Google India is taking its AI search push straight into India’s living rooms. The company has partnered with JioStar to weave Google Search’s AI Mode into two of Star Plus’s most watched Hindi fiction shows, Anupama and Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai.
The multi-week association combines custom in-show integrations with short vignettes featuring familiar characters from both shows. The content will run across Star Plus and JioHotstar, showing how AI Mode can help with everyday family decisions such as managing household budgets, thinking through career choices and planning children’s education.
The campaign’s Hindi tagline positions AI Mode as a search experience that understands the user, explains clearly and helps point the way forward.
Storylines Built Around Everyday Questions
In one integration, Anupama, played by Rupali Ganguly, uses AI Mode to search for information by simply asking in natural language. A separate brand film shows her trying to figure out where to begin when building a house, until Kinjal, played by Milloni Kapadia, suggests she try AI Mode on Google Search.
The approach places the product inside moments viewers already relate to, rather than explaining the technology through a conventional ad.
Why JioStar and Google Chose Fiction
Mahesh Shetty, Head of Entertainment Sales for TV at JioStar, said the network’s characters are treated almost like members of the family in millions of homes, which gives their stories real influence over how audiences think and behave. He added that placing conversational AI inside these storylines helps show the technology’s everyday usefulness to mainstream India.
Kanika Kalra, Director of Platforms and Ecosystems, Consumer Marketing India at Google, described AI Mode as a major change in how people use Search, bringing reasoning and personalisation to a much wider audience. She said the partnership aims to demonstrate practical, real world value through stories people connect with.
This is not the first time the two companies have worked together. AI Mode was also a co-presenting sponsor of JioStar’s coverage of IPL 2026.
What This Means for Brands and Marketers
Google placing AI Mode inside prime time Hindi serials is a strong sign of where search in India is heading. The target is no longer just early adopters in metros. It is family decision makers across the country, many of whom will soon start asking Google full questions instead of typing short keywords.
That change has direct consequences for brands. As more people ask conversational questions about budgets, homes, education, health and shopping, the answers they see will be shaped by content that AI systems trust and can easily understand. Brands that rely only on traditional keyword rankings risk becoming invisible in these answers.
For ecommerce and D2C businesses in India, now is the time to publish clear, helpful content that answers real customer questions, strengthen brand and product information across the web, and start tracking how often they appear in AI Mode, AI Overviews and other AI assistants. Regional language and Hinglish queries also deserve attention as AI search reaches beyond English speaking audiences.
