Google has announced a new experimental feature that lets Android users stream app content through mobile search without actually downloading the apps, enabling users to access certain functionality exclusive to the apps while also encouraging users to download them.

The feature will only work with a select handful of apps who have partnered with Google to trial the technology. Nine apps are currently taking part in the experiment, including HotelsTonight, Chimani  and the New York MTA Subway Map.

The trial blurs the line between mobile search, app store and deeplinking, and will enable content to show up in searches, even when it doesnt exist on the companys website. For example, Googling Hotels in Chicago will enable you to pull app-only content from HotelTonight, including letting you find and book rooms, all without actually downloading the app.

The technology works by running the apps remotely on Googles cloud platform, using virtual machines, and will require a wi-fi connection to work. The project developed out of a moonshot idea by a team of Google engineers, the same kind of far-reaching projects that have led to Googles internet balloons and self-driving car.

“When Google got started, Search meant sitting at your desktop and finding the best information on websites,” said Jennifer Lin, engineering manager at Google. “Today, youre more likely to be searching on your mobile device, and the best answers may be buried in an app, perhaps one that you dont even have installed yet.

“We started indexing the content of apps two years ago, so that when people search on Google, they can find the best results whether theyre in an app or on the web. We now have over 100bn deep links into apps in our index, and 40 per cent of searches people do on Android surface app content.”

App streaming could solve some of the problems of mobile search, while also strengthening the market for apps and encouraging more consumers to explore different apps, by providing them with a try before you buy functionality.

It will also save space on mobile phones by enabling users to access app content without downloading (using up memory and data), and could be essential in emerging markets, where the mobile-first nature of the internet means content is much more likely to only be available in-app, rather than on the mobile web.