I am no longer sure if I am writing about Chrome OS or Android here. Read this, this, and this. Chrome OS is getting a lot of Android and Android-like features, and here is one more important change. Soon, if your Chromebook has Google Play Store support, the launcher will start showing apps from Play Store instead of Chrome Web Store.
Currently, when you search from your Chrome OS launcher, it shows suggestions from the Chrome Web Store. You can then install extensions and apps from there. With this change that we are talking about here, your Chromebook will show you results from the Google Play Store.
If your Chromebook does not have Play Store support, your launcher will continue to search Chrome Web Store for apps. Here is the commit log from the Chromium code repository:
cros:Peeking Launcher
Enable webstore search only when arc is not enabled on the device.
cros: Disable webstore search in favor of playstore
When playstore search is enabled, disable webstore search.
This feature is part of the new Chrome OS launcher, known as the Peeking launcher. This is currently a work-in-progress and we might see this in one of the upcoming Canary or Dev channel releases.
We will definitely share more when it lands in one of our Chromebooks!