Google's AI-powered content in Hindi requires significant improvement for better user engagement.

India’s language diversity presents a significant challenge for digital content companies, and Google is no exception. The company recently rolled out AI Overviews in the country, but the feature has been met with disappointing results.

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Hindi Support and Inconsistency

Google introduced Hindi support for AI Overviews earlier this year, allowing users to switch between Hindi and English without leaving the search page. However, our testing revealed that the feature is inconsistent at best. For example, when we asked "Cheeni ki jagah chai mai kya daal sakte hai?" (What is a substitute for sugar in tea?), Google didn’t show an answer even though it had provided one earlier.

Literal Translations and Out-of-Context Summaries

Another issue we encountered was literal translations of English words. When we asked "Kya summer mein hum kuch khayein?" (What kind of food can we eat during summer?), Google suggested "Chiknai wali cheezien" (Sticky things), which is confusing. Switching to English, the suggestion changed to "Oily," a very different concept when it comes to food.

Qualitative Problems and Inaccurate Answers

We also noticed qualitative problems with AI Overviews. When we asked about Diwali this year, Google provided a paragraph on last year’s celebrations, followed by a carousel of links, and finally the answer we were looking for. In another instance, we got inconsistent answers to our question about eating food with spices in both Hindi and English.

Concerning Results and Lack of Context

The problems we encountered went beyond language accuracy. When we asked about when someone should think about having kids after marriage, AI Overviews suggested a source that provided an outdated and inaccurate answer. Similarly, when we asked about the benefits of meditation, Google cited a source that mentioned incorrect information.

India’s Internet Users and Google’s Opportunity

With over 830 million internet users in India, Google has a significant opportunity to provide accurate and helpful answers to users’ queries. However, with AI Overviews struggling to keep up with language diversity and accuracy, the company will need to step up its game if it wants more users to adopt this feature.

What’s Next for AI Overviews?

Given the disappointing results we encountered, Google needs to revamp its AI Overviews to better serve India’s diverse user base. This may involve improving language processing capabilities, providing more context and accuracy in answers, and ensuring that sources cited are reliable and up-to-date.

Conclusion

While AI Overviews has been a promising feature for Google, the results we encountered have been underwhelming. To succeed in India’s market, the company will need to address the challenges it faces with language diversity and content accuracy.