Google's Connected Apps Platform: How a Small Business Gets Its Service Into Gemini and Search With MCP

Until now, the Connected Apps in Gemini and Search came from a limited set of partners, like OpenTable and Instacart. This preview opens the door wider: Google is moving onboarding to a self-service console and letting more developers apply. Its post says there are already more than 50 Connected Apps across Search and Gemini, including Adobe, Experian, Localiza and Peloton in Gemini, with those coming to Search "in the coming weeks."

I build API integrations and MCP servers for small teams, so this is squarely my lane. Here's what Google actually shipped, and how I'd think about it if you run a business.

A Connected App lets someone use your service from inside Google. They link their account with you once. After that, they can ask Gemini or Search to do things with it, like check an order, book an appointment or look up their account, without opening your website or app. Google's docs describe it as letting users "access their personal live account context and complete real-world actions right in their conversations."

People can call your app by name with @, and it stays in context for the rest of the conversation. Google's recommended journeys for the "Local services & reservations" category read like a small business wish list: discover a provider ("Find me a plumber to fix my leaking sink today"), book, see upcoming bookings, and cancel or change one, with fees shown before confirming. There are also categories for CRM, small business finance, real estate, events and ticketing, and more.

1. A cloud-hosted MCP server. MCP (Model Context Protocol) is the open standard AI assistants use to call outside tools. Your server publishes a list of tools, like "check availability" or "look up order," and the assistant calls them for the user. Google calls this its recommended default path, and says that if you already have web APIs or a remote MCP server, you can build on them. This is the route that fits almost every small business, because it works no matter what device the customer is on.

2. Android MCP through AppFunctions. If you have an Android app, AppFunctions let it expose features that run on the phone itself. Android's docs label AppFunctions experimental, they need Android 16 or later, and Gemini's integration with them is in a private preview with trusted testers. Unless your business lives inside an Android app, I'd start with the MCP server.

This is the part the announcement skips. From Google's prerequisites and OAuth guide:

• A public HTTPS MCP server using the Streamable HTTP transport, with one global endpoint per app. If you filter traffic by IP, you have to allowlist Google's ranges.
• Real account linking. Google highly recommends OAuth 2.1 with PKCE, through the authorization code flow. Your server needs OAuth discovery metadata, either dynamic client registration or a client ID and secret entered in the console, and ideally refresh tokens so customers don't have to keep re-linking.
• Domain verification. You serve a challenge file at /.well-known/google-connected-apps on your MCP server's domain.
• Store-listing details. A name, a description under 30 words, a 512 × 512 icon, at least three capabilities, at least three example prompts, and public Terms of Service and Privacy Policy URLs.
• A category you can't change later. Pick it carefully.

Then there's the policy, and one rule matters a lot for small businesses: you can't wrap or repackage a third-party API you don't own. If your bookings live entirely in someone else's platform, you can't just put an MCP server in front of their API and submit it as yours. Using third-party APIs for supporting jobs, like sending email or logging users in, is fine. But the service has to be yours. The policy also bans ads inside your app, requires data minimization, and requires help docs explaining how users delete their data. Apps that keep erroring or timing out are prohibited.

Google's MCP developer guide lays it out in four phases:

1. Build the MCP server. Give it clear server instructions, mark read-only tools with readOnlyHint and risky ones with destructiveHint, and write tight, typed schemas with good descriptions. That's how the model decides when to call you.
2. Validate locally with the MCP Inspector.
3. Deploy to a public HTTPS endpoint on any cloud you like, then test it live in Gemini Developer Mode.
4. Register in the Google Connected Console: request access through the interest form, set up your app details, auth and endpoint, add testers, choose Gemini, Search or both, and send it for review. Once approved, Google says you control when it's published.

After launch, Google says you can track traffic, latency and error rates, and keep control of your brand, including verified logos and authenticated accounts.

It's a preview, so there are real gaps. Google's post doesn't mention fees. It doesn't say how many developers get in during the first phase, how long review takes, or when the preview ends. It also doesn't say how Gemini or Search decides which Connected App handles a request when more than one could. "High-intent users" is Google's phrase, and it didn't attach a number to it. I'd plan for this like any new channel: worth testing, not something to bet a quarter's marketing on yet.

Get ready now if your business has its own system customers log into: online booking, ordering, account lookups, a customer portal, quotes or a CRM you built. Those map directly onto the journeys Google lists.

Wait if your site is mostly informational. Connected Apps are about acting on a customer's account. For a brochure site, Search visibility still comes from regular SEO and a solid Google Business Profile.

Talk to your vendor if you run entirely on someone else's booking or commerce platform. Under the no-wrapper rule, that platform is the one that would build the Connected App.

Here's the part I like. Nothing about the prep is Google-only. A clean API, OAuth that works, and a well-described MCP server are the same things other AI assistants use. I wrote about the developer side of MCP in my post on Claude Code's MCP tasks and elicitations. Build it once and it works across Google, and that same server can work with other MCP clients too.

It's also the same work that makes your systems easier to connect to each other. Most of my integration projects start with "these two tools don't talk." Making a service MCP-ready forces the cleanup: one clear API, clear permissions, and auth that isn't held together with a shared password. If you're letting any AI touch customer accounts, scope its permissions tightly. Google's policy asks for the same thing, with minimal data and minimal OAuth scopes.

And if AI on the phone is more your worry than AI in search, I covered that in AI agents are starting to call small businesses.

I'm a senior software developer in Nashville. I build API integrations and AI integrations for small teams, including MCP servers and the OAuth and middleware behind them. If you want to know whether your business is a fit for Connected Apps, or you want your API and MCP server ready for when access opens up, get a free quote. I'll tell you honestly if it's worth doing yet.

What is Google's Connected Apps Platform?

It's a developer platform Google launched in preview on October 28, 2026. It lets developers bring their apps and services into the Gemini app and Google Search. You build an integration once, register it in the Google Connected Console, choose Gemini, Search or both, and submit it for Google's review.

Do I need an MCP server to build a Connected App?

For most businesses, yes. Google supports two paths: a cloud-hosted MCP server, which it recommends as the default, and Android MCP through the AppFunctions APIs for Android apps. AppFunctions are still experimental, and their Gemini integration is in a private preview.

Who can join the Connected Apps preview?

Access is opening in phases, and developers apply through Google's interest form. The Verge and Android Authority report the preview is open to US developers for now. Google says it will add more developers, markets and Google products over the coming months.

Does it cost anything to build a Connected App?

Google's announcement doesn't mention any fees. You'd still pay to build and host your MCP server and to maintain the OAuth and API behind it.

Can I connect my booking software if I didn't build it?

Usually not by yourself. Google's policy prohibits wrapping or repackaging third-party APIs you don't own. If your bookings run entirely on another company's platform, that company would need to build the Connected App. If you own the system, or it's a custom tool built for you, it can qualify.

• Google, "Build and manage Connected Apps in one place" (October 28, 2026)
• Google for Developers, Connected Apps Platform overview
• Google for Developers, Connected Apps Platform MCP server developer guide
• Google for Developers, Prerequisites for using connected apps
• Google for Developers, OAuth 2.1 implementation guide
• Google for Developers, Connected Apps Platform policy
• Google for Developers, Recommended user journeys by category
• Android Developers, Overview of AppFunctions
• The Verge, "Google will let more developers make apps that plug into Search and Gemini" (October 28, 2026)
• Android Authority, "Google opens the floodgates for more connected apps in Gemini and Search" (October 28, 2026)