Google ‘In Apps’ search on Android will now include results for Drive files

The Google app’s on-device search functionality was upgraded last year to allow third-party apps to display content snippets right in results. Google Drive is the latest app to take advantage of this functionality with files now searchable from ‘In Apps.’

Search results for Drive files only appear under the ‘In Apps’ tab of Google Search. This unfortunately means that search results will not appear in the main ‘All’ feed even though other apps, like Gmail, get to surface their content directly.

This feature works by using Firebase App Indexing to catalog your files and folders stored in Drive. Tapping a file will open the appropriate Docs, Drive, Sheets, or PDF viewer. Only the first three results are shown in the feed though users can hit expand to view the full list.

While more convenient than first going into the Google Drive app and then opening the search field, users are still required to scroll to the often hidden ‘In Apps’ tab.

The feature is not yet live on any of my devices, with Drive not appearing as an option under the Google app’s In Apps settings.