Google said Tuesday that it has made many changes to how the Play Store works and works to help improve user personalization and engagement. New features include a redesigned app tab, a new play gaming experience, a new tab focused on interests, and other features that take advantage of Gemini AI.
This update is based on other recent additions intended to make the Play Store a more destination, like a tab that shows where you can view your favorite shows and collections.
“For over 4 billion users, Google Play is an important gateway for discovering apps, games, books, films, television and timely cultural content. Our ambition is to help all users engage with apps and content that drives their needs and interests.”
Naturally, this update adds AI-powered features to the Play Store.
AI Search and New Apps Tab
A feature called Guided Search allows users to find apps or games they want to try, by entering their goals or ideas instead of the app’s name. For example, users can point out the real estate app by typing “Find a house.”
The Play Store app tab has also been updated, with new “curation spaces” tailored to seasonal topics and user interests. These can draw content from multiple apps, Google says. In the US, content related to, for example, WNBA is featured here.
The expansion follows the launch of Indian and Japanese curation spaces, which focused on regional interests such as cricket and cartoons, respectively. Korean users will acquire curated space focused on video content and offer a mix of short-form videos, including movies, TV shows, dramas and serialized stories. Google points out that short form content is the most frequently consumed media format on smartphones.
Personal home with tabs
The new You Tab is intended for users to engage in the Play Store more frequently. This is because it provides a focused place to track subscriptions, rewards (such as play points), recommendations, statistics and updates.
In particular, this tab provides recommendations related to interests such as movies and shows, podcasts, e-books, audiobooks, and more, making it easier to go back to what you’re reading, listening, or watching at the end.
Gamers will also see the new gamer profile in this tab. This tab organizes statistics and results across games and devices. These profiles can also be customized in Genai Avatar.
New Game Tab and ai ‘sidekick’
The new features for gamers are also rolling out after the launch of a new gaming app that was shipped in the iOS 26 release of Android rival Apple.
Now Games Tab focuses statistics and achievement tracking, rewards and community in one place. By playing Game Leagues, users can challenge their friends and compete for rewards for play points. This begins with the first league dedicated to the popular title Subway Surfers, which will be held from October 10th to October 23rd.
However, a more interesting update is the addition of AI-enabled play game side kicks. This is a new in-game overlay that you can access to get real-time gaming support from Gemini Live.
The idea is that you can get stuck in the game and ask Gemini for help when you need guidance or tips. This feature is based on a work introduced by Google on DeepMind in December. There, we showed us how to develop AI agents across domains, including games.
“Instead of having to leave the game to find tutorials and walkthroughs, we leverage the latest Gemini Audio-to-Audio models to understand the context of the game and provide quick response and encouragement,” Mahbod said.
Sidekick also curates and organizes other related game information in one place, allowing you to stay in the game. Initially, this feature will be supported in EA and Netmarble games, including Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes, FC Mobile, and Solo Leveling: Arise.
The expanded game details page is also new, providing information about the title, including ongoing events, developer updates, offers and more. Next month, gamers can also ask questions and share answers on this page to provide or grasp help to other gamers.
Google Play Games on PC Offering, which brings over 200,000 titles to Windows desktops, is still in beta today, Google said.
