The Google Play Store is an essential resource for everyAndroid smartphoneuser. Considering Google’s embrace of AI across a wide range of its products, it was only a matter of time before it was brought to the Play Store. We’re now getting an early glimpse at what the company has planned for the Play Store, thanks to newly unearthed code from the latest version of the Android app marketplace.
According to prominent Android app researcherAssembleDebug(viaSpAndroid), a teardown of Google Play Storev38.4.12has revealed a few strings pointing to the future integration of AI in the form of auto-generated FAQs (frequently asked questions) within individual app and game listings.
Much to our disappointment, there’s no screenshot of these new AI-generated FAQs in action, though the strings supposedly found within the Play Store app’s code leave nothing to the imagination:
Created by AI
Get frequently asked questions answered by Google AI
•Answers to FAQs
• App FAQs
• Game FAQs
The app researcher goes a step further and claims this isn’t any experimental feature but one that would “eventually make its way to the Play Store,” citing a similar precedent with theDownload Buddyfeature that was under testing since last year, only to make itswider appearance this September.
These AI FAQs would appear under the details section of each app and game listing, per AssembleDebug, who adds that although there are a couple of flags for this new addition, enabling them doesn’t seem to activate it just yet. This suggests that it’s still early days for AI-generated FAQs on the Play Store, though there’s hope that subsequent updates of the Play Store will reveal more about this functionality.
The last few weeks have been quite busy for the Google Play Store, with multiple updates hitting the app hub. Some days ago, Google announcednew rules for Android developerswherein they would be required to test their apps with at least 20 people for a minimum of two weeks.
The idea here is to identify and fix glitches or bugs more effectively and improve the app’s overall quality before it is pushed to millions of users. Barring the obvious advantage of having a properly functioning app, Google said these newly added tools would help developers generate 3x the app installs and user engagement, on average. So it’s a win-win for everybody involved.
