App Actions let users launch specific features in your app using the Google Assistant. By enabling App Actions to extend your app, users can easily deep link into your apps via the Assistant by simply speaking a request to the Assistant. If the user has your app already installed, the Assistant triggers deep linking when users say an invocation phrase that includes your app name, such as ”OK Google, order a vanilla marshmallow smore from smores app”.


To enable App Actions, you add an actions.xml
file to your
Android app project that tells Google what built-in intents
your app supports. For some use cases, you can also build Android Slices
and associate them in your actions.xml
file.

The App Actions feature is supported on Android 5 (API level 21) and higher. Users can only access App Actions on Android phones.
Key features and capabilities
The Actions on Google platform supports these key features and capabilities for App Actions.
Deep linking into Android apps |
App Actions can take users directly to specific content in your app by using Android deep links , which you specify using intent filters in the Android app manifest. For App Actions, we recommend you support deep linking with App Links , which digitally associates HTTP/HTTPS URLs with apps and websites you own. |
Android Slice triggering |
Users can invoke App Actions to launch Android Slices. This lets them perform focused tasks using UI from your app, which is presented through the Assistant. We recommend that you use Slices to respond to users directly on the Assistant when they want a quick inline answer or a simple confirmation. To learn more, see Integrate App Actions with Android Slices. |
Built-in intents for app categories |
App Actions are triggered on pre-defined user query patterns associated with built-in intents for a select group of app categories, including food ordering, ride sharing, fitness, and finance. These intents model some of the common ways that users express something they are trying to do, such as ordering a meal, booking a ride, or making a payment request. For App Actions, custom intents and grammars are not supported. |
App Actions test tool |
The test tool plugin for Android Studio creates a preview of your App Actions for a single Google account. The plugin parses your |
Understand how it works
From a user's perspective, App Actions behave like shortcuts to parts of your Android app.

When users invoke an App Action, the Assistant either launches a screen in the Android app that the user has already installed or shows an embedded visual card (Android Slice) that users can interact with.
For example, the user could say "Hey Google, order a ride to SFO with MyRideshare" to launch the MyRideshare app. The user could later say "Hey Google, when is MyRideShare cab arriving?" and the Assistant would display an Android Slice showing the ride's expected arrival time and a suggestion chip to optionally open the app.
Internally, when a user's query matches the built-in intent grammar, the
Assistant extracts the query parameters into schema.org
entities and generates an Android deep link URL using the mappings you
provide through the actions.xml
file. Actions on Google then uses the deep
link URL, prefilled with user-supplied parameters, to take users directly to
specific content in your Android app without additional conversational dialog.
Implementation path
1 | Support deep links in your app |
Choose which Activities or Slices in your Android app make sense to be accessed using App Actions. Ensure the activities can be accessed via deep link URLs by testing in isolation. Then, review Implement built-in intents for App Actions to map the parameters to your deep links. |
2 | Tell the Assistant how to use your app |
Create an
You can optionally specify
inline inventory
to map parameter types in your |
3 | Optimize your app for the Assistant |
Before deploying your App Actions, you need to perform some
additional steps to help Google better determine whether to send
users to your app and to fallback gracefully in case of issues.
These steps include reporting App Action interaction results via
Firebase, and handling the To learn more about these steps, see App Actions deployment requirements. |
4 | Test and deploy |
Install and use the App Actions test tool in Android Studio to test that your App Actions work. You must first create a draft in the Google Play console if your app is not published yet. Finally, complete the
deployment request form
and upload your APK that contains the |
Next steps
- Follow the App Actions getting started guide for detailed step-by-step instructions to begin building your App Actions.
- Download and try the App Actions fitness sample on GitHub.
- Get support by posting your technical questions to Stack Overflow.
- Report general issues with App Actions features or make suggestions for additional built-in intents through our public issue tracker.