Google has just released an all-new application for Windows 11, aptly named the Google app for desktop. Serving as a Google Search launcher for Microsoft’s PC operating system, the Google app features an Apple Spotlight Search-style minimalistic interface, quick access buttons to Google Lens and to screen sharing, and a convenient Alt + Space keyboard shortcut for deploying its UI on-screen.
Naturally, the Google app for desktop is infused with Gemini AI, with large language model (LLM) search results powering much of the experience here. Of course, the launcher can also be used for standard Google Search web queries, as well as for finding installed apps, though it’s currently unable to parse through local files, documents, and settings from within Windows itself.
It’s rare to see Google make an app for Windows
Regrettably, the Google app hasn’t been published onto the Microsoft Store
By and large, it’s exceedingly rare to see Google develop an app for the Windows OS and its offshoots — so much so, in fact, that the company’s historic lack of support for Windows Phone may have played an outsized role in the mobile platform’s untimely demise. Considering Android’s upcoming pivot towards desktop and laptop PCs later this year, Google’s decision to publish a Windows app at this moment in time is all the more curious.
That being said, Google isn’t wholeheartedly embracing the Windows platform with this new Google app release, either. Unlike fellow platform holder Apple, which has opted to publish its Windows apps directly onto the Microsoft Store, Google insists on requiring a download directly from the web. From an end-user experience perspective, this is entirely unfortunate, as it adds friction to the experience and results in the need for a separate updater service to run in the background.
…my experience with the new Google app for Windows has been a positive one thus far.
Even with this gripe in mind, my experience with the new Google app for desktop has been a positive one thus far. The launcher is fast, responsive, and clutter-free, which can’t be said about Microsoft’s default Windows Search pane. Funnily enough, using the new Google app reminds me of the days of Google Desktop, which was a similar ( and now-defunct) Windows-based search launcher from the company from back in the Vista and 7 days.
It’s worth noting that Microsoft isn’t standing still in the AI-powered search arms race, either. In preview builds of Windows 11, the company is testing an all-new Ask Copilot box that’s embedded right into the taskbar, which features an Apple Spotlight Search-inspired interface of its own. Once Ask Copilot launches to the public, I’ll be curious to see how it’s received by PC users, as well as how it measures up to Google’s take on the idea.
