Google expands AI search support to Yorùbá, Hausa
Google has rolled out Yorùbá and Hausa language support for its AI-powered Search features in Nigeria, broadening access to AI Overviews and AI Mode for millions of local users. The
Google has rolled out Yorùbá and Hausa language support for its AI-powered Search features in Nigeria, broadening access to AI Overviews and AI Mode for millions of local users.
The update, announced on Thursday, enables speakers of both languages to access AI-generated summaries and engage in conversational searches in their mother tongues. The move forms part of Google’s wider effort to make artificial intelligence tools more inclusive across Africa.
With the addition of Yorùbá and Hausa, Google’s AI Search features now support 13 African languages. The expansion is expected to benefit users such as students in Kano searching in Hausa and traders in Ibadan making inquiries in Yorùbá, allowing them to explore information more naturally through text or voice.
According to the company, the development goes beyond simple translation, focusing instead on improving local language understanding through advanced multimodal and reasoning capabilities powered by its customised Gemini model integrated into Search.
Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, Communications and Public Affairs Manager, West Africa at Google, said the goal is to make Search more relevant and accessible to Nigerians.
“Building a truly global Search goes far beyond translation — it requires a nuanced understanding of local information. With the advanced multimodal and reasoning capabilities of our custom version of Gemini in Search, we’ve made huge strides in language understanding, so our most advanced AI search capabilities are locally relevant and useful in each new language we support. This is about ensuring Nigerians can converse with Search in their mother tongues, making information more helpful for everyone,” he said.
The 13 African languages now supported include Afrikaans, Akan, Amharic, Hausa, Kinyarwanda, Afaan Oromoo, Somali, Sesotho, Kiswahili, Setswana, Wolof, Yorùbá and isiZulu. Google said the languages were selected based on strong search activity across the continent.
To access the feature, users can open the Google app on Android or iOS devices, or use the web version, tap on AI Mode within the Search experience, and type or speak their question in their preferred language.
The company noted that the update is part of its broader commitment to ensuring technology reflects the identity, culture and communication needs of diverse communities across Africa.
