Edgar Cervantes/Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google Play Store now allows users to find relevant information hidden in app reviews.
- A search bar now appears at the top of reviews, where users can search for specific terms.
- This feature is rolling out with a recent Play Store update.
Not everyone has the time or patience to test Android apps before committing to them, especially when there is a huge variety to choose from. And this is where app reviews on Google Play Store come to help. But when you’re looking for an answer to a specific doubt, it can be difficult to sift through hundreds or thousands of reviews. Thankfully, this is being fixed, as Google now offers search functionality for reviews.
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With a new search feature on the Play Store, you can now look for specific information in user reviews under app listings. In November, we saw that the functionality was being tested, but we couldn’t get it to work at that time. However, Google recently Confirmed It is now releasing with the recent Play Store update.
To access the search function, tap the rating at the top of any app, then tap “See all reviews.” Alternatively, you can scroll down to the Reviews and Ratings section, and right below the AI-generated review summary, you’ll see a magnifying glass icon. Tapping it moves the reviews section to the top of the screen, and here you’ll see a search bar.
When you type some words in the search bar and then tap the search icon on the keyboard, you will see reviews listed with those words.
Currently, reviews are not populated as you type, and the feature only looks for reviews with specific matches to your search query. We hope Google can implement some kind of semantic search support, where users won’t need to type exact words. Currently, you can use the suggestions under the search bar for popular issues. Another limitation that we noticed is that it will not show the results if you type a single word, and hence, you have to type a few words to get the results.
The search modification in Play Store is being rolled out to all users with version 50.7.24-31 of Play Store. If you haven’t seen it already, you can update the Store with the following steps. Tap your profile picture on the Play Store homepage, scroll down and tap Settings > About > Update Play Store.
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