Google announces a slew of new gen AI-powered launches

Bolstering its commitment to India, Google today announced a slew of new gen AI-powered launches, partnerships, and investments, aimed at accelerating the country’s digital success underpinned by the strong foundations laid by India’s Digital Public Infrastructure. These new commitments – spanning Google’s core products such as Search, GPay, and Google Cloud – will enable people, businesses, and institutions to maximize their deepening digitization for greater value and opportunities for progress.

As part of this, GPay will now enable the availability of reliable and responsible formal credit to people and small businesses by offering customized credit products from some of India’s top lenders on the platform. Google is supporting the launch of Axis My India’s one-of-a-kind multilingual super-app called, ‘a’, which utilises Google Cloud’s gen AI technology to provide millions of citizens information about government schemes and other solutions and services nationwide. Stepping up its commitment to strengthen citizen safeguards against online financial frauds, Google announced the launch of DigiKavach, an early threat detection and warning system designed to identify and study emerging financial fraud patterns before they cause widespread harm. In a renewed focus on ensuring small businesses gain the advantages of Google’s AI leadership, Google Cloud expands its partnership with ONDC to help Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) to sell their produce online.

Sanjay Gupta, Country Manager and Vice President, Google India: “The potent combination of the uniquely interoperable Digital Public Infrastructure and people’s tech forwardness has set India up to take its next digital leap forward. Now, with the possibilities of generative AI, India has the opportunity to build on its digital success in this new tech paradigm and widen the canvas of every aspirational Indian. We’re excited to chart the future path of our partnership with India in the critical areas of democratising credit and commerce, enabling better citizen services in every Indian language, and bringing the best AI capabilities in the hands of every user. As we do this, we are stepping up our commitment to strengthen the ecosystem’s defenses against online harms.

“We, at Google, are very committed to being a trusted, responsible and valued partner in India's digital transformation journey and in working with the government to drive innovation, improve economic growth, enhance the country's security, and protect the privacy and safety of the millions of Indians who choose our products and services.”

GPay to widen access to responsible and reliable formal credit in partnership with top lenders for users and merchants

In line with the government’s vision to expand the reach of responsible credit, Google Pay announced a range of products aimed at consumers and merchants, which will help eligible but underserved users, get convenient access to credit from trustworthy and regulated lenders.

While the credit is underwritten by accredited financial institutions, Google Pay collaborates with them to make it accessible, simple and convenient. Please turn over for a detailed list of credit products and partners. These products also form the foundation of Google Pay’s Digital Pragati initiative, aimed at growing economic opportunity for every Indian.

Launches DigiKavach to combat online financial fraud

To safeguard people from increasingly sophisticated financial scams wrought by bad actors online, Google announced the launch of its flagship program, DigiKavach - an early threat detection and warning system designed to identify and study emerging financial fraud patterns and develop and implement effective counter measures before they cause widespread harm.

DigiKavach leverages a collective, proactive, responsible approach to cross share learnings and insights quickly and effectively with committed partners across the ecosystem. By studying the methods and modus operandi of scammers and collaborating with the wider ecosystem of experts, the program aims to identify and mitigate new scams and collectively help create a safer and more secure digital ecosystem for all.

Towards this goal, Google is proud to collaborate with The Fintech Association for Consumer Empowerment and onboard them as a priority flagger, as part of its consistent efforts to combat predatory digital lending apps on Play Store in India. As a priority flagger, FACE will support Google with market intelligence to inform detection and enable swift action against personal loan apps in India non-compliant with Play Store’s policies.

Saikat Mitra, Vice President & Head of Trust & Safety, Google APAC: “To fully realise the potential of digital, ensuring the safety and security of individuals online is not just a necessity, but an imperative. With DigiKavach, we're doubling down our efforts to protect people against ever-evolving financial scams and fraud. Leveraging our internal expertise, we're focused on understanding and detecting threats early so we can act quickly and effectively to prevent the spread of scams and share our insights and findings with committed experts. We are glad to be able to partner with organizations that have been doing incredible work in this space, and to join forces towards the critical endeavor of enabling a safer and more resilient internet for all.”

