Google Opens Connected Apps Platform for Gemini and Search

What happened

On 28 October 2026, Google announced the Connected Apps Platform, a single route for outside companies to place their services inside Google Search and the Gemini app. According to TechCrunch, the platform lets businesses connect their apps to Google's AI experiences so that a user can ask for a task and have the relevant app carry it out. Google's own announcement describes it as a way to build and manage apps for both surfaces in one place. Google's blog calls the launch a preview, while TechCrunch describes it as a beta. Both agree that US-based developers are the first group allowed in.

The process for a developer has three steps. According to TechCrunch, the developer first connects to a cloud-hosted server that uses the Model Context Protocol, known as MCP, or to Android's AppFunctions interface. The developer then uses the Google Connected Console to register, test and submit the app. Before review, the developer picks Search, the Gemini app, or both. Google's help material for users says a link between a Google Account and an outside app is created only with the user's permission.

Google says it already offers more than 50 connected apps across Gemini and Search. Partners named in its announcement include Adobe, Experian, Localiza and Peloton. Calm is listed as a new partner. Google said the apps already live in Gemini would reach Search in the coming weeks.

Why it matters for businesses that automate work

Most routine business work ends in a screen where a person copies a figure, sends a reminder or checks a status. A connected app turns some of those steps into a request an AI assistant can carry out for a signed-in user. The platform makes that route open to more companies. Before this, according to a separate report from AI Agent Blog, third-party integrations came from a set of chosen partners.

The practical question for an owner is not whether AI assistants will exist, but which of your own systems would be worth reaching. Invoicing, booking, order status and customer follow-up are the usual candidates, because each one is a repeatable task with a clear result. Reports on the launch do not say what fees apply or how a connected app is ranked against others. Coverage from PPC Land makes the same point in its headline, noting that fees and ranking are not stated.

What changes for a business that automates work, in practice

For most small firms nothing changes this week. A connection needs a developer who can run an MCP server or build an Android integration. A five-person firm that uses an off-the-shelf tool will depend on that tool's vendor to decide whether it joins the platform. A larger business with an internal development team can test whether its own booking or billing service fits the model.

Access also has limits that matter for how a team works. Google's help page for custom Gemini apps says the feature is not available when a person signs in with a work or school Google Account, and it requires the user to be 18 or over and in the US. A company that relies on Workspace accounts should not assume that its staff can use a custom connection. Connections can be removed by the user at any time, and removing one does not delete the data already shared with the outside app.

Here is a practical sequence for a business owner who wants to check fit:

1. List the three routine tasks that take the most staff time and involve a outside service.
2. Ask the vendor of each service whether it plans to join the platform, and whether it has an MCP server.
3. Decide who on your side will own the data permissions and review them each quarter.
4. Check whether your staff use personal or work accounts, because that affects which features they can use.

Running a connection also adds work. Someone must test it, watch the traffic and error figures the platform reports, and decide what happens when the assistant gets a request wrong. Automation of this kind does not remove the need for a person to approve sensitive actions such as payments or changes to customer records.

What to watch next

Three things will show whether the platform matters for everyday business work. The first is the Search rollout. According to TechCrunch, the apps already in Gemini will come to Search over the next few weeks. The second is access beyond the US. Google's announcement limits the beta to US-based developers for now, and any wider opening will need a new notice. The third is the commercial terms. Coverage so far does not set out fees or how Google ranks one connected app against another, so a business should read the developer terms once they are published before it commits time to a build.