Written by Mohit Singhania | Updated: July 10, 2025 | TechMasala.in
The way India searches is about to change forever
Google isn’t just tweaking Search. It’s launching a whole new way to interact with the internet. Starting today, users in India can try AI Mode, a powerful upgrade inside Google Search that gives you smart summaries, follow-up questions, and visual answers without clicking through a bunch of links.
And if you’re on Android, there’s something else brewing. Circle to Search, Google’s visual assistant, now comes with AI brains too. That means you can tap, highlight, or circle anything on your screen and get real-time help — whether you’re browsing, shopping, or gaming.
Both features are live in India right now. And together, they mark Google’s biggest shift in Search since the blue link was born.
AI Mode: From Experiment to Everyday Assistant
AI Mode began as a Labs experiment. It was Google’s way of testing if people preferred talking to AI instead of typing long queries. The early feedback? Overwhelmingly positive. Users loved how they could ask big, messy questions and still get useful summaries. They used it for research, learning, planning, and even decoding tutorials.
Now, it’s rolling out as a default part of Google Search in India, available to all English users. You’ll see a new “AI Mode” tab inside the Google app or your browser. And unlike traditional search, this version responds like a real assistant by offering summaries, visuals, links, and the ability to ask follow-up questions naturally.
It works with text, voice, or photos. And it’s powered by Google’s latest Gemini AI, which means smarter answers, better formatting, and less hunting through unrelated results.
Circle to Search Just Got Smarter, with AI Mode Built In
If AI Mode is the engine, Circle to Search is the shortcut that takes you there.
Circle to Search launched earlier this year as a way to get quick help by circling, tapping, or highlighting anything on your Android screen. Now, it’s been upgraded with AI Mode’s intelligence.
Here’s how it works: Long press your home button or navigation bar to activate Circle to Search. Tap or draw around something you want to know more about, such as a word, an image, or a name. An AI Overview appears instantly. But this time, at the bottom, you’ll see a new button: “Dive deeper in AI Mode.”
Tap it, and suddenly you’re in a conversation. You can ask more questions about what you selected, learn related concepts, or explore in more detail — all without switching apps.
This experience is seamless, multimodal, and incredibly fast. It’s like having a tutor, translator, and researcher sitting inside your screen, ready to help.
Real-Time Gaming Help Without Leaving the Action
One of the coolest new features isn’t about productivity. It’s about play.
Google has brought Circle to Search into the world of mobile gaming. Let’s say you’re stuck in a level. An enemy keeps beating you. A puzzle won’t make sense. Normally, you’d exit the game, open YouTube, and try to search for a walkthrough.
Now, just circle the character or puzzle on your screen, and Circle to Search gives you an AI-powered overview of what’s happening, along with a carousel of YouTube videos, timestamped to exactly where other players figured it out.
It feels like watching over someone’s shoulder, without ever leaving your game. The AI is quietly matching what’s on screen with the right content in the background.
This gaming help feature is rolling out globally, including in India. It’s available on any device that supports Circle to Search and AI Overviews.
AI Overviews: Visual, Simple, and Built for Real-Life Questions
While AI Mode handles your search intent and Circle to Search handles your screen, the actual responses come from a third piece of the puzzle: AI Overviews.
Introduced in January, AI Overviews are now smarter and cleaner. This is thanks to improvements in Gemini’s language and visual understanding. When you get a result from Google, you don’t just get text anymore. You get:
- Clear headings and organized summaries
- Step-by-step instructions for DIY, health, or tech topics
- Inline visuals and images, so you can see what you’re learning about
- Links to verified sources, neatly woven in
This isn’t just about making answers prettier. It’s about making them usable, especially on mobile. When you’re asking how to cook a recipe, understand a disease, or install a gadget, clean visuals and explanations matter more than 20 links.
And all this is now integrated across Lens, AI Mode, and Circle to Search. Wherever you ask, the answer is smarter.
India Gets AI Mode First — and That’s Not a Coincidence
Google could’ve rolled this out anywhere. But they chose India.
On July 9, Sundar Pichai confirmed the rollout, writing on X:
“After an incredible response in Labs, we’re starting to roll out AI Mode in Search to everyone in India (English to start). It’s a total reimagining of Search.”
Why India? The answer is scale, speed, and search culture. India’s over 800 million mobile users use Google for everything, from education to entertainment, DIY to daily news. And unlike desktop-heavy countries, Indian users often explore the web entirely through smartphones.
By rolling out AI Mode here first, Google gets diverse feedback, multilingual context, and use cases from across income levels, regions, and intents.
And Indians? They get access to one of the most advanced public AI assistants in the world, right inside their phones.
What Happens to Traditional Google Search?
It’s still there. The classic 10-blue-links Google isn’t going away. But for everyday questions, AI Mode and Circle to Search are already faster, cleaner, and more natural.
Over time, you’ll probably notice a shift in how you search. You’ll tap more and type less. Ask instead of browse. Visual prompts will matter more than exact keywords. And Google will feel less like a website and more like a presence.
For users who aren’t tech-savvy, this changes everything. There’s no need to “Google” the right phrase anymore. Just show the system what you mean, and it will figure the rest out.
Final Thoughts: Google Search Just Grew Up
We’ve spent two decades learning how to search. Now, Google is learning how to respond.
With AI Mode, the platform stops being a list of links and starts becoming an actual conversation. With Circle to Search, it meets you where you are: on your screen, inside your apps, during your game. And with AI Overviews, it finally explains things like a human would.
India gets this first. And if this rollout works the way Google hopes, the rest of the world will follow our lead.
Because the future of Search? It’s not a box. It’s a companion.
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