Google has announced a significant expansion of its AI capabilities for Gemini users in India, unveiling new features that integrate advanced video generation technology and enhanced contextual understanding. Alongside these developments, the company has also published a first-of-its-kind survey on AI adoption among Indian consumers, highlighting the current landscape and future potential for AI usage in the country.
Central to Google's update is the release of Gemini 2.5, a version described by Manish Gupta, Senior Director at Google DeepMind, as taking generative AI skills to "a whole new level." This latest iteration includes the integration of Veo 2, a video generation model that can produce short, natural-looking video clips. Currently, Veo 2 creates eight-second videos at 720p resolution in MP4 format, with generated footage differentiated from real-world videos by an embedded SynthID watermark. This digital watermark, which Google describes as a “digital signature” identifying AI-generated content, is part of the company's broader content moderation approach, designed to prevent outputs depicting violence, abuse, or other harmful activities. Gupta further explained that SynthID technology is now available as open source, representing a step towards transparency in AI-generated media.
Shekhar Khosla, Vice President of Marketing at Google India, highlighted the potential applications of this video generation technology across fields such as architecture, design, and filmmaking, emphasizing that the current capabilities merely scratch the surface of what is possible.
The Gemini AI assistant itself has also been enhanced with a feature called Gemini Live, now available on Android phones such as Google's Pixel 9 and Samsung’s Galaxy S25. This feature utilises the device’s camera and screen context to enable real-time assistance tailored to the user's immediate surroundings. For instance, it can troubleshoot physical objects or provide support for tasks, calculations, research, or shopping. Unlike other advanced Gemini functionalities available through subscription, Gemini Live is accessible without a Gemini Pro subscription on all compatible Android devices. However, there has been no announcement regarding its availability on Apple's iPhone.
Multilingual support is a key focus of Gemini’s development. Currently, the AI supports multiple Indian languages including Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu. Manish Gupta noted Google's ambition to extend this to over 100 Indian languages, aiming to significantly enhance accessibility across the diverse linguistic landscape of India.
Gemini 2.5, lauded by Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis for strong multimodal reasoning, coding and STEM improvements, includes experimental reasoning features that allow the AI to analyse complex topics and generate detailed reports. This further broadens the scope of Gemini’s applications, especially for users needing advanced analytical support.
Complementing these product launches is a recent survey conducted by Google and analytics firm Kantar India, involving 8,000 participants across 18 Indian cities. The survey, concluded in March, found that 60% of respondents were not familiar with any AI tools or applications, while only 31% reported having tried generative AI. Despite this relatively low current exposure, there is a strong readiness among Indians to use AI as a productivity “collaborator”. The survey revealed that 75% of respondents expressed willingness to adopt AI to enhance productivity (72%), creativity (77%), and communication (73%) in daily activities both at home and work.
Shekhar Khosla commented on the importance of relevance in driving AI adoption: “Bringing significant relevance to people's lives is important. You may access it; however, if you do not find a difference, you may not come back to it.” He also pointed to the multimodal, multilingual nature of current AI models as being crucial to their practical value.
From a business standpoint, AI adoption in India appears to be growing steadily. A Boston Consulting Group report from November indicated that approximately 30% of Indian companies are leveraging AI, slightly above the global average of 26%. Sectors leading this adoption include fintech, software, and banking. Google’s survey and BCG’s findings are corroborated by data from Canva’s visual economy report, which noted that 9 out of 10 organisations in India are beginning to incorporate modern AI tools for content creation and visual communication tasks.
These developments illustrate Google’s dual approach of advancing its AI technology while simultaneously expanding adoption through practical, region-specific applications and multilingual support. The rollout of Gemini’s new features in India reflects both technological innovation and an effort to meet the specific needs of a large and diverse user base.
Source: Noah Wire Services