Google is opening a new route for businesses and developers to connect their services with its AI features. The Connected Apps Platform lets developers submit apps for people to use through Gemini, Google Search, or both, as AI services build out ways to carry out tasks inside familiar third-party services.
How connected apps work
Connected apps let users securely link a service to an AI experience and then use it for particular actions. A user might connect Canva to design a flyer or YouTube Music to create a playlist.
The idea changes where people may begin when they want to use a service. Instead of opening each app directly, they could ask an AI service they already use to access a connected app and help complete a task.
That possibility depends on having a broad selection of useful services. Google’s new platform is intended to let more businesses participate, while giving developers a way to submit apps and see how those apps perform.
What developers can do
The platform is in beta and public preview for developers in the U.S. who sign up for the waitlist. Developers can build and submit apps intended to work across Google products.
To begin, developers can integrate with a cloud-hosted Model Context Protocol (MCP) server or Android MCP using the AppFunctions APIs. They can then use the Google Connected Console to register, test, and submit an app.
Developers choose whether an app is available through Search, the Gemini app, or both. Once an app is live, they can track traffic, latency, and error rates. They can also manage aspects of how their brand appears, including verified logos and authenticated accounts.
These options make the platform more than a submission channel: it also gives participating developers a way to review how their connected app is operating. The source does not specify when the preview will open beyond the current U.S. developer waitlist.
Existing partners and the Search expansion
Gemini already has over 50 Connected Apps, with partners including Adobe, Experian, Localiza, and Peloton. Google’s own services are also part of the mix, including Workplace, Photos, YouTube Music, and Google Home.
Google says these apps will come to Search over the next few weeks. Search currently has a smaller set of integrations, including Instacart, Canva, YouTube Music, and Yahoo Fantasy Football.
Meditation app Calm is another partner. Google said Calm’s app will soon launch on both Gemini and Search, extending the range of services available across the two products.
A new path to visibility
For businesses, connected apps may become another way to reach people as they use AI tools. The article compares the opportunity to search engine optimization, which helped companies and websites appear in search rankings. In this case, the goal is to make services accessible through AI experiences that can connect a user’s request with an app’s capabilities.
Whether that route becomes important will depend in part on the range of apps people can use and how well those integrations serve their needs. Google’s preview gives developers a way to start building and measuring their presence, but broader availability has no announced timeline.