabling more in-depth, natural exploration of the web, whether via text or voice commands.
Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, Communications & Public Affairs Manager for West Africa at Google, stated: “Building a truly global Search goes far beyond mere translation; it necessitates a nuanced understanding of local information. With our advanced multimodal and reasoning capabilities powered by our custom version of Gemini, we’ve made significant advancements in language comprehension and ensure our cutting-edge AI search capabilities are relevant and beneficial to each new language we include. Our goal is to enable Nigerians to engage with Search in their mother tongues, making information more accessible for everyone.”
The 13 languages now supported across Africa include Afrikaans, Akan, Amharic, Hausa, Kinyarwanda, Afaan Oromoo, Somali, Sesotho, Kiswahili, Setswana, Wolof, Yorùbá, and isiZulu. These languages were selected based on robust search activity across the continent, ensuring that AI experiences reach the communities that need them most.
