Google Opens Gemini and Search to Third-Party Apps Through New Connected Apps Platform, Starting With a U.S. Preview

Google announced the Connected Apps Platform today, Oct. 28, a developer program that lets outside businesses plug their apps into Gemini and Google Search.

The platform is in preview for U.S. developers only. Interested developers sign up for a waitlist, and Google says it will open access in phases and add developers and regions later. It has not said when the platform will be broadly available.

How it works

Developers integrate with either a cloud-hosted MCP (Model Context Protocol) server or Android MCP through the AppFunctions APIs. They then use a new Google Connected Console to register, test and submit the app for review.

They choose where it appears: Search, the Gemini app, or both. Before this, developers had to build separate integrations for the two products.

After launch, developers can track traffic, latency and error rates. They also keep control of brand elements such as verified logos and authenticated accounts, according to Google.

What users get

Connected apps let users link a third-party service and then have the AI take actions in it. Google's examples include designing a flyer in Canva or building a playlist in YouTube Music.

Google says more than 50 connected apps exist across Gemini and Search, the bulk of them in Gemini. Adobe, Experian, Localiza and Peloton are already live in Gemini and are due to reach Search over the coming weeks. Google's own services, including Photos, YouTube Music and Google Home, are part of the mix.

Search is thinner today. Its integrations include Instacart, Canva, YouTube Music, Yahoo Fantasy Football and Sleeper Fantasy Football. Calm, the meditation app, is a new partner that will launch on both Gemini and Search. Google gave no timeline for Calm.

Features will not be identical everywhere. What an integration can do depends on the app and on whether the user is in Gemini or Search.

The bigger bet

The platform fits a direction Google CEO Sundar Pichai laid out in a recent interview with Alex Heath. Pichai said Google's vision for the near future is "one box," with chat and task execution unified and tied into Search "in a pretty deep way."

Pichai said users are increasingly entering task-focused queries that call for an agent to act, not just answer. He described that as a trend visible in Google's own usage data. He also said consumer and enterprise agents share the same model, harness and runtime.

Rivals are chasing the same prize. ChatGPT and Meta's Muse both offer their own versions of app integrations, and Heath put the question to Pichai as a personal-agent race.

The premise behind all of it is that people may stop opening individual apps and instead reach their favorite services through whichever AI provider they prefer. In that setup, Google's console decides how a business gets listed, reviewed and measured. Developers who want that distribution have to submit to Google's process.

Same push, aimed at government

Google made a parallel move today in the public sector. It launched Gemini for government services, an agentic product that can review residents' applications, flag missing signatures, compare procurement bids against requirements and draft scoring justifications. It also handles Freedom of Information Act redactions and policy research.

It is in preview. Early adopters include the State of Missouri and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Chris Hein, Field CTO of Google Public Sector, said decisions on benefit eligibility, contract awards and legal matters stay with government employees. "Human review and approval always required," he said. Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian said agentic capabilities in the public sector require "non-negotiable standards for security, confidentiality, and data sovereignty."

Security concerns are already a live issue. A UserEvidence poll of 800 public-sector IT specialists found 35% had loosened security restrictions to enable AI access. Nearly 45% reported more AI-related security incidents over the past year. The poll did not single out Google's product.

Google says its platform includes centralized audit logging and role-based access controls. Hein said every output is grounded in official regulations and authenticated agency records.

The timing also touches federal money. NextGov reported that Google's discounted AI service contract with the federal government is set to expire Nov. 15.

Developers get the agents too

At the Android Dev Summit, Google opened Android Studio to outside coding agents through a "Bring Your Own Agent" feature built on the open Agent Client Protocol. Developers can run Anthropic's Claude Agent, OpenAI's Codex and Google Antigravity side by side. Google said its internal tests showed agents finishing UI tasks 77% faster with a new command-line feature.

What comes next

Two dates stand out. Search integrations for Adobe, Experian, Localiza and Peloton are due in the coming weeks. The federal discount contract runs out Nov. 15, and what agencies pay for Google's AI tools after that is the open question.

Google has set no date for taking the Connected Apps Platform beyond the U.S. waitlist.