Google Adds Yorùbá, Hausa Support to AI-Powered Search in Nigeria

Google has expanded the language capabilities of its artificial intelligence–powered search features to include Yorùbá and Hausa, enabling more Nigerians to access information online in their native languages.

The development was disclosed in a statement on Thursday by Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, Communications and Public Affairs Manager for West Africa at Google.

According to him, the update allows speakers of the two Nigerian languages to use AI-powered search tools in their mother tongue, providing quick summaries and enabling more conversational ways of exploring information online.

Kola-Ogunlade explained that the move is part of Google’s wider effort to make artificial intelligence more inclusive and accessible across Africa.

With the addition of Yorùbá and Hausa, the number of African languages supported by the company’s AI Search features has now increased to 13.

He said the new capability would make it easier for Nigerians to interact with search tools using familiar languages while looking for information on the internet.

Kola-Ogunlade illustrated the impact of the update, noting that a student in Kano can now ask questions in Hausa, while a trader in Ibadan can seek advice or information in Yorùbá.

“Building a truly global search goes far beyond translation; it requires a deep understanding of local information,” he said.

He added that Google’s customised version of Gemini, integrated into search, features advanced multimodal and reasoning capabilities that have significantly improved the system’s ability to understand different languages.

According to him, this ensures that the company’s advanced AI search tools remain relevant and useful to users in every new language supported.

Kola-Ogunlade noted that the expansion would allow users to ask complex questions in their preferred language, either through text or voice, enabling a more natural and interactive web search experience.

He said the initiative is aimed at ensuring Nigerians can interact with digital information more easily by communicating with search tools in their own languages.