Google Search Live is a real-time, two-way voice conversation inside the Google app’s AI Mode. You can speak naturally, interrupt spoken answers, ask follow-ups, share your phone’s camera view, and receive web links without typing each query. It launched in the United States in 2025 and expanded on March 26, 2026, to every language and location where AI Mode is available—more than 200 countries and territories according to Google.
What Google Search Live is
Search Live is Google’s name for a live voice interface to AI Mode. Instead of submitting one voice query and waiting for a single result, you hold a continuing conversation with Search. Google speaks its answers, lets you interrupt, and keeps the context for follow-up questions. Responses can include links to web pages, and the transcript is saved in AI Mode history.
The feature is available in the Google app on Android and iOS, not as a separate desktop website or standalone app. Google describes AI Mode as experimental and warns that its answers may contain mistakes, so verify information that affects health, safety, finances, travel bookings or other important decisions.
When Search Live became available
| Date | What changed | Availability stated by Google |
|---|---|---|
| June 18, 2025 | Google introduced voice conversations in AI Mode, including spoken answers, follow-ups, web links, background operation and transcripts. | Google app on Android and iOS in the United States; users had to join the AI Mode experiment in Labs. |
| September 24, 2025 | Search Live officially launched in English in the U.S. without a Labs opt-in. Phone-camera sharing was added. | U.S. English users could open the Google app and tap the Live icon below the Search bar. |
| December 12, 2025 | A Gemini native-audio update made speech more fluid and expressive and added adjustable speaking speed. | Google said the update would roll out during the following week to all U.S. Search Live users. |
| March 26, 2026 | Search Live expanded globally using the multilingual Gemini 3.1 Flash Live model. | All languages and locations where AI Mode is available; Google said this covers more than 200 countries and territories. |
Availability is still controlled by AI Mode support in your particular country, language and account. A user in a country where AI Mode is unavailable cannot enable Search Live merely by installing the latest Google app.
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How to start a Search Live conversation
- Open the Google app on an Android phone or iPhone.
- Find the Live icon below the Search bar and tap it. If the icon is absent, AI Mode or Search Live may not yet be available for your account, language or location.
- Allow microphone access when the operating system asks. Speak after the Live screen opens.
- Use natural turn-taking. Ask a follow-up, interrupt an answer, or mute and unmute the microphone with the on-screen controls.
- Switch input modes when useful. You can type a question during a Live session and return to speaking afterward.
- Enable the camera only when needed. Tap the camera control to share visual context; Google Lens can also start a Live interaction with the camera already active.
Search Live can answer with spoken content and links. It is not limited to the first question: the conversational context is designed for clarifications such as “What about the cheaper option?” or “Explain that last step more simply.”
Using the camera for visual questions
Camera sharing lets Search respond to what your phone is seeing while still connecting the answer to web information. Google’s launch examples include identifying the tools in a matcha set, suggesting ingredient substitutions, inspecting cables and equipment during electronics troubleshooting, observing a school experiment, and choosing among several board-game boxes.
These are Google’s illustrative use cases, not independent accuracy tests. Treat visual identification and instructions as suggestions. Check labels, manuals and other authoritative sources before acting on an answer, especially when a misidentified component or ingredient could cause harm.
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Camera behavior to expect
- Camera sharing stops when you leave the Google app or lock the phone.
- It does not automatically resume when you return or unlock the device.
- You must deliberately turn the camera on again for a new visual exchange.
- Ask permission before recording or including other people, and avoid showing private documents, screens or locations unnecessarily.
Can Search Live keep running in the background?
Yes, a voice conversation can continue while another app is open or while the phone is locked, provided background settings and notifications are enabled. This makes it practical for spoken follow-ups while you move between apps. The exception is video: camera sharing ends when the Google app is left or the screen is locked and will not resume by itself.
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Where transcripts are stored and how to delete them
Live transcripts appear in AI Mode history. You can delete them from AI Mode history or through Google’s My Activity controls. Review these controls if you share a device or do not want spoken questions retained in your account history.
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Deleting a transcript does not make camera use private from people who were physically visible or audible during the session. Use the camera with the same consent and privacy care as any other recording-capable phone feature.
Search Live compared with ordinary Search and voice assistants
| Capability | Search Live in AI Mode | Typed Google Search | Typical one-shot voice search or assistant |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conversation | Back-and-forth dialogue; you can interrupt and ask contextual follow-ups. | Usually a new query or edited query for each search. | Often optimized for a single request, with capabilities varying by assistant. |
| Web links | Answers can connect to web links during the conversation. | Search results are presented as links and other result features. | May provide a spoken result or link depending on the assistant and request. |
| Camera context | Optional live phone-camera sharing; video stops when the app is left or the screen locks. | Requires a separate visual-search action rather than an ongoing voice exchange. | Camera support varies and is not a defining capability. |
| Background use | Can continue with another app open or the phone locked when background settings and notifications permit. | Not a continuous conversation. | Background behavior depends on the assistant and device. |
| History | Transcript is saved in AI Mode history and can be removed from AI Mode history or My Activity. | Search activity follows Google account history settings. | Retention and controls differ by service. |
| Availability | Requires the Google app and AI Mode support for your language and location. | Ordinary Search is broadly available where Google Search operates. | Depends on the particular assistant, device and region. |
| Reliability | Google says AI Mode is experimental and may make mistakes; no independent accuracy benchmark is established here. | Links let you inspect source pages directly, but snippets and pages still require judgment. | Spoken answers can also be wrong; verify consequential information. |
When Search Live is most useful
Travel and local orientation
Ask successive questions while walking or planning: for example, narrow a neighborhood idea, then ask about a nearby alternative. Keep in mind that opening hours, transport conditions and local rules can change, so confirm them on current source pages.
Learning a hobby
Show an object or collection and ask what you are looking at, then request beginner-friendly next steps. Use product labels and specialist references to confirm identification before buying materials or consuming anything.
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Troubleshooting hardware
Point the camera at cables, ports or equipment and describe the symptom aloud. Do not open mains-powered equipment or follow a risky repair instruction solely because an AI answer sounds confident; use the manufacturer’s manual and qualified help when appropriate.
Explaining a project
During a school or home experiment, ask for an explanation of an observed change and request a simpler or more technical version. Treat the response as tutoring assistance, not as proof that an experiment is safe or scientifically conclusive.
Choosing among products or games
Show several boxes or items at once and ask for a comparison, then request the criteria that led to the recommendation. Check the actual specifications, age ratings, ingredients and prices yourself.
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- Experimental answers: Google explicitly says AI Mode may make mistakes. Generated explanations can sound certain even when they are incomplete or wrong.
- Availability is conditional: The March 2026 expansion covers languages and places where AI Mode itself is available, not every Google account or device worldwide.
- Camera consent: Ask permission before including other people and avoid exposing confidential information.
- Video is not persistent: Locking the phone or leaving the Google app stops camera sharing; it does not restart automatically.
- Audio privacy: Spoken conversations create transcripts in AI Mode history until you remove them through the available history controls.
- No independent performance score: Official launch materials document features and examples but do not establish an accuracy benchmark against typed Search or another assistant.
Bottom line: what Search Live changes
Search Live turns AI Mode from a typed prompt box into a live, interruptible conversation with optional visual context. Its strongest advantage is convenience when your hands are busy or a question depends on what you can show the camera. Its boundaries are equally important: access depends on AI Mode availability, camera sharing stops in the background, transcripts require history management, and Google’s own warning means important answers still need verification.
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