Google Cloud partners Axis My India to launch multilingual citizen-centric super-app

Axis My India is partnering with Google Cloud to build an inclusive and multilingual super-app called “a”, that aims to grow people’s awareness, accessibility, and utilization of government social welfare schemes, basic day-to-day amenities, employment opportunities, and healthcare benefits. Axis My India will scale the reach of “a” with the power of Google Cloud’s infrastructure so it can reach every Indian regardless of whether they live in rural or urban areas. Gen AI from Google Cloud will also enable Axis My India to not only match user queries with the most relevant and personalized government information in real time, and in the language they speak, but it will also get smarter over time as it tracks touchpoints from initial query to the delivery of the final benefit to the citizen.

Pradeep Gupta, Chairman and Managing Director, Axis My India: ““Our collaboration with Google marks a pivotal milestone in our endeavor to positively transform the lives of a billion Indians. By leveraging Google Cloud technologies, we aim to create an inclusive platform that truly empowers citizens with authentic information and solutions based on their needs. Axis My India’s extensive reach and expertise affords us an unprecedented opportunity to bring information equity between rural and urban India through our platform. This free of cost app will act like a ‘Guide to every Citizen’ ”.

Open Network for Digital Commerce

Earlier this June, Google Cloud and ONDC announced the launch of the open-sourced solutions enabling buyers and sellers to onboard seamlessly onto the ONDC Network. To further democratise access to digital commerce, regardless of digital literacy, geography, or economic status, this partnership is being expanded to enable Farmer Producer Organizations, or FPOs, to sell their produce online, thereby giving farmers greater channels for revenue.

Built on Google Cloud’s gen AI and language capabilities, FPOs will be able to easily onboard the ONDC Network as merchants to sell their produce online. They will also be able to build catalogs and reach out to merchants across the country with the power of just a few clicks.

T Koshy, MD & CEO at ONDC: "ONDC is steadfast in its commitment to empower India's farmers by facilitating their access to digital markets and harnessing the benefits of e-commerce. With Google's genAI and cutting-edge tools, we are poised to provide a boost to India's farmers, enabling them to seamlessly navigate the digital commerce landscape, enhancing their visibility, and accelerating their path to success. Together, ONDC and Google Cloud stand proudly at the forefront of this transformative journey."

Bikram Singh Bedi, Managing Director, Google Cloud India: “The confluence of innovation and technology in the form of generative AI is a once in a generation event that will transform business possibilities in the same way that the internet changed access to information. We’ve had the privilege to work with some of the biggest organizations, start-ups and unicorns, and even the government to help them in their transformation journey. It's in Google Cloud’s DNA to democratize technology and give it in the hands of users and customers to accelerate their growth in this digital and AI era. Our work with partners like ONDC, SignCatch, Bhashini and so many others will help us strengthen India’s digital economy and keep us future ready.”

Google.org, Google’s philanthropic arm, provides grants of over $7 million to India’s changemakers combating misinformation and deploying AI to improve agriculture outcomes Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google, today announced two additional grants that will scale its support to Indian non-profit organizations to over $50 million since 2015. A new $4 million grant to the cybersecurity advocacy organization CyberPeace Foundation will be Google.org’s single largest for online safety and digital literacy in India, supporting a four-year nationwide awareness-building program and comprehensive multilingual digital resource hub to equip nearly 40 million underserved people across the country in building resilience against misinformation and practicing responsible online behaviour. A $3.3 million grant to Wadhwani AI will support its effort with the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (MoAFW) to apply AI-powered pest management technology to 10 staple food crops across the country, expanding the benefits of the technology that is already underlying the CottonAce application, developed with pro bono support from 9 Google.org fellows and that has helped improve Indian cotton farmers’ profits.

