Google Search To Start Including Info and Data From Apps

Navigating the abyss that is the Internet can be frustrating. Google has spent the past couple years indexing information from mobile apps, since that's where a large chunk of info happens to live these days. Earlier this week, the company announced that two new features will give users better and faster access to this information than ever before.

Using the more than 100 billion app links indexed so far, Google now offers users what it calls "app first" content in searches. Before, a search would include app results only if that app had matching web content. This new development means that Google Search will offer results that would otherwise be located several menus and levels deep within applications. To illustrate the feature, Google's Inside Search blog uses a hotel search and road trip as examples. "If you need a hotel for your spur-of-the-moment trip to Chicago," they write, "search results will now include results from the HotelTonight app. Or if you’re thinking about visiting Arches National Park, you will now find details about the 18-mile scenic drive from the Chimani app."

The second part of the updated search announcement is that Google can now stream apps from the cloud, so users can access information without having to go into the Play Store and download the apps directly to their phones. This feature is still in the experimental phase, but it's worth keeping an eye on as Google works with its partners to perfect the technology.