Google’s voice search adds 15 African languages

Google recently added 15 more African languages to its Voice Search, Gboard, and Translate tools, allowing millions more people across Africa to use these features in their native languages.

This update means that an estimated 300-million people can now connect with friends, family, and the internet using just their voices; a natural and accessible way to interact with technology.

Alex Okosi, Google Africa’s Managing Director, highlighted the impact this update will have on the continent.

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He noted that this will allow people to use the internet in a way that feels most intuitive by speaking in their language. Okosi explained that this expansion is a step towards creating more inclusive technology for Africans.

Matt Brittin, Google’s President for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, pointed out that the coming years will be transformative for Africa as internet access expands, reports The Citizen.

He described this as part of Google’s mission to make the world’s information universally accessible, adding that this language expansion is a significant move in that direction.

The newly supported languages are spoken by people across West, East, and Southern Africa.

In West Africa, for example, Twi, a widely spoken language in Ghana, is now available. Additionally, four major Nigerian languages spoken by approximately 60% of the country's population, have been added. These include Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, and Nigerian Pidgin.

In East and Southern Africa, Kikuyu is now also supported in Kenya.

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This expansion was made possible by advancements in artificial intelligence, which help Google’s language recognition models learn in ways similar to how a child learns by associating sounds with written words.

The AI system is trained on data from multiple languages, allowing it to accurately convert speech to text in any of those languages.

As the internet continues to reach more people across Africa, Google’s support for these languages is helping millions connect more easily, making technology feel more personal and accessible.