Google rolls out four AI search features in France, from AI summaries to voice and image queries

What is launching

Google is making four AI-powered functionalities available to users in France from Wednesday, 22 July. The deployment follows earlier rollouts in other countries and an initial announcement reported by Ouest-France in late June. The four features are AI Overviews (Aperçus IA), AI Mode (Mode IA), Search Live, and a new '+' button in the search bar for file uploads.

AI Overviews generates a summary of information with links, displayed above the traditional list of web results, for queries where no single site provides the complete answer. AI Mode, first introduced in March 2025 according to BFMTV, lets users phrase queries in natural language and uses Gemini models to reason before responding. The feature allows follow-up questions.

Voice, camera, and file input

Search Live is designed to produce more natural conversations. A user can point a smartphone camera at an object and ask questions about what they see, interacting by voice. The fourth addition is a '+' button inside the Google search bar. Clicking it lets users import images, files, and other content, then ask AI Mode questions about those documents.

Handling of news queries

Robby Stein, vice-president of product for Google Search, told Ouest-France that AI Overviews appear sparingly for news-related searches. The company's approach, he said, is to continue highlighting different media viewpoints and to include links. The summary box is presented for very specific questions and is accompanied by links to external sites.

On news queries, Overviews summaries appear rarely: we continue to highlight the different viewpoints of the media, and there are also links.

Rollout context

The features reach France two years after Google began AI experiments on its search engine in the United States. BFMTV notes that AI Overviews itself was introduced in the U.S. two years ago, while AI Mode launched in March 2025. Google's CEO is Sundar Pichai, though the announcement is led by product vice-president Robby Stein. The company views the capabilities as unlocking what Stein called "a new curiosity" among users, enabling longer and more specific queries.