Oppo’s AI Search Redefines How We Interact With Phones | Image Source: www.androidauthority.com
LAS VEGAS, Nevada, April 11, 2025 – Oppo launched its ambitious AI Agenic project at the Google Cloud Next 2025 conference in Las Vegas. With a set of capabilities driven by AI, the centre of this announcement was the global launch of Oppo AI Search, a universal Google Cloud-driven search tool designed to break silos between applications and information sources within a smartphone. According to Android Authority, this feature marks a significant change in how users engage with personal data through applications, through deep integration and the conscious intelligence of the context that responds to natural language requests.
Unlike conventional search tools that often require browsing specific search bars based on applications, Oppo’s AI search works from a single universal search interface, integrating the process of finding everything, from flight details hidden in emails to unlabelled passport photos in a gallery. In other words, users no longer need to remember where they store information. As Jason Liao, President of the Oppo Research Institute, said, “it is AI as it is supposed to be, in essence, always useful, never intrusive.” The company says the goal is to empower users with an intuitive system that knows what they are looking for before they even fully articulate it.
What is Oppo AI Search and how does it work?
Essentially, Oppo AI Search is a search engine based on natural language built into the UI system. It is powered by a hybrid model: AI on the terminal classifies and indexes local data, while Google Cloud infrastructure interprets user requests. This dual structure guarantees both performance and privacy. Depending on Oppo’s presentation, this tool allows users to remove the shadow of notification and perform complex consultations such as “Find my passport photo” or “When is my next flight to San Francisco?” and receive a result in seconds, regardless of the application in which the data reside.
This contrasts with the Samsung Galaxy AI search system introduced in One UI 7. Although Samsung’s system is certainly powerful, it still depends on compartmented search bars. Users must browse the image gallery, the flip configuration application or the email application for messages. The unique Oppo model offers a more elegant and unified solution. Android Authority noted that Jason Liao demonstrated this feature in his Oppo Find N5, showing his ability to find a passport photo unlabelled or labelled in any way, an impressive feat in real-time semantic recognition.
How does Oppo guarantee data confidentiality using cloud-based AI?
Due to concerns about digital confidentiality, Oppo would like to emphasize that AI research does not compromise user security. According to the company’s privacy strategy, Oppo has set up a “Private Computer Club”, a dedicated and encrypted environment where cloud processing takes place. “The understanding of the consultation is via Google Cloud, but the categorization and digitization of the data occurs on the device,” Liao explained during a demo. “We make sure that nothing leaves the user’s device without encryption.” This layered approach ensures speed and efficiency while respecting strict confidentiality standards and user expectations.
In addition, this balance between the device and cloud intelligence opens doors for greater device compatibility. Since the heavy lifting of query understanding is downloaded on Google Cloud, older devices could potentially benefit from the same robust artificial intelligence features without hardware limitations. According to GSM Arena, this multigenerational accessibility is aligned with Oppo’s goal of reaching 100 million AI research users by the end of 2025.
What is Agent AI and why Oppo bet big?
Agenic AI is not only a buzz word, it is the conceptual basis for Oppo’s future. According to Oppo, it refers to AI systems that go beyond reactive behavior to take the initiative on behalf of the user. In other words, AI can predict your needs, automate tasks and become more personal over time. At the conference, Oppo spoke about how Agenic AI will eventually evolve to understand long-term user behaviour, preferences and even emotional contexts, allowing smartphones to become ”assistants growing up with you”
One of the next steps in the Oppo Roadmap is the creation of a user knowledge system, essentially a memory bank that draws lessons from activities, data and usage models. This system will centralize the fragmented information generally dispersed by applications, thereby reducing user friction. For example, imagine that your phone proactively reminds you to pack an umbrella because you noticed a next trip in your emails and correlated it with a bad weather forecast. According to Digitimes, Oppo’s address indicates a deliberate movement towards a high-end AI-centered brand that competes not only in hardware, but in user-centred intelligence.
How do productivity and creativity increase?
Oppo defines AI Search as more than a utility, it is a factor of productivity and creativity. During the conference, the company demonstrated IA-led tools that fall under three pillars: IA productivity, IA imaging, and IA creativity. According to the company’s press release, this includes the synthesis of documents, the editing of smart photos and even the content models generated by AI for social networks. Together, they form an ecosystem that improves what users can do with their devices in real-life scenarios.
Consider a scenario where you are working on a launch cover and have to send back an email from last week. Instead of hunting by Gmail, AI Search will retrieve it using a simple query like “Email on last Friday’s marketing budget.” This reduces time, improves workflow and reduces cognitive load. Similarly, for content creators, AI-based labelling and media recovery could save hours of manual organization. Anyway, Oppo wants your phone to work smarter, not just faster.
What devices will support AI research and the following?
From now on, the AI Search comes out through updates from the OTA (on air) to the global Oppo Find N5. Oppo did not confirm the complete list of devices that will support functionality, but he suggested that since most of the information resides in the cloud, material needs cannot be a limiting factor. According to Android Authority, this could pave the way for a wider deployment, perhaps even extend to OnePlus devices, given the shared parent company, BBK Electronics.
The X8 Ultra result, Oppo’s headlight for wide availability at the end of this year, will probably be the next window for AI capabilities. According to the first comments of the users involved in the Xi’an camera photo tours, the image quality and AI-driven photo enhancements are promising. With its combination of powerful hardware and deeply integrated AI, the X8 Ultra is positioned as the most advanced Oppo smartphone, and a key driver to achieve the IA goal of 100 million company users.
Meanwhile, Oppo plans to further refine the artificial intelligence research function, integrating user feedback and expanding their contextual understanding capabilities. Future versions may include voice interactions, deeper integration with IoT ecosystems, and adaptive learning mechanisms that customize experiences based not only on behaviour, but also on the emotional and social context. As Jason Liao said, “it’s not just about adding AI – it’s about developing the smartphone in something much more capable, more personal.”
In a saturated market with hardware spectra and megapixels, Oppo’s transition to large intelligent software could be a turning point. By placing AI in the same operating system that feeds your phones, and not as a later thought, Oppo quietly rewrites what the smartphone is. If this approach will be universally accepted, it remains to be seen, but if nothing else, it indicates a future where your phone really understands you, not only responds to you.
