Google Vids expands access to AI video, audio and Avatar tools
Google has announced new features for its video creation tool, Google Vids, expanding access to AI-powered video and audio tools.
Starting this week, users with a Google account can generate short video clips at no cost using Google Vids’ latest model, Veo 3.1. Personal accounts will be limited to 10 video generations per month under the free tier.
Google also introduced music-generation capabilities powered by its Lyria 3 and Lyria 3 Pro systems. These tools allow eligible subscribers, including those on Google AI Pro and Ultra plans, to create custom soundtracks ranging from short clips to longer compositions.
In addition, it is rolling out AI-generated avatars designed to provide a consistent on-screen presence. The avatars, also powered by Veo 3.1, can be customized in appearance and placed in different settings, with options to interact with uploaded objects and backgrounds. Google said these features are intended to support uses such as tutorials, presentations and social media content.
Kantar report shows what Indians are searching for in 2026
India is changing fast, and its search bar is giving the game away. Kantar, the marketing data and analytics company, has released the 2026 edition of its India in Search report, mining Google search data to map how 1.4 billion people are thinking, spending, ageing and believing right now.
The report, built on hundreds of validated search topics and anchored to Kantar’s own trend framework, identifies seven cultural trajectories and 11 sectoral trends. The picture it paints is of a country pulling in several directions at once, seeking convenience yet craving slowness, chasing digital tools yet retreating into the physical world.
The headline numbers are striking. AI searches have exploded to 235 million average monthly searches, up 154 per cent year on year. Beauty searches, at 131 million monthly and growing at 3 per cent, reflect a move toward science-backed efficacy over aspiration alone. Food culture searches hit 94 million, up 7 per cent, blending convenience with experimentation. Quick delivery queries reached 29 million, up 61 per cent. Climate adaptation searches climbed 22 per cent to 14 million. Digital safety queries rose 9 per cent to 17 million.
92% Indians see AR transforming digital engagement
Mumbai: At a time when traditional advertising is increasingly being ignored due to clutter and passive consumption, a new study by Snap Inc. and Kantar highlights how Augmented Reality (AR) is emerging as a powerful tool to re-engage audiences—particularly Gen Z—in India’s evolving digital ecosystem.
Titled ‘State of AR in India’, the study reveals that 92% of Indian consumers believe AR will transform how they shop, learn, and connect online. The findings underscore AR’s growing role as a high-impact advertising format, delivering stronger attention, improved brand outcomes, and measurable influence on purchase decisions.
AR Drives Active Attention
The report points to AR’s ability to generate active, voluntary engagement rather than passive views. AR Lenses have emerged as the top drivers of attention, delivering over 2X higher effectiveness and 3X greater efficiency in capturing active attention compared to other ad formats.
Notably, 3 in 5 Gen Z users say AR keeps their attention longer than regular social media posts, positioning the format as a compelling solution in a skippable, cluttered digital environment.
India is racing ahead in AI adoption, but falling behind where it matters
According to a Deloitte report, India Inc is leading major economies in AI adoption, with nearly 40% of companies using it at scale compared to a 28% global average. However, it still lags in deep technical expertise, ranking among the lowest.
India has emerged as the most aggressive adopter of artificial intelligence (AI) among major economies, with nearly 40% of Indian enterprise respondents reporting significant or full use of AI, well ahead of a global average of 28% across 15 surveyed markets.
Yet the same survey has a flip side. When it comes to deep technical expertise in next-generation AI, India ranks near the bottom of that same group.
New IT rules mandating govt oversight over news posts by influencers
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has proposed draft amendments to the Information Technology Rules that may bring social media users and influencers who create or share news-related content under stricter regulatory oversight, similar to the framework currently applicable to established news publishers
The government has invited public comments on the draft amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, with submissions open until 14 April, 2026.
The draft amendments have attracted strong opposition from the digital rights group Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF), which has termed them a “dangerous expansion of executive power over online speech” and an instance of “digital authoritarianism.”
Google Image Search Now Shows Individual Shopping Ads on Mobile
Google Image Search is no longer just a place to browse inspiration, compare styles, or look at product photos before clicking elsewhere. It is increasingly becoming a transactional surface in its own right. With Google now showing individual Shopping ads directly inside the Images tab on mobile, product discovery and product advertising are moving even closer together.
That sounds like a small interface change. It is not. For retailers, brands, marketplaces, and agencies managing ecommerce media, this changes where commercial intent can be captured. A person can start in a visual browsing mode, remain inside a visual environment, and still encounter a product-level ad that is ready to click. In practical terms, Google is tightening the distance between inspiration and purchase.
This matters because mobile shopping behavior rarely follows a neat linear path anymore. People do not always begin with a tightly phrased product query. They often begin with a look, a color, a style, a category, a vague idea, or an image that feels close to what they want. That is especially true in visually led categories such as fashion, footwear, beauty, furniture, home decor, accessories, and consumer electronics. The Images tab sits right in the middle of that behavior. It captures curiosity before a user has fully narrowed the field.
Google Ads adds “Results” tab to show impact of recommendations
Google Ads now shows the real impact of its recommendations, giving advertisers a way to evaluate performance instead of relying on trust.
Google is giving advertisers new visibility into whether its automated recommendations actually drive performance — a long-standing blind spot in the platform.
What’s happening. A new “Results” tab within Recommendations shows the incremental impact of bidding and budget changes after they’ve been applied, allowing marketers to evaluate outcomes instead of relying on assumptions.
How it works. The feature attributes performance changes to specific recommendations, helping advertisers understand what effect adjustments like budget increases or bid strategy shifts had on results.
Why we care. Marketers can now validate whether recommendations improved performance, making it easier to decide which automated suggestions are worth adopting in the future.
Between the lines. Google has a vested interest in encouraging adoption of its recommendations, so providing performance data could build trust — but it also raises questions about how that impact is measured.
That’s all for today
That’s our pulse check for today. As we’ve seen, India is racing ahead in AI adoption and AR expectations , but we’re also entering a new era of accountability. With the government proposing stricter oversight for news-sharing influencers and platforms like Google turning visual inspiration into instant transactions, the message is simple: the future of media is high-tech, high-stakes, and highly visual.
I’m your host, signing off. Stay ahead, and I’ll see you in the next one!
