Google announces big changes to Play Store with new AI features and more

Google Play

Google is rolling out a major update to Google Play that places users and gamers at the heart of its design. The changes introduce a new You tab, deep integration of gaming features, and smarter tools to help users discover apps more intuitively.

Unified gaming hub

Google Play Games has been beefed up into a unified experience where achievements, rewards and community all live under one umbrella. A “gamer profile” lets users track stats and achievements across different games and devices.   Rewards are now more integrated too—Play Points will span both mobile and PC, and Google is launching Play Games Leagues, where users can compete, earn rewards, and build community engagement. The first such league will be Subway Surfers, running October 10 to October 23.

Another highlight is the upcoming Play Games Sidekick, an overlay that surfaces relevant game info, tips, and access to Gemini Live for real-time, AI-powered help—all without leaving the game.

The “You” Tab: Your content, your way

Google Play is introducing the You tab as a personal dashboard. It will bring together your subscriptions, recommendations, rewards, stats, updates—and for gamers, the gamer profile becomes a central component. The idea is to reduce friction, so you spend less time searching and more time using what you care about.

Smarter discovery in apps and entertainment

To help users find what they need more easily, Google is improving how apps are surfaced. The “Apps” tab is getting enhancements: entertainment-focused sections, seasonal content (e.g. holidays, special events), and an AI-powered Guided Search which lets you search by goal (“find a home”, “deck-building games”, etc.) rather than just app name or category.

Roll-out & other notes

These updates begin rolling out from this week in select markets (starting with certain Play Points markets), with additional countries added by October 1.  Google is also emphasising user safety, privacy, and AI-driven threat detection in tandem with these features.