Google is rapidly rolling out Gemini AI across its entire ecosystem, with Play Store being the latest one. The search giant has rolled out a major update to its Play Store, introducing a range of AI-powered features designed to make app discovery, content consumption, and gaming more personalized and engaging. According to the tech titan, the update is meant to help users find apps, games, and other content more quickly while offering recommendations based on their interests.
A key feature of the update is the new ‘You’ tab, which acts as a personalized hub for each user. It brings together a personâs subscriptions, app usage, and rewards in one place, making it easier to keep track of everything. The tab also offers recommendations for apps, games, podcasts, audiobooks, and novels based on the userâs interests and activity. By understanding how users interact with different apps and media, the Play Store can suggest new content that is relevant and help them continue with the apps or media they were already using.
The Sundar Pichai-led company has also brought its Gemini AI into the Play Store to enhance app discovery. This AI integration allows users to compare similar apps more easily and access AI-generated reviews and answers to common questions before installing anything. The feature also supports localized content recommendations, like hubs dedicated to specific interests, for example, cricket in India, which gather apps, games, and media related to that topic in one convenient space.
Gaming has been a particular focus of the update, with the introduction of ‘Gemini Live’, an AI-powered assistant that provides real-time support while playing games. This assistant can analyse in-game events and offer context-specific hints, display information about rewards and achievements, and respond to voice commands without interrupting gameplay.
The Play Store is also expanding its Google Play Games platform to PC, allowing over 200,000 titles to be played across devices. The update also includes a redesign of the ‘Apps’ tab, with improvements aimed at making navigation easier. Smarter recommendation tools and interactive features help users discover apps more efficiently while encouraging developers to engage with their audiences through richer content, like video previews and tutorials. This redesign complements the AI-driven features, ensuring that users not only find apps faster but also interact with them in more meaningful ways.
However, despite all such efforts and advancements, Google Play has continued to face controversies over its policies and practices. For example, in August 2025, the company overhauled its developer fees and rules in the European Economic Area (EEA), a move that drew heavy criticism. The changes included adjustments to the external offers program and the introduction of tiered fee structures, which some developers viewed as restrictive and potentially anti-competitive. Earlier, in January 2025, Indonesiaâs antitrust agency fined Google around $12.4 million for requiring local developers to use its billing system, which was seen as unfair and restrictive.
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