Google Opens Connected Apps Preview for AI Mode and Gemini

Google opened the public preview of its Connected Apps Platform on October 31, letting developers apply to run their apps inside AI Mode in Search and in the Gemini app, with over 50 connected apps already live across the two products.

Robby Stein, VP of Product for Google Search, announced on X that Google "just opened the public preview." The platform itself was announced on October 28, and until now Google had not explained how an application gets added to the group of apps that AI Mode can pass work to. New developer documentation fills that gap, laying out both the registration path and the policy governing how one app tries to get selected over another.

How do developers get their apps into Search and Gemini?

Google offers two technical routes:

• Remote MCP server — MCP stands for Model Context Protocol, the open-standard communication protocol AI models use with external tools. This route reaches Gemini and Search users on web, Android, and iOS.
• AppFunctions — referred to by Google as Android MCP. This route reaches Gemini users on Android only.

Registration happens through the Google Connected Console. Developers select a category for each app, which establishes the minimum capabilities the app must have and cannot be changed after registration, according to the Prerequisites Page. Developers must also declare a minimum of three capabilities that users will see when deciding whether to connect the app.

The console asks where each app should be available, by country, language, and Google product. Google reviews and tests every app before publication. Apps that require sign-in must come with test accounts and sample data — and Google says an app it cannot fully test may be rejected.

What does Google say about getting chosen by the model?

The Connected Apps policy is explicit about competitive behavior. An app cannot reference other tools or create rules for when other tools should be used. The policy also states that connected apps must not:

"deceive or influence the model into performing an adverse action or behavior; for example, using overly broad or deceptive capability descriptions to influence the model into selecting the Connected App over another Connected App."

Google's MCP server guide explains that AI models rely on a server's instructions "to recognize when to delegate tasks to your server," and recommends clear instructions so requests route accurately. In short, the model decides which app receives a task based on what the app's server instructions say it can handle — which is why inflating those descriptions is now a policy violation.

Ads and promotional materials from other companies are excluded from integrations. Apps may include their own brand information. Violations carry real teeth: Google can reject an app, suspend access to it, remove it from the platform, or suspend or terminate the developer's account.

What is live in Search today?

Connected apps in AI Mode are currently available in the United States, in English. The apps listed on Google's help page are Instacart, Canva, YouTube Music, Yahoo Fantasy Football and Sleeper Fantasy Football.

Once an app goes live, Google's blog post states, developers can view traffic, latency and error rates — the first concrete performance reporting Google has offered for this surface.

On the user side, Google's Search help page says AI Mode may default to the last app a person used to complete a task. Users can specify a different app with their request, or submit a general query and then choose from a list of available applications.

What comes next?

Google framed this as a phased rollout. Additional developers, geographic markets, and Google products will be added in the next few months. In the coming weeks, apps from partner companies currently available on Gemini — including Adobe, Experian, Localiza and Peloton — will become available on Search, alongside a new Calm integration for both Search and Gemini.

Google Search Advocate John Mueller, writing in a LinkedIn comment, called connected apps a search platform he is excited about while noting it is "still extremely early" and that he does not work on the product. For developers and publishers, the metrics to watch now are adoption and traffic from AI Mode surfaces — and whether the model's delegation choices, governed by server instructions, become the next battleground for visibility.