Google Opens a Connected Apps Platform for Search and Gemini

Google has launched a preview of its Connected Apps Platform, a single route for app developers to put their capabilities inside both Google Search and the Gemini app. The announcement came on 28 October from Chips Mistry (Group Product Manager, Search) and Mai Lowe (Group Product Manager, Gemini App).

A Connected App lets someone complete a task, such as ordering groceries or making a playlist, without leaving the conversation. This launch is about who gets to build them and how.

What developers get

Google describes the platform as a way to "build once and reach high-intent users across both Search and the Gemini app." The workflow it lays out:

• Build: integrate with a cloud-hosted MCP server, or with Android MCP using the AppFunctions APIs.
• Register and submit: use the Google Connected Console to register, test and submit the app.
• Choose where it appears: before review, developers pick Search, the Gemini app or both.
• Monitor: once live, you can track traffic, latency and error rates, and keep control of your brand identity, including verified logos and authenticated accounts.

Access is limited. Google says it is "opening access in phases" and will add more developers, markets and Google products "over the coming months." Developers can sign up for the preview through the documentation at developers.google.com/connected-apps.

What already exists

Google says it has launched more than 50 Connected Apps across Search and Gemini, in areas from productivity and event ticketing to health and fitness. The post names these partners:

• Live in Gemini now: Adobe, Experian, Localiza and Peloton. Google says they will reach Search "in the coming weeks."
• Launching in both Search and Gemini: Calm.

What it means for SEO

For most sites, not much yet. The platform is for businesses that have an app or a service that can be driven by an agent, and access is phased. A brochure site or a blog has nothing to connect.

Two points are still worth tracking:

• Search is becoming a place where tasks finish. A Connected App keeps the whole interaction inside Google's interface. For a business whose conversion currently happens on its own site, that moves part of the journey out of reach of normal analytics. Our recent notes on Google's agentic commerce push describe the same direction in retail.
• The post says nothing about organic visibility. Google doesn't explain how a Connected App is chosen over a web result, or whether usage affects how a business is ranked or cited. Treat anyone who claims to know as guessing.

If you run an app-based business, the sensible step is to read the documentation and decide whether to join the preview. Otherwise this is a launch to watch, not one to act on.

Sources

• Google: Build and manage Connected Apps in one place (28 October 2026)