Google opens Connected Apps Platform

Google opened Connected Apps Platform in preview on October 28: a unified way for third-party applications to bring their capabilities directly into Google Search and the Gemini app. Developers integrate through a cloud-hosted MCP server or Android’s AppFunctions, register, test and submit through Google Connected Console, and choose before review whether the app surfaces in Search, in Gemini, or in both. Google’s blog says more than 50 connected apps are already live across Search and Gemini, with the meditation app Calm launching as a new partner on both. The part that should interest anyone who runs an online service is the Search side: for the first time, third-party developers can compete for placement inside Search itself rather than orbiting Gemini.

Key points

Two integration paths: a cloud-hosted MCP server (with rich interactive UIs via MCP Apps; Google strongly recommends OAuth 2.1 with PKCE), or Android’s local AppFunctions — which Google’s docs call “Android’s MCP solution,” shipped through the Jetpack AppFunctions SDK.
Placement is the developer’s choice: pick Search-only, Gemini-only or both before submitting; once live, Connected Console shows traffic, latency and error-rate metrics, and brand controls cover verified logos and authenticated accounts.
50+ live, with a source disagreement: Google’s blog counts 50+ across Search and Gemini; TechCrunch puts the 50+ in Gemini, citing Google’s own support page. Search-side integrations are the scarce ones — Instacart, Canva, YouTube Music, Yahoo Fantasy Football.

Integration details

The developer documentation lays out the mechanics plainly. The server-side path is a remote MCP server built on the Model Context Protocol open standard, connecting your tools to Google products; through the MCP Apps specification it can render rich, interactive UIs inside Google surfaces instead of returning plain text. The client-side path is Android MCP — AppFunctions — aimed at apps that want tool execution to stay on the user’s device, which matters for data that only exists locally. For cloud-hosted MCP integrations, Google strongly recommends OAuth 2.1 with PKCE as a security best practice; the guide does not describe this recommendation as a platform mandate. The Android local route’s documentation mentions no OAuth. From the user’s perspective the promise is link once, use everywhere: after a single authorization, their data and actions are available across Google products without per-app setup. The developer’s whole workflow — register, test, submit, publish — runs through Connected Console, a single backend.

Timing and scale

Connected apps themselves are not new: earlier this year Gemini and Search started letting users securely link third-party services — TechCrunch’s example is connecting to Canva to design a flyer, or to YouTube Music to build a playlist. What changed on October 28 is the gate. Access used to be a list Google negotiated partner by partner; now any developer can build and submit. Google says more than 50 connected apps are live across Search and Gemini, spanning productivity, event ticketing, health and fitness; named Gemini-side partners include Adobe, Experian, Localiza and Peloton, while Search lists fewer — Instacart, Canva, YouTube Music and Yahoo Fantasy Football. Google commits to bringing Gemini’s existing apps to Search “in the coming weeks,” and Calm’s new integration will launch across both. TechCrunch, citing Google’s support page, attributes the 50+ figure to Gemini alone — the two accounts don’t reconcile, so the safest reading is the fact both sources agree on: Search-side coverage is far thinner than Gemini’s.

What others say

TechCrunch frames the launch inside the agentic-web shift: as user behavior moves from opening standalone apps toward getting things done through a preferred AI entry point, businesses that want to stay visible may need to claim their place on the agentic web — and the report draws the comparison directly, calling this an early step in what could become a new kind of SEO. It also states the catch on the demand side: the premise only holds if the connected-app catalog gets rich enough to keep users inside the AI surface, and other consumer-facing AI services are trying the same idea — TechCrunch names ChatGPT and Meta’s Muse as taking their own approaches. Search Engine Roundtable’s headline is blunter: “You Can Now Build Apps For Google Search,” relaying a practitioner’s argument that for 25 years Search connected people to websites, and now “it’s functionality that matters” — Search is turning into an agent manager. The blog post itself carries no executive quotes; its two authors are Group Product Managers on the Search and Gemini App teams respectively.

Our take

Read this one as a signal: Google is expanding “being findable” from ranking pages to integrating services. The question for a service product is no longer whether to add a chatbot, but whether your service gets picked and invoked when a user states an intent inside Search or Gemini. For smaller developers the preview window matters more than today’s traffic — Search-side apps are few, so early placement carries App-Store-style visibility upside, at the price of review and compliance inside Google’s system. Three honest caveats. First, geography: TechCrunch reports the preview is in beta for U.S. developers who sign up for a waitlist, while Google’s blog and docs mention only a preview application without any regional restriction — non-U.S. developers should treat availability as officially unconfirmed. Second, placement is not a guarantee: Search Engine Roundtable notes an app becomes visible only after a user adds it in their personal Search settings. Third, the metrics dashboard covers traffic, latency and error rates — no conversion or retention data yet. The thing to watch is the “coming weeks” Search-side expansion: when Gemini’s 50+ apps move over, that decides how much real traffic this channel carries. Put it next to this month’s related moves: Apple’s native MCP support in iWork opens local documents to agents, Tencent Cloud opened Yuanbao Search as an API turns search itself into a callable capability, and Google’s play here hands the distribution slot to third parties — three different bets on how services get distributed in the agent era. When Google shipped Gemini Agent for enterprises, agents connected to a company’s own systems; this time, the services streaming in belong to the whole web.