Google’s entire ethos is built around Gemini these days, and now, that experience is coming to how you search, discover, and use apps on the Play Store.
As announced at Google I/O, the company is bringing several AI-focused features into the Play Store to give developers improved discovery and increased engagement from their users, though the most notable change actually takes play outside Android’s main app destination. In the coming weeks, Gemini will begin surfacing apps and games to users on the web and within the Android experience. Later this year, Google plans to expand the reach to include even more of the Play Store’s library, including 450,000 movie and TV show recommendations, live sports streaming information, and more.
Things are changing in the store, too. If you’ve been hoping Google would grant you yet another dedicated chatbot to help find specific information, your wish has been granted. Ask Play is a new Gemini-powered overlay for Play designed for “deeper search journeys,” so that when you get bored of one over-monetized match-three game, you’ll have the perfect starting place to find the next one.
Ask Play builds on the Q&A tools already in Play, which Google says already answers “95% of user queries.” This tool also comes with a new “Highlights” feature, delivering summarized info at the top of your search results.
Once you’ve found a game worth sinking some time into, Google wants you relying on its new AI-powered assistant feature, Play Games Sidekick. It’s an in-game overlay that delivers “AI-generated Game Tips, rewards, and achievements” in order to drive further engagement within your select title. Sidekick first started rolling out back in March, but now it’s getting new social features to highlight which of your friends are enjoying the same game, along with a global expansion.
Google also announced some developer-focused Gemini tools, including the ability to localize for different languages with pre-populated content, auto-apply popular search trends, and more.
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