Google’s AI search now speaks Yorùbá and Hausa

Google has expanded language support for its artificial intelligence-powered search tools to include Yorùbá and Hausa, widening access to its AI-driven information features in Nigeria and bringing the total number of African languages supported to 13.

The update allows users to interact with AI Overviews and AI Mode in their native languages, enabling quick summaries and conversational responses to complex questions through Google Search.

The move forms part of the company’s broader push to make AI tools more accessible across Africa, where language barriers have long limited the reach of digital services. With the addition of Yorùbá and Hausa, two of Nigeria’s most widely spoken languages, users can now ask questions, receive explanations and explore web content in their mother tongue.

The feature means, for example, that a student in Kano can ask research questions in Hausa while a trader in Ibadan can search for business advice in Yorùbá, using either text or voice within Google’s search interface.

Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, communications and public affairs manager for West Africa at Google, said the expansion reflects the company’s efforts to ensure its AI tools reflect local culture and language use.

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“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,” he said.

He added that enabling Nigerians to interact with search in their native languages could make online information more accessible and useful.

Google said the African languages currently supported by its AI-powered search features include Afrikaans, Akan, Amharic, Hausa, Kinyarwanda, Afaan Oromoo, Somali, Sesotho, Kiswahili, Setswana, Wolof, Yorùbá and isiZulu.

The languages were selected based on search activity across the continent, the company said, with the aim of extending AI-powered tools to communities that have traditionally been underserved by digital platforms.

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To use the feature, users can open the Google app on Android or iOS or access it through the web, select AI Mode within the search interface, and type or speak questions in their preferred language.

The rollout comes as technology companies race to localise artificial intelligence tools for emerging markets, where linguistic diversity has often limited adoption of global digital services. In Africa alone, thousands of languages are spoken, making localisation a critical step for expanding AI usage across the region.