Google’s Search Live may soon learn to respect boundaries

Google is not leaving any stone unturned in ensuring that people not only rely on its AI products but also depend on them in the same way they depend on Search. That is why Google has been pushing Search features like AI Mode and Search Live parallel to Gemini and Gemini Live, offering comparable functionality with and without the benefit of results from Google Search. As you might have guessed, Search Live lets you obtain search results that are fine-tuned in real-time while interacting with it using voice or video. While the feature is still relatively new, Google is gradually adding features to make it useful to a broader set of users.

With version 16.44.59.sa.arm64 of the Google app, we’ve dug up more new features being tested for Search Live. The first option is to stop Search Live when you close the interface. Currently, Search Live continues to work in the background even after you minimize the app, actively listening to any follow-up queries you might have.

Understandably, that can feel a bit spooky and leave you wondering if Google is listening to every conversation in the background. But thankfully, Google may soon introduce the option to quit Search Live as soon as you return to the homescreen or switch to another app.

This could be possible with a “Continue in background” toggle that should appear in Search Live’s settings. The option sits right above the “Interrupt live conversations” toggle that we also spotted last week. Right under these settings, we also see another newly introduced toggle for Live Captions, which delivers a transcript of all the conversations. Similar to the option for interrupting live conversations, we also saw live captions being tested in Search Live last week. However, the toggle did not exist then.

In addition to these options, Search Live is also gaining a new shortcut in AI Mode. Currently, the Search Live shortcut is available under the search bar on Google’s mobile app. However, as you can see in the picture below, a small new shortcut also appears in the text input box inside AI Mode, essentially confirming Google intends to bridge the gap between the two similar modes — in line with Gemini and Gemini Live.

As with all our APK teardowns, we can’t comment on how long Google will take to make these features publicly available, or even whether it will bring them or bury them before arrival.