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Cannot connect app (Play inventory) to the Assistant Action. I followed all instructions mentioned in the documentation:

  • a developer account and a merchant account on Google Play - CREATED.
  • a web domain that’s verified in the Google Search Console - VERIFIED.
  • an Android app with the com.android.vending.BILLING permission in the Google Play console - CREATED, SIGNED AND UPLOADED. 
  • create a release in the Play console with this app(closed alpha release) - CREATED.
  • one or more subscriptions in the Google Play console, which are the digital goods that you sell with your Action - CREATED (status Active)

But when I'm trying to connect to my Play inventory (app) the console still wants me to verify my website even though it's already verified and connected!

So, the popup directs you to the Google Play Developer Console (old version) > Services & APIs > App Indexing from Google.

There under the 'App Indexing from Google Search' > 'Deep link into your app from Google search' you will need to add your website and then let Google to verify it. It says there: "Through App Indexing, Google will add deep links to your app in Google Search results on Android." To be honest I'm not quite sure what is the connection between the deep links and the allowing billing for a Google Assistant action. Anyway, when I got there I see that my website already been verified. Did I miss something?

'Hey Google' - please help!!!

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Nick Felker
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P.Filippov
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  • Are you using Dialogflow, Actions SDK, or Actions Builder? – Nick Felker Sep 15 '20 at 21:50
  • I use Action Builder with Conversational Actions. The APK file been uploaded to the Google Play Console almost 4 weeks ago by now. I still cannot see the linked app on the Actions Console. Did anyone have a success with that? – P.Filippov Sep 16 '20 at 22:39
  • @NickFelker I also noticed that the Play Console -> App releases -> Closed Alpha shows warning: `Unoptimized APK Warning: This APK results in unused code and resources being sent to users... Resolution: Use the Android App Bundle to automatically optimize for device configurations, or manage it yourself with multiple APKs.` It looks like it doesn't like the app been packaged as APK. It could be a reason why, the app's Alpha release cannot be rollout. Btw I tried different app version wrapped as a bundle. Didn't help. I saw other kind of errors. Is the documentation uptodate? – P.Filippov Sep 16 '20 at 23:01
  • @NickFelker I've checked it again with the new Google Play Console. Now it's getting even more confusing! The Create closed testing release page show the same warnings as the old console regarding APK. But it also shows error: "Your app cannot be published yet. Complete the steps listed on the Dashboard. Fix errors to rollout this release". The link redirects to the Dashboard with the whole bunch of requirements for publishing app on the Play Store! First - does that app should be even published there? Second - these extra steps weren't even mentioned in the documentation. – P.Filippov Sep 17 '20 at 01:16
  • The app should be published at least in an alpha state (closed alpha). I am also investigating linking issues in Actions Builder. – Nick Felker Sep 17 '20 at 16:11
  • @NickFelker thank you. Would be great to update the [documentation](https://developers.google.com/assistant/transactions/digital/dev-guide-digital-subscriptions), especially the part about creating the app release in the Play Console. The suggested APK usage cause warnings in the Play Console. Also, the documentation is not clear enough in terms of minimum set of required fields for app publishing (closed alpha). Thanks for your help in investigating the issue. – P.Filippov Sep 27 '20 at 07:29
  • Still cannot complete the Alpha release because of this Warning message: Unoptimized APK Warning: This APK results in unused code and resources being sent to users. Your app could be smaller if you used the Android App Bundle. By not optimizing your app for device configurations, your app is larger to download and install on users' devices than it needs to be. Larger apps see lower install success rates and take up storage on users' devices. Resolution: Use the Android App Bundle to automatically optimize for device configurations, or manage it yourself with multiple APKs. – P.Filippov Sep 27 '20 at 08:25
  • The uploaded APK contains a single file: AndroidManifest.xml. – P.Filippov Sep 27 '20 at 08:28
  • I've just tried to upload the Android App Bundle rather than APK. The warning message gone now. But the **Start rollout to alpha** button is still disabled and I cannot rollout the release. – P.Filippov Sep 28 '20 at 06:38
  • The APK doesn't contain any source code? Does the Manifest reference any activities? – Nick Felker Sep 28 '20 at 16:32
  • @NickFelker APK and AAB (Android Application Bundle) don't have any source files. Just a single AndroidManifest.xml: ` ` – P.Filippov Sep 30 '20 at 02:59
  • I think you should try to put a placeholder main activity in there. Right now the APK isn't really an app since there's no execution. – Nick Felker Sep 30 '20 at 15:59
  • @NickFelker, if we're going to put the main activity there, say ` ` we should have the main class in the APK. The Assistant's documentation says that there should be NO src code in the APK. Of course, I will try it, but it doesn't make any sense for me. I will come back :-) – P.Filippov Oct 01 '20 at 20:38
  • Did it just now: ` ` The warning Unoptimized APK still preventing me to rollout. The Rollout button disabled. – P.Filippov Oct 02 '20 at 00:54
  • Did anybody ever tested the whole process of submitting the Assistant app to the Play Console? – P.Filippov Oct 02 '20 at 00:55
  • Also tried the AAB file with updated manifest. There is no Warning about an Unoptimized APK anymore. But the the **START ROLLOUT TO ALPHA** button is still disabled. It doesn't allow to complete the rollout. – P.Filippov Oct 02 '20 at 01:26
  • It worked for me about a year ago. I had an empty activity in my APK. – Nick Felker Oct 02 '20 at 15:54
  • @NickFelker, it looks like something has changed in the Play Console since then. What are we supposed to do now? – P.Filippov Oct 03 '20 at 20:15
  • @NickFelker I can't believe that the problem been solved by merely submitting a set of images required by the Play Console for publishing the app on the Google Play Store! I think it should be mentioned in the [documentation](https://developers.google.com/assistant/transactions/digital/dev-guide-digital-subscriptions), otherwise will take ages for devs trying to figure it out. Could you please update the docs. Thank you. – P.Filippov Oct 18 '20 at 20:05
  • Thanks for finding that. I'll be sure to pass this along. – Nick Felker Oct 20 '20 at 15:35
  • Can you make a new question for that? – Nick Felker Oct 22 '20 at 15:59
  • Done. Thank you. – P.Filippov Oct 22 '20 at 21:03

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