Google Inc. has announced a major update for Google Now on Android. They will now support 40 third-party apps that will deliver information to the predictive search app.

“Starting today, the Google app on Android can help you keep up with all the good stuff in 40 different apps at a glance — it’ll bring you Now cards to help you out with your day-to-day life, giving you information that’s helpful to you, right when you need it,” said Google in a blog post.

The third-party apps include the likes of Airbnb, Pandora, eBay, Lyft, TripAdvisor and Suumo to name just a few; however, Google have put together a full graphical list of all the apps that will be able to feed information into Google Now.

In their blog post, Google focuses on how the update will benefit consumers using Google Now:

“In the morning, catch up on news of the day with cards from The Guardian. On your commute, Pandora can give you recommendations for music to play, based on what you like, or you can be reminded to complete your daily French lesson on Duolingo. During your downtime, you can take care of the groceries, with a card from Instacart reminding you to stock up on the things you often order. If you are planning a trip and looked up places to stay on your Airbnb app but couldn’t make up your mind, you’ll see Now cards from Airbnb for the location and dates you’ve researched. And when you land at an airport, you’ll see a card to order a Lyft.”

These digital Google Now “cards” will contain short bursts of vital information that consumers can easily consume. However, to receive any updates you will need to make sure that you have the updated Google app as well as the relevant third-party app already installed on your phone or tablet.

Since launching their predictive search app in 2012, Google Now has become known as the future of the company’s search technology. Built into Android phones, Android Wear smartwatches and the Chrome web browser, this is the first time that third-party cards will be able to display in Google Now. However, this major update is likely to make Google Now even more popular and useful for consumers.

Google has put together some examples of what some of the information will look like after the app integrations, including examples from apps like Instacart, Walgreens and Kayak.

At this stage only Android will benefit from this major update. We will have to wait and see whether iOS will see a similar update.

Images via Google Now