Google opens Connected Apps preview for AI Mode and Gemini
Google has opened a public preview of its Connected Apps Platform, letting developers apply to have their apps run inside AI Mode in Search and in the Gemini app. Robby Stein, VP of Product for Google Search, said on X that the company had just opened the preview, after announcing the platform on 28 October.
Developers connect through a remote MCP server, which reaches Gemini and Search users on web, Android and iOS, or through AppFunctions, which Google calls Android MCP and which serves Gemini users on Android only. Registration runs through the Google Connected Console, where developers pick a category that cannot be changed later, name at least three capabilities to show users, and set country, language and product availability. Google tests each app before publishing and may reject one it cannot fully test, so apps requiring sign-in must supply test accounts with sample data.
The Connected Apps policy bars an app from referencing other tools or setting rules for when they are used, and forbids misleading the model into picking one app over another through broad or deceptive capability descriptions. Ads and other companies' promotional material are excluded, though apps may carry their own brand information. Breaches can bring rejection, suspension, removal or termination of the developer account.
More than 50 connected apps are live across Search and Gemini, with Instacart, Canva, YouTube Music and two fantasy football apps among those in AI Mode in the US in English. Developers get traffic, latency and error rate figures once an app is live, and Google plans to add developers, markets and products over the coming months.
Reported by Search Engine Journal ↗
Topics: AI Mode, Gemini, Search policy