Today, Google hosted the tenth edition of its 'Google for India' event, showcasing its latest innovations and initiatives tailored for the Indian market. Since 2015, the tech giant has been emphasizing its efforts to improve internet access, digital literacy, and technology-driven solutions across the country. This year, Google highlighted its AI technology with a focus on India. Here are the key highlights from the Google for India 2024 event.
Everything announced at Google for India event 2024:
Gemini Live in Indian Languages:
Google launched Gemini Live in Hindi today, with plans to make its interactive chatbot available in eight more Indian languages, including Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil, and Urdu in the coming weeks.
AI Overviews in Indian Languages:
The company expanded the AI Overviews to include more Indian languages, starting with Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, and Marathi soon. AI Overviews provide summarized information available on the web.
Google Lens with Video Recognition Feature:
Google introduced a new feature that allows users to record a video via Google Lens and ask questions by simply holding the shutter button to record a video while speaking out loud.
AI-Summarized Reviews on Google Maps:
Google Maps will now provide AI-summarized reviews for businesses listed on the platform.
AI-Powered Features for Merchants:
For businesses, Google is launching Product Studio, enabling local artisans to create videos of their products using Google’s AI model. Additionally, merchants can now easily update their profiles with AI-generated business descriptions and integrate their preferred messaging channels to engage with customers on Google Search.
Two New Credit Facilities on Google Pay:
Google Pay will now offer two new credit facilities, allowing users to obtain personal loans from Aditya Birla Finance and Gold loans from Muthoot Finance.
Health Knowledge Panels on Search:
Google has collaborated with Apollo to develop over 800 “health knowledge panels” on Search in Hindi and English.
ABHA ID in Google Wallet:
Google has partnered with EkaCare to integrate the ABHA Universal health ID into the Google Wallet app, providing users with access to their health information, such as lab reports and prescriptions.
Google Play Protect to Block High-Risk Installations:
To combat evolving scam tactics, Google is piloting Enhanced Fraud Protection within Google Play Protect, which will analyze and automatically block the installation of apps from internet-sideloaded sources that request sensitive permissions often abused in financial scams.
Google Safety Engineering Center in India:
In 2025, Google will launch its Safety Engineering Center in India, aiming to protect users from online threats, bolster enterprise and government security, and advance research and development. The center will bring together safety engineers, local policy experts, government partners, and academia to address India's online safety challenges.
Open Source AI Agent Framework:
Google has partnered with the UP government to provide farmers with a comprehensive platform for accessing information on weather, seeds, harvest times, and market prices through Gemini.
These advancements mean that users can seamlessly discover listings and make transactions on any Beckn network-compliant app in their preferred language, regardless of what they are searching for.
Data storage in India
Indian organizations across various industries will now have the ability to store customer data and process machine learning using Gemini 1.5 Flash exclusively within India. This will assist organiSations in complying with legal requirements to ensure that sensitive data of Indian citizens remains within the country. It offers organizations even more control and security when utilizing Google's AI models.
AI Skills House
Google has introduced AI Skills House to help people in India take advantage of new opportunities in the field of artificial intelligence. The program aims to provide AI education to 10 million Indians and will be initially offered in English, with future plans to expand to 7 more Indian languages. Google will also issue digital badges to participants who complete the courses. The company is also bringing the Google AI Essentials and GenAI for Educators courses to Hindi speakers.
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