Google Search for Android updated with improved app integration in results

By Ketan Pratap | Updated: 19 November 2015 17:45 IST

Google has announced a major update to its Google Search for Android which will now show app results, including Google Play app listings, or from those already installed on the user's smartphones.

The search engine giant confirmed the news via its Inside Search blog and revealed that the new features are being rolled out to Android through the Google Search app, or directly in Chrome and Android browser of the smartphone.

Further, the blog post explained that app listings from Google Play will now appear in search when they are relevant.

The blog post has also detailed three types of app listings which will now appear depending on the search - these are 'Open in app', 'Google Play buttons', and 'Download button'.

The 'Open in app' result is shown if a search term is found in an app already installed on the user's smartphone. This result will only be shown if a user is signed into their Google account.

As of now, the Open in app feature is currently supported for select apps, namely AllTrails, Allthecooks, Beautylish, Etsy, Expedia, Flixster, Healthtap, IMDb, Moviefone, Newegg, OpenTable, Trulia, and Wikipedia. Google has confirmed that more apps would be added in the future.

The 'Google Play buttons' result is shown when a slightly ambiguous search query is found in more than one app. The group of apps are then listed, and users can click the Google Play button on any of the apps to go to the Play Store app, and install the app if they wish.

The 'Download button' result will be shown when a user searches for an exact app on Google Search for Android. When users press the button, the relevant app will be opened on the Play Store app, and the download will begin automatically.

Notably, the new finding apps in search results feature of Google Search for Android is currently only available to Android 2.3+ users in the United States who have their language set to English.

Google's blog post by Scott Huffman, VP of Engineering said, "Starting today, Google can save you the digging for information in the dozens of apps you use every day, and get you right where you need to go in those apps with a single search. Google Search can make your life a little easier by fetching the answer you need for you - whether it's on the web, or buried in an app."

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