Google lets anyone put AI Studio apps on the Play Store with a Google account

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Google is opening the Play Store to apps made with its AI Studio tool, and you will not need a paid developer account to do it. Engadget reports that anyone aged 18 or over in the US and some other markets can now upload Android apps built with AI Studio using just their Google account. AI Studio lets people create apps by describing what they want to Gemini in plain language

There are sensible limits. At first, these apps appear only on the creator's own devices, in a personal library section of the Play Store. Google plans to add a way to share them safely with friends and family later on. To publish an app to everyone, creators still need a professional developer account and must pass the usual safety review

Google also announced several other Play Store changes, many of them for games. There are new Gamer DNA taste profiles for recommendations, game playlists, 30 second gameplay clips and 48 hour challenges called Sprints. Quests will now give in game rewards, and game pages will get Q&A sections. Ask Play in Gemini can also link straight to apps

Engadget ties the move to Google's wider AI push and to legal pressure to open up the Play Store. Making it easy for anyone to build a personal app fits neatly with both. It is the same vibe coding trend that has spread through software development this year

Personal apps are a lovely idea. Plenty of people have small needs that no app store product quite meets, like a custom tracker for a hobby or a simple tool for family chores. Being able to make one by describing it, then install it properly, could be very useful

Would you build a personal app this way? And should Google be careful about letting AI built apps onto the store?

Google will let you distribute vibe-coded Android apps with just a Google account - Engadgetwww.engadget.com