Google Bets on Safe, Trusted AI to Protect Vulnerable Users in India

As artificial intelligence becomes deeply woven into everyday life, Google is positioning safety—not speed—as the foundation of its AI strategy in India. Ahead of the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi, the tech giant has outlined a sweeping set of initiatives aimed at protecting vulnerable users, combating sophisticated digital scams, and strengthening enterprise cybersecurity.

The message is clear: transformational AI cannot succeed without trust.

India-AI Impact Summit 2026: A Global First in the Global South

Scheduled for February 19–20, 2026, the India-AI Impact Summit will be the first global AI summit hosted in the Global South. Announced by India at the France AI Action Summit, the event underscores India’s growing influence in shaping the future of responsible AI.

For Google, the summit provides a strategic platform to showcase how AI safety, inclusion, and governance can be designed at population scale—especially in fast-growing digital economies like India.

Fighting Scams Faster Than Scammers

India has seen a sharp rise in digital arrest scams, screen-sharing fraud, and AI-driven voice cloning, making traditional defences increasingly ineffective. Google says its response is to build protections that operate faster than scammers, directly within consumer technology.

One of the most significant rollouts is real-time scam detection on Pixel phones, powered by Gemini Nano. The system analyses suspicious calls on-device, without recording or storing audio, ensuring privacy while identifying potential fraud in real time.

Google is also piloting a new safety feature in partnership with Google Pay, Navi, and PayTM. If a user opens a financial app while screen-sharing with an unknown contact, the system issues an alert and provides a one-tap option to exit safely—a simple intervention designed to stop scams at the critical moment.

Strengthening App and Payment Security at Scale

The company highlighted the scale of threats already being blocked across its platforms in India. Google Play Protect has prevented more than 115 million attempted installations of high-risk sideloaded apps, while Google Pay issues over one million warnings every week for potentially fraudulent transactions.

To further harden authentication, Google is rolling out Enhanced Phone Number Verification, replacing traditional SMS-based OTPs with a secure SIM-based check. This approach significantly reduces the risk of phishing and SIM-swap attacks during account sign-ins.

Tackling Deepfakes and AI-Driven Misinformation

With deepfake content becoming more realistic and harder to detect, Google is expanding access to SynthID, its AI watermarking technology. The tool embeds invisible markers in AI-generated content, making it easier to identify manipulated media.

In India, Google is partnering with major media organisations including PTI, Jagran, and India Today to strengthen trust in digital content and curb the spread of AI-generated misinformation.

AI-Powered Cybersecurity for Enterprises

On the enterprise front, Google introduced CodeMender, a new AI cybersecurity agent designed to autonomously identify and patch software vulnerabilities. By reducing the time between detection and remediation, CodeMender aims to help organisations stay ahead of increasingly automated cyberattacks.

This reflects a broader shift toward AI-driven defence systems that can operate at machine speed—an essential capability as attackers increasingly use AI themselves.

Building Digital Literacy for Millions

Google emphasised that technology alone is not enough. Large-scale digital literacy remains critical to protecting users, especially first-time internet adopters and seniors.

Initiatives such as LEO, Super Searchers, and DigiKavach are designed to help users recognise online threats, avoid scams, and navigate the digital world safely. These programs are reaching millions across India, reinforcing the human layer of cybersecurity.

Through Google.org’s APAC Digital Futures Fund, the CyberPeace Foundation will receive USD 200,000 to strengthen AI-driven cyber-defence tools, further expanding India’s cyber resilience ecosystem.

India at the Centre of AI for the Global South

Google described India’s scale, linguistic diversity, and digital maturity as central to building AI systems for the Global South. The company is deepening collaborations with IIT Madras and CeRAI (Centre for Responsible AI) to develop AI safety benchmarks, high-quality datasets, and governance frameworks tailored to emerging economies.

These efforts aim to ensure that AI systems are not only powerful, but inclusive, equitable, and culturally relevant.

The Bottom Line

Google’s India strategy signals a shift in how AI leadership is defined. Rather than racing ahead unchecked, the company is anchoring its innovation in safety, trust, and accountability.

As India prepares to host the world’s first Global South-led AI summit, Google’s initiatives highlight a broader truth: the future of AI will be shaped not just by capability, but by how responsibly it protects the people who rely on it.