I turned Gemini into my personal app detective to stop installing the wrong apps
Android Police 2026-07-10 10:00:10
Context: The author, Rahul Naskar, a tech journalist with eight years of experience covering Android, recently experimented with using Google's AI chatbot, Gemini, as a personal app detective to help him find and install the right apps on his phone. He leveraged Gemini's tight integration with Google apps and services to achieve this goal. By typing specific prompts, he was able to get Gemini to recommend relevant apps, complete with descriptions, download links, and ratings.
Key Facts
- The author used Gemini to find apps that could serve as a spirit level indicator, and Gemini suggested three apps, including their strengths, number of downloads, and Google Play Store ratings.
- Gemini provides a no-nonsense answer about what apps to install, without forcing the user to view sponsored titles in the search results like the Google Play Store does.
- The author tested Gemini's performance and potential bias by asking it to recommend the best note-taking app, cloud storage app, and app for art and culture enthusiasts, and Gemini consistently suggested Google's own apps, such as Google Keep, Google Drive, and Google's Arts & Culture app.
- The author found that Gemini allows users to filter results by typing more prompts, such as requesting open-source alternatives.
- The author has now adopted Gemini as his primary means of installing apps on his Android phone, finding it to be a more efficient and effective solution than using the Google Play Store.