Google's predictive service Google Now will likely work with more Android apps in the near future.
A Google executive said during a SXSW session this week that the company plans to open Google Now to more third-party apps and developers, allowing them to add the tool into existing apps.
While a timeline for an API wasn't outlined, Director of Product Management for Google Now, Aparna Chennapragada, revealed that Google will expand on its current pilot program. As of January, Google Now works with 40 apps from third-party providers, such as those that pull in weather updates and traffic alerts from Google Maps. App partners include Shazam, Pandora, Trip Advisor, Lyft and Instacart.
"The way we set it up is an open ecosystem and figure out what are the best signals and what is the best data that can answer the user question, so if you keep that as an organizing principal then the rest of that problem actually forms around it," Chennapragada told Mashable during the session.
By giving more developers access to the Google Now platform, which launched in 2012, Google and the third-party apps will be able to provide a more personalized experience for users.
As of now, Google decides which data it wants to include in Google Now cards. By opening up the platform to developers, it could cast a much wider net and add even deeper personalization to search.
Additional reporting by Karissa Bell