Google Opens Gemini and Search to More Business Apps

Google Opens the Door to Businesses, Not Just Giants

Google has launched its Connected Apps Platform, a new system that lets any business or developer connect their app or service directly to Gemini and Google Search. The result: when users ask Gemini or Search to take an action - book a restaurant table, design a flyer, build a playlist - they'll be able to do it directly through that business's app, without leaving the AI experience.

Until now, these integrations (called Connected Apps) were limited to select partners like Adobe, Instacart, Canva, and YouTube Music. Google is now opening the process to any developer in the US (currently in public beta) - connecting via a cloud-hosted MCP (Model Context Protocol) server or Android MCP with AppFunctions APIs, then registering, testing, and submitting the app through a dedicated Google Connected Console. Once live, developers can track traffic, latency, and error rates, while keeping control of their brand identity (verified logo, authenticated account).

Google already lists more than 50 connected apps in Gemini today, and these integrations are coming to Google Search over the next few weeks too - including a new partner, the meditation app Calm.

Why this matters for small and medium businesses: As more people use AI assistants like Gemini to actually complete tasks - not just search for information - visibility inside these systems could become a real competitive factor, similar to how SEO once determined who showed up at the top of search results. Businesses that offer bookings, services, or products through an app or website may want to start evaluating whether joining the waitlist makes sense for them.

Chrome Can Now Fill Out Forms Using Your Gmail

Separately, Google updated Chrome's Autofill feature so it can pull information directly from Gmail - things like flight confirmation numbers, shipment tracking details, order numbers, addresses, and phone numbers - to automatically complete online forms. The feature is an extension of Google's Personal Intelligence system, is opt-in from Chrome settings, and encrypts sensitive data. It's rolling out now to US desktop users and the iOS/Android Gemini-in-Chrome apps.

Anthropic: Transparency on Business AI Spending

Meanwhile, Anthropic launched a new reporting toolkit called SmartReports for Claude's business customers. The tools show managers exactly what their teams produced from their token spend - what was built, how much it cost, and where workflows broke down - along with improvement recommendations. Anthropic also introduced pooled team budgets to help manage AI spending more effectively. The move comes as the company reported an operating profit in Q2 and 900% net revenue retention from existing customers.

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All findings in this post are based on official news sources (TechCrunch, The Verge) scraped today.