Google announced a collection of new Play Store features on the developer side of the storefront at its I/O 2023 conference. The changes will affect how you find and install apps on the Google Play Store moving forward and confirm that app listing may be partially written by artificial intelligence. You also might see app listings curated for you specifically based on factors such as region and app usage. A few other security improvements protect the end user but also limit customization options. Though the updates weren't as flashy as the reveals of the Pixel 7a, Pixel Tablet, and the Pixel Fold, they'll bring quality-of-life shifts for Android users.
There was already the possibility that you could see app listings created by artificial intelligence, thanks to the prevalence of chatbots and writing generators like OpenAI's ChatGPT or Notion AI. But Google is now incorporating the features directly into Google Play, increasing the chance that you'll come across a Play Store listing written by AI. With an experimental feature, app developers can enter a few prompts, and AI will write a full custom store listing. From there, the developer can choose to publish the AI listing, edit it, or discard it. That means you might have to use a keen eye while reading an app listing to make sure it's really what it says it is.
Beyond the use of AI, there will also be expanded manual tools that developers can use to cater an app specifically to you. Google lets developers create multiple store listings for the same app starting last year, with a cap of 50 listings. The listings were originally tailored to users of different regions and pre-registration statuses, but they're now becoming more advanced. Custom listings can now be created for inactive users, so you might see an app you haven't used in a while showing a listing that explains why you should come back.
Later on, Google plans to launch custom store listings for Google Ads campaigns, adding another type of custom listing. This means that if you click on an app advertisement from AdMob or YouTube, you might see a different version of the app store listing than if you had searched the app in the Play Store. This isn't quite fully-targeted store listings yet, but it's likely that the days of consistent app listings are over.
Google also announced improvements to its Google Play Protect program, which scans apps for security concerns, like malware. The company said it stopped 1.4 million apps that broke its rules from joining the Play Store, but there are still reasons to be cautious. Now, automatic integrity protection is being expanded, which brings DRM-like security to the Play Store. It will ensure an app can't be tampered with, but it'll also limit customization options for advanced users.
New pricing could come to your favorite apps and subscriptions, as Google introduced the ability to set multiple prices per billing period, add new payment methods, and set different prices for emerging markets. The announcements might not be the most exciting, but they affect the Play Store, an app storefront that plenty of users of the best Android smartphones need frequently.