Google expands AI-powered app discovery and Android development tools at I/O

Google’s Android team unveiled AI-driven updates at its annual Google I/O 2026 developer conference aimed at improving app discovery and developer tools. The company introduced **Ask Play**, an AI-powered overlay in the Google Play store that uses Gemini to transform app searches into natural conversations. This tool analyzes user preferences through iterative discussions and provides summaries of app options directly within search results, catering to the growing trend of AI-assisted discovery. Google also expanded its **Engage SDK**, enabling seamless content synchronization across devices. For example, users watching a TV show on Google TV can later pick up where they left off on their Android tablet via Play store suggestions. Starting next month, content notices will appear directly in store listings, with new tablet surfaces like home screen Collections launching soon. The SDK now supports over 80 Play markets globally. On the developer front, Google released a stable 1.0 version of the **Android Command Line Interface (CLI)** with deeper agentic AI integration. The text-based tool allows AI agents to interact directly with development workflows, enabling developers to connect third-party AI coding tools. A new **Antigravity** plugin for Android now includes the CLI and skills, streamlining app development tasks. Additionally, the CLI introduced an **android studio** command, letting AI agents leverage Android Studio’s contextual features to navigate codebases more efficiently. Google AI Studio, a web-based prototyping tool powered by Gemini, now supports the creation of full native Android apps in minutes. Originally limited to Android Studio, these capabilities have been extended to the browser, allowing developers to describe app requirements and generate functional prototypes in Kotlin and Jetpack Compose. The tool also enables direct publishing to Google Play for testing, automating app record creation, bundling, and uploads to internal testing tracks. The updates reflect Google’s push to integrate AI across its Android ecosystem, from user-facing discovery tools to developer workflows. By combining generative AI with existing platforms like Play and Android Studio, the company aims to accelerate app development and enhance user engagement.