Artificial intelligence may soon make it easier to find the right Android app

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

The detected code indicates that the search pages and individual apps in the Play Store may display an AI-powered search bar that may display the text “Ask a question about this app,” according to a report published Android Authority where the Play Store version of the app has been hacked and tested. Code in apps can often expose features that are tested internally before any public release.

While the code doesn’t reveal more details, and Google hasn’t officially released the feature yet, we may be able to get some clues as to how it might work by looking at how Google recently integrated AI into Google Maps. Google will use artificial intelligence to aggregate information gleaned from reviews of places on Google Maps to answer specific questions, helping travelers discover new places and make sure they qualify before stopping to visit.

Many apps in the Google Play Store have hundreds of reviews written by users, and Google could potentially use the information contained in them in the same way that it currently does with Google Maps. AI can quickly provide useful information in response to very specific questions about an app, helping people make better, more informed, and safer decisions about app downloads. It can also help find an app by generating answers based on questions about specific app features.

The Maps feature comes after Google introduced AI summaries to speed up web search results, further showing why a similar feature coming to the Play Store wouldn’t be a surprise. Google isn’t the only one looking for ways artificial intelligence can help improve search in dense app stores. Apple was related to similar sounding where app pages in the App Store may feature summaries about the app based on user feedback. Google’s Ask a Question feature is not official, and not all features contained in the app code are always released. Still, it’s something to look out for.