AI may soon make it easier to find the right Android app

Google may be planning to use its AI smarts to make it easier and faster to discover and learn more about apps in the Google Play Store. The first hints about a so-called Ask a Question feature have appeared inside the code of the Play Store app, and while details are thin at the moment, they do match Google’s AI efforts in its other apps.

The code discovered indicates the search and individual app pages in the Play Store may get a search bar powered by AI, possibly displaying text saying “Ask a question about this app,” according to a report published by Android Authority where a version of the Play Store app was torn down and examined. Code inside apps can often reveal features being tested internally before any public release.

While no further details are revealed in the code, and Google has not officially released the feature yet, we may be able to get clues on how it may work by looking at how Google has recently integrated AI into Google Maps. Google will use AI to summarize information pulled from place reviews inside Google Maps to answer specific questions, helping travelers find new locations and ensure they meet requirements before settling on a visit.

Many apps in the Google Play Store have hundreds of reviews written by users, and Google could potentially leverage the information contained in them in the same way as it’s now doing with Google Maps. The AI could quickly surface useful information in response to very specific questions about an app, helping people make better, more informed, and safer app download decisions. It could also aid app discovery by generating answers based on questions about specific app functionality.

The Maps feature follows Google’s introduction of AI summaries to speed up web search results, further showing why a similar feature arriving in the Play Store wouldn’t be a surprise. Google isn’t the only one looking at ways AI can help improve discovery in dense app stores. Apple has been linked with a similar sounding feature, where summaries about an app based on user reviews may appear on app pages in the App Store. Google’s Ask a Question feature is not official, and not all features found in app code always end up being released. Still, it’s something worth keeping an eye on.