The Google Play Store is a dumpster fire and AI won’t save it

We recently reported that the Play Store was bringing AI to help you choose which apps it thinks you might like. It won’t help the situation when the Play Store is a digital landfill overflowing with low-quality apps that are awash in review fraud, all the while Google is busy prioritizing its whims over user satisfaction. Adding AI recommendations is like putting lipstick on a pig. It’s time Google cleaned up this mess.

Welcome to the junkyard

Where every app is a copy of another app

I really wanted to prove myself wrong about the Google Play Store, and I’ll admit it has been a while since I opened the app. I have everything I need on my Pixel 8. Yet I was quickly reminded of why I subconsciously avoided the Play Store for all this time the moment it opened.

It is filled with clones and knockoffs, and that was just the home page. The more I delved into the app, the more I realized it was a digital junkyard of low-effort apps and games. I got a chuckle from some of the ridiculous names, such as Super Flashlight Pro Max +. But mostly, I was just sad.

The ease of app development frameworks and the low bar of entry to the Play Store are partially to blame for this deluge of uninspired apps. And now that AI can write code, anyone with enough time on their hands can create the next Virtual Pet Rock Pro ++ knockoff.

AI reviews are painfully obvious

These astounding apps changed my life!

Google touts AI coming to the Play Store, but let’s be real — AI is already here. Reviews written by AI are a problem plaguing not only Google but also Amazon and Apple. You can usually spot these reviews from a mile away. They are over-the-top happy for the app and are written entirely in a passive voice. They use words such as “astounding” to describe a compass app; repeated keywords are another giveaway.

To be fair, Google has claimed it’s cracking down on these reviews. The company updated its content guidelines last October and specifically targeted AI-generated reviews as spam.

“We don’t allow reviews that are primarily generated by an automated program or artificial intelligence application. If you have identified such content, it should be marked as spam in your feed using the
<is_spam>
attribute.” – Google policy update October 2023

As you can see, this puts the onus on the app developer to tackle AI-generated reviews but does not do anything to address devs who create their own reviews. Which is how we get reviews such as these:

The bigger-name apps from real studios are thankfully free of AI-generated reviews, and I was able to find several indy developers who keep their reviews free from AI spam. Hats off to them.

Google’s suggestions are kind of bad

Why can’t I ever find what I want?

Another of my gripes with the Play Store revolves around Google’s suggestions. Why would I ever want to install a makeup mirror app? You would think Google has information about me to know I’m not a 13-year-old girl, considering how much data I give the company daily. And let’s be honest, if I were 13, I would probably have an iPhone.

The Play Store’s ‘For You’ suggestions are mostly underwhelming. For example, Google really wants me to know that Nicki Minaj is performing a concert in Roblox. That’s great, except Google should know I don’t play Roblox, and because I listen to YouTube Music (and was a Play Music subscriber before that), Google should know I have never in my life listened to Nicki Minaj. “For You” indeed.

Apple’s App Store suggestions are much better by comparison. My top two suggestions are for Disney+ and the Chrome browser, apps I have been known to use.

This is ironic because it appears Google is the one with the walled garden, in this case, attempting to steer users towards specific apps instead of providing the freedom for real recommendations. It is difficult to find hidden gems on the Play Store without plenty of digging, so perhaps the implementation of AI suggestions could improve this after all, because it’s hard to see how things can get worse.

How Google can improve the Play Store experience

Google could fix the store if it wanted to

The Play Store needs a complete overhaul. Google should tidy up the UX and make it less cluttered, for starters.

Google could implement stricter App Store curation to try and weed out the junk apps. This could help improve app selection on the store, but it could also limit accessibility for smaller and independent developers. One way around this could be the introduction of a curated “Fresh Finds” section, although this would require time and money to maintain, and it’s not like Google’s efforts in the recommendation department have been worthwhile so far.

Google also needs to develop a robust system for automatically detecting AI-generated spam reviews in conjunction with developers. One way to help ensure reviews are genuine is to have a verified user system, kind of like how Amazon lets you know if a reviewer actually purchased the product. The system can surface these verified reviews at the top.

Or, and I’m just spitballing here, Google could turn the entire thing on its head and feature a “hilarious review” section, where the funniest human and AI-created reviews are curated for fun.

Finally, Google needs to implement a user-input system for suggestions. Gemini already comes with the ability to rate its responses, so perhaps Google will carry that system over to the Play Store when it implements AI.

The Play Store needs to change

It’s time to clean up your act, Google

The Play Store requires more than an AI bandaid to fix how far it has fallen. Users need to be the primary focus, not app developers. Google needs to stop burying quality apps, address the problem with review spam, and give users actual useful personalized suggestions instead of constantly bombarding us with ads. The Play Store should be a place where innovation thrives, but it will remain a wasteland of digital junkware until Google makes meaningful changes.