Te reo Māori in the pockets of New Zealanders every day

Google is one of the most influential technology companies in the world, known for its search engine, digital products and innovations in AI, cloud computing, and more. As part of their innovative work, Google has moved towards increased support for indigenous languages, including our national treasure - te reo Māori.
Google was founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin. What began as a simple search engine project quickly transformed Google into one of the world's most successful and influential tech companies.
Here in Aotearoa, Google is embedded into our daily lives and supports the use of te reo Māori. From googling Māori Dictionary, mapping a route to Taupō, or translating a reo Māori word or phrase, to sending an email and creating a calendar invite in te reo Māori - Google plays a significant role in platforming and showcasing information about our reo.
Google has supported reo Māori initiatives in a number of ways:
- Te reo Māori has been available through Google Translate for about 10 years
- Google supported the development of the Kupu app, which allows you to take a photo and be given a reo Māori word
- Google has committed to improving the pronunciation of Māori place names
- They have supported access to and learning of te reo Māori for staff at Google New Zealand
- Developed Google Input Tools, which makes it easier for you to add macrons to your writing on a Chromebook
- In 2023, Google and Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori signed a MOU, formalising a partnership where both organisations work towards the advancement of and access to te reo Māori.
In 2024, Google sponsored the Tohu Ao Matihiko award at the Ngā Tohu Reo Māori awards. By sponsoring the digital category, Google highlighted the intersection between technology and language normalisation. This category acknowledges innovative projects that use digital platforms to promote and normalise te reo Māori. It was a natural pairing to work with one of the world’s most prolific tech companies to celebrate the champions on the cutting edge of reo Māori normalisation in the digital world.
Google brings te reo Māori into the pockets of New Zealanders every day. We’re proud to work with Google to continue to uplift our champions for te reo Māori towards a technologically innovative future for this official language of Aotearoa.