On Wednesday, Google launched several new features for its Play Store aimed at encouraging users to engage more with the app store rather than just using it to download apps.
The Play Store is now equipped with AI-powered app comparisons, automatically organized categories for similar apps, dedicated content hubs, data personalization controls, support for playing multiple mobile games on PCs, and more.
AI-Powered App Comparisons
One of the notable new features is the AI-powered app comparison tool, which is powered by Google’s Gemini AI model. This tool allows users to easily compare apps within similar categories. For example, if you’re looking for a photo editing app, the AI will suggest multiple options and provide descriptions that highlight each app’s features.
This feature is part of Google’s ongoing efforts to integrate AI into its services. During the Google I/O event in May, the company mentioned that Gemini models would power AI-generated app reviews and FAQs on the Play Store, summarizing the most important reviews and common questions about game listings.
Policy Updates and App Deletion
These new features come in the wake of a preview of the latest policy updates for the Play Store, set to take effect on August 31. Google plans to delete apps that do not meet its standards, which includes apps that crash frequently, lack adequate utility as mobile apps, do not have engaging content, or exhibit other behavior that is not consistent with a functional and engaging user experience.
Collections and Curated Spaces
A new Collections feature is designed to help users find relevant content from their most-used apps and is now available to U.S. users. Long-pressing on the Play Store icon will display a menu with seven categories: “Food,” “Game,” “Listen,” “Read,” “Shop,” “Social,” and “Watch.” Each category houses a selection of relevant apps and the content that users most recently interacted with.
For example, if you were browsing headphones on the Best Buy app, that app would appear at the top of the list in the “Shop” category, allowing you to quickly return to browsing. The Play Store will also suggest related apps.
learned during a demo that Google plans to add more categories to this list, such as “Health & Fitness,” “Travel & Events,” “Sports,” and “Dating.” The company is also considering making Collections customizable, so users can group apps together as they wish and receive recommendations for similar or related apps.
There’s also a new feature called “Curated Spaces,” which pulls together content into a dedicated hub, allowing users to explore more of their favorite content. The first of these spaces is “Comics,” a hub for thousands of manga and anime titles for users in Japan.
More Control Over App Data
Google is also giving users more control over which data associated with a particular app (like app activity, purchases, and offers) can be used by Google Play. By navigating to Profile and selecting “Personalization in Play,” users can turn off how Google Play uses data from apps to offer personalized recommendations and ads. The company noted that it may take up to 24 hours for changes to take effect.
Multi-Game Support on PC
For those who use Google Play Games on PC to play mobile games, you can now have two games open at the same time in separate windows, similar to a split-screen setup. During a demo, Google showed Clash of Clans and Disney’s new kart racing game, Speedstorm, side by side to highlight this feature. This allows users to, for example, add troops to the training queue in Clash of Clans before starting another race in Speedstorm. The multi-gaming feature will be rolled out over the next few weeks.