Annie Lewin, Senior Director of Global Advocacy and Head of Asia Pacific, Google.org: “Throughout our longstanding commitment to supporting changemakers using technology to solve humanity's biggest challenges, we have long been inspired by the innovation and zeal of Indian nonprofit organizations. With new grants to Wadhwani AI and CyberPeace Foundation, we are proud to deepen our commitment in India, supporting solutions that speak directly to Google’s DNA and harness the latest advances in AI and technology to make the benefits of the country’s digital transformation universal. Whether it’s helping first-time internet users chart their path in a digital world with confidence, or farmers across India opening new chapters in crop resilience and agricultural productivity, such solutions give us pride and hope that each step, built on a strong foundation of responsible technology and trusted information, will translate into progress for all.”

Vineet Kumar, Founder of CyberPeace: "In an era in which digital is deeply intertwined with our lives, knowing how to discern, act on, and share the credible from the wealth of information available online is critical to our wellbeing, and of our families and communities. Through this initiative, we’re committing to help Internet users across India become informed, empowered and responsible netizens leading through conversations and actions. Whether it’s in fact-checking information before sharing it, or refraining from sharing unverified news, we all play an important role in building a web that is a safe and inclusive space for everyone, and we are extremely grateful to Google.org for propelling us forward in this mission with their grant support.”

Shekar Sivasubramanian, CEO, Wadhwani AI, said, “We aim to boost efficiency and production in the Indian agricultural sector using AI. Our Cotton Ace app, supported by Google.org, has already increased farmers' profits by 20% and reduced pesticide expenses by 25%. This recent grant will help us expand our technology to safeguard staple crops like rice, wheat, and corn, supporting the UN's goal of zero hunger."

YouTube expands efforts to connect people with credible news sources

YouTube unveiled new findings by independent consulting firm, Oxford Economics, which showed that the YouTube creative ecosystem has contributed over INR 16,000 Crores to the Indian GDP and supported more than 750,000+ full-time equivalent jobs in 2022.

Further, building on its efforts, over the years, to elevate authoritative news sources, with features like the Top News shelf, YouTube announced that it will roll out watch page for news, a new immersive experience for news stories in India, across 11 languages, in Q4 2023.

The watch page for news will bring together a diverse and credible range of news sources on YouTube for viewers who want to go beyond the headlines and explore a story, recommending content across video on demand, livestreams, podcasts, and Shorts. Not only does this update help news organisations engage with their audience through multi-format content in unique ways but also underscores YouTube’s commitment to connecting viewers with timely and substantive news content to deep-dive into news topics they care about.

Google strengthens its generative AI Search experience in India with visual and local capabilities

Google also announced that it is adding new capabilities to its generative AI experiment in Search, Search Generative Experience (SGE), in India. Available in Search Labs, the experience is becoming richer and more visual by bringing videos and images into many AI-powered overviews. Generative AI in Search will soon also help people explore places and things to do in a city more seamlessly by incorporating user reviews in the experience. In the coming weeks, generative AI in Search will also help users in India easily navigate and access critical information of over 100 government schemes spanning crucial areas such as employment, housing, healthcare, farming, women’s welfare, and more.

In addition, Google announced a new AI-powered innovation on Google Lens to help people search for skin conditions that are visually similar to what they see on their skin with a picture.

Shivani Mohan, Senior Director, UX Research, Google Search: “For years, we’ve applied the latest AI technology to develop simpler and smarter ways for people to explore the world’s information, and India has led the way in adopting many of these technologies. With generative AI in Search, we’re once again reimagining what a search engine can do, transforming the way information is organized to better serve the information needs of our users. Our India launch marked the first-ever multilingual generative AI experience in Search, and we’re thrilled with the positive response the experience has been receiving in the country. We look forward to continuing adding more capabilities and exploring new ways to make Search even more helpful for India.”

Making the Shopping experience more helpful for small businesses

To provide better shopping experiences for consumers and small businesses on Search, Google announced a more visual way to browse and shop, with filters to help shoppers quickly and easily find the products they are looking for. Consumers can click on products to see the latest offers, store information, and set up for price alerts. In addition, Google is introducing Business Messages for consumers to directly ask merchants questions and receive personalized recommendations within Search itself.