MUMBAI: The homework hunt is getting a high-tech upgrade. Google is expanding the learning capabilities of Search and Gemini, giving students a new set of AI-powered tools to understand difficult concepts, practise for exams, organise study material and work through problems.
The rollout brings interactive visuals, customised quizzes, image-based learning, study notebooks and tools that can turn uploaded notes into structured study documents, pushing Google’s AI products further into the everyday student toolkit.
On Search, students can now get interactive visual experiences for complex subjects. A query such as the pH scale can generate a visual explanation within an AI Overview, while AI Mode can build a more customised experience based on follow-up questions. Google’s generative UI capabilities have launched globally in English in AI Mode and have also started rolling out in AI Overviews.
Search is also getting an exam-prep twist. Students can generate practice quizzes covering subjects such as science, mathematics, humanities and foreign languages, as well as exams including ACT, AP, ENEM, GRE, JEE, LSAT, MCAT, NEET and SAT. The quizzes provide explanations for answers and links to additional learning material and are available globally in English at no charge.
Then there is Google Lens, which is being turned into a study companion of sorts. Students will be able to photograph the material they are working on through the Lens camera in the Google app. The resulting AI Overview can explain a concept, identify possible mistakes and provide guidance when a student gets stuck. The feature is expected to roll out globally in English over the coming weeks.
Google is also bringing study notebooks to AI Mode, allowing students to organise material around individual classes or projects. Lecture slides, syllabi and web articles can be added to a notebook, after which students can ask questions based on those sources. Existing notebooks from Gemini Notebook and the Gemini app will also appear in Search, with sources and instructions synchronised across Google’s products.
The notebooks are rolling out across more than 180 countries in English, with additional languages expected later.
For students buried under notes, Google has another shortcut. Search can create study documents from uploaded material and AI Mode conversations, allowing users to combine sources such as handwritten notes and lecture slides and request a document pulling together the main concepts.
The custom file feature supports documents, presentations, spreadsheets and text files across a range of formats. It has rolled out globally in English and is also expected to reach AI Overviews.
Gemini, meanwhile, is adding more tools for deeper study. Students can begin multi-step research in Gemini Live and continue discussing the findings once the research is complete. Gemini can work on the report in the background and notify users when it is ready.
The chatbot is also gaining functional 3D simulations, including interactive models, tables and grids tailored to a user’s request. A student asking to understand DNA in 3D, for instance, could receive a model that can be rotated and zoomed rather than simply a block of text to read.
Google is additionally creating a dedicated learning hub within the Gemini app, bringing together study notebooks, flashcards and practice quizzes.
With the latest additions, Google is effectively turning Search from a place to find an answer into a place to work through the answer while Gemini increasingly becomes a space where students can research, practise, organise and visualise what they are learning.