NEWS
Google Expands AI-Powered Search Capabilities to Support Yorùbá and Hausa Languages, Deepening Access to Information for Millions of Nigerians
Technology giant Google has expanded the language support of its Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered search features to include Yorùbá and Hausa languages in Nigeria, a development expected to significantly broaden digital access and improve how millions of Nigerians interact with information online.
The expansion represents a major step in the company’s ongoing efforts to make artificial intelligence more inclusive and accessible across Africa by integrating indigenous languages into advanced digital platforms.
The announcement was made on Thursday by Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, Communications and Public Affairs Manager for West Africa at Google, who disclosed that the new update enables speakers of the two widely spoken Nigerian languages to interact with AI-powered search tools using their mother tongues.
According to him, the new capability allows users to obtain quick summaries of information and engage in conversational exploration while searching the web, thereby removing language barriers that have historically limited access to digital knowledge for many local language speakers.
Kola-Ogunlade explained that the expansion forms part of Google’s broader strategy to strengthen the inclusiveness of artificial intelligence technologies across the African continent by ensuring that digital tools are built to understand and respond to the linguistic realities of diverse communities.
With the addition of Yorùbá and Hausa, he said the number of African languages supported by the company’s AI Search features has now increased to 13, marking a significant milestone in the effort to localise global technology for African users.
The update is also expected to transform the search experience for Nigerians by enabling people to interact with search platforms in languages they are most comfortable with while seeking knowledge, solutions, or guidance online.
Under the new feature, users across Nigeria can ask questions, explore topics, and obtain explanations in familiar local languages rather than relying solely on English. This means that a student in northern Nigeria could ask academic questions in Hausa, while a business owner or trader in the southwestern region could seek guidance or information in Yorùbá.
Highlighting the technological depth behind the new capability, Kola-Ogunlade noted that the upgrade was powered by advanced AI systems designed to understand context, reasoning, and multimodal inputs, allowing the search engine to provide more accurate and culturally relevant responses.
“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 have made huge strides in language understanding.
“This ensures 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.
Kola-Ogunlade further explained that the expansion would enable users to ask complex questions in their preferred language through either text or voice commands, creating a more natural and intuitive browsing experience.
Industry observers believe the move could have far-reaching implications for education, commerce, and digital literacy in Nigeria, as it empowers millions of people who primarily communicate in local languages to participate more actively in the digital economy.
The initiative also reflects a growing recognition among global technology companies that meaningful technological inclusion requires adapting innovations to the linguistic and cultural realities of local populations rather than expecting users to conform to global language standards.
By integrating Yorùbá and Hausa into its AI-powered search ecosystem, Google is positioning itself to serve a broader spectrum of users across Nigeria while helping to bridge the gap between advanced digital technology and indigenous language communities.