Product localisation research · Google · 2022–2024

Making Google products fit how Latin America lives.

Role
Research lead for Mexico, Colombia and Brazil, as an independent product researcher. I led the local research teams and worked closely with a Google counterpart.
Users
People in Mexico, Colombia and Brazil.
Scope
Google TV and Android TV, Google One VPN, Connectedness Across Cultures, Gmail.
Status
Confidential. Under NDA, so I can't share findings or visual material from the studies.

Does it work here, as it is?

Google products are designed far from Latin America. My job was to find out whether each one needed local adaptations to work better here, and to propose them.

What I did

I led the research teams in each country and worked closely with a counterpart at Google. From every study I brought back three things.

  1. 1
    Opportunities for new features

    What people in that country needed that the product didn't do yet.

  2. 2
    Risks

    Where the product could fail or be misread in that market.

  3. 3
    Localisation recommendations

    Changes to features, to the language, or to how the product is presented, so it fits the local reality.

A selection of the studies.

All qualitative. Each ran in several countries, and I led the Latin American leg. Colombia was part of the wider work.

  • Google TV and Android TVBrazil · 20227-day diary study with 50 people, then 16 interviews with a concept test
  • Google One VPNMexico · 202290-minute remote in-depth interviews
  • Connectedness Across CulturesMexico · 202290-minute remote interviews, 11 people including 2 with disabilities. I wrote the country report.
  • GmailLatin AmericaProduct localisation

The learning I still use.

What I took away as a researcher, not findings from the studies.

Trust

People trust the channels they already live in. A new product earns its place by fitting into those habits, not by asking people to change them.

It's a big part of why the AI agents I build today live on each clinic's own WhatsApp.

  • Local makes it theirs. The same product feels different when it speaks the local language, reflects local content and fits local routines.
  • Ask why before what. Knowing why people want a tool matters more than knowing they want it.

One study, up close.

Google TV in Brazil: a week of diaries first, then a smaller group in depth. Recruited to look like the country, by age, gender, income and region.

50 7-day diary study 2,903 entries over the week 16 60-minute interviews + concept test
  • 1. 7-day diary study: 50 people, 2,903 entries
  • 2. 60-minute interviews: 16 people, with a concept test