What does Google's new Connected Apps Platform change for developers and users?

One console for two surfaces

The Connected Apps Platform is a developer portal that sits above Google Search and the Gemini app. Instead of maintaining separate integrations, a team writes against a cloud-hosted MCP server or the Android MCP using AppFunctions APIs. Then it registers the app, tests it, and submits the result through the Google Connected Console. Before publication the developer chooses Search, the Gemini app, or both. Once live the console surfaces traffic and latency. Error rates appear in the same dashboard. Brand assets such as verified logos and authenticated accounts remain under the developer's control.

Access rolls out in phases. Google says it will add more developers and markets. Additional Google products will follow over the coming months. The preview sign-up and documentation live at developers.google.com/connected-apps.

What the new partners actually do

Adobe, Experian, Localiza and Peloton integrations are already available inside the Gemini app. Calm will arrive on both Search and Gemini. The announcement lists more than 50 Connected Apps already shipped across the two surfaces. They span productivity and event ticketing. Health and fitness apps round out the categories. A help center page for each product shows the full catalogue. The document does not say how many of those 50-plus apps are currently active in user hands.

How the plumbing works

MCP stands for Model Context Protocol. The cloud-hosted variant lets a backend service expose functions that the Gemini model can call at inference time. The Android variant lets an on-device app expose the same style of functions without a round-trip to the cloud. AppFunctions is the API surface that standardises the contract. Developers do not need to rewrite business logic for each surface; the console handles routing.

What the rollout timeline leaves open

Google states only "coming weeks" for Search availability of the new partner apps. It does not give a date for when the preview will exit preview. Nor does it say which additional Google products will gain Connected Apps support. The phased access model means some developers who sign up today may wait months before they can publish.