Google Launches Connected Apps Platform for Search and Gemini

Key Takeaways

Google has introduced a unified workflow for distributing app capabilities across Search and Gemini.
Developers can use MCP servers, AppFunctions APIs, and the Google Connected Console to build, test, submit, and monitor integrations.
More than 50 Connected Apps are available, but independent adoption data has not yet emerged.

Google has launched a preview of its Connected Apps Platform, giving developers one place to create and manage integrations for Search and the Gemini app. The platform is intended to let developers build an app capability once and choose whether to distribute it through Search, Gemini, or both.

The technical workflow combines cloud-hosted Model Context Protocol servers, Android MCP, and AppFunctions APIs. Developers then use the Google Connected Console to register, test, and submit an integration for review. After an app goes live, the console provides visibility into traffic, latency, and error rates. Developers can also manage verified logos and authenticated accounts, helping users distinguish official integrations from similarly named services.

That unified process matters because conversational AI is shifting app integration away from conventional menus and toward intent-based requests. A person might ask Gemini to prepare creative material with Adobe, interact with health or fitness services from Peloton, or use Search to begin a transaction. The underlying service still performs the work, but Google becomes the interface through which the request is interpreted and routed.

Reaching users through two major Google surfaces could reduce duplicated development and approval work. Instead of maintaining entirely separate implementations for Search and Gemini, developers get a shared registration and management layer. Google is not eliminating the engineering involved in authorization, API design, service reliability, or account handling. It is trying to make distribution and operational oversight less fragmented.

The launch also reflects the growing role of APIs in generative AI. A TechTarget-hosted analysis from IBM expects API consumption to increase as AI systems call external services for agents and retrieval-augmented generation. In that environment, an AI assistant is useful not only because it can answer a question, but because it can identify an appropriate service, request permission, and initiate an action through a reliable interface.

Security and consent will shape how far that model can go. OAuth 2.0 offers an established way for users to connect third-party accounts without handing their credentials directly to another application. Even so, businesses will need to assess what information an integration can access, how permissions are presented, and what happens when a user revokes access. A failed playlist request is inconvenient. A mistaken action involving health, financial, or identity data carries a different level of risk.

Google says more than 50 Connected Apps have launched across Search and Gemini, spanning productivity, event ticketing, health, fitness, media, and other categories. Adobe, Experian, Localiza, and Peloton integrations are live in Gemini and are expected to reach Search in the coming weeks. Calm is also slated to launch across both products. Other named ecosystem participants include Instacart, Canva, and YouTube Music.

Why would developers prioritize this channel over another integration marketplace? Reach is the obvious answer, but user intent may be more important. Search often captures people when they are actively trying to find information or complete a task, while Gemini provides a conversational setting for planning and execution. If Connected Apps can turn those moments into completed actions, participating developers could gain a new source of qualified engagement rather than another passive listing.

There are limits to the announcement. Access is opening in phases, and Google plans to add developers, markets, and Google products over the coming months. Google has disclosed monitoring features and an ecosystem count, but independent analyst data measuring Connected Apps adoption is not yet available. Developers should therefore evaluate the preview through practical measures such as task completion, authorization rates, latency, errors, and repeat usage. The larger opportunity is clear, though still developing: Google is positioning Search and Gemini as operational gateways to third-party services, not merely destinations for answers.

Editorial oversight by Rich Tehrani — CEO of TMC and creator of ITEXPO.

Disclosure: Rich Tehrani is also CEO of RT Advisors and a Registered Representative offering securities through Four Points Capital Partners LLC (Member FINRA/SIPC). Nothing in this article is an endorsement or recommendation to buy or sell any security or sector mentioned. RT Advisors may have or have had business relationships with companies mentioned in TMC Insight articles. Such relationships do not affect editorial judgment or coverage.