On August 12, 2026, Google said a new slate of apps are coming to the Gemini app. The announcement went out at the Made by Google event. If you run a small business and you have been meaning to try an AI assistant for actual work, this is a plain reason to start.
Here is the short version. You can now turn on tools you already use, right inside the Gemini app, and ask it to do things across them from one place. Google named thirteen apps across four categories. The rollout is phased, coming "over the next few weeks" from the announcement date.
That is the pitch. Let's walk through what it actually means for someone who does the books, the marketing, and the customer calls before lunch.
What did Google announce for the Gemini app?
Google announced that a new group of connected apps are coming to Gemini so you can get more done in one spot. The apps fall into four categories: Productivity and creativity, Local and entertainment, Music, and Home, health and lifestyle. You choose which ones to switch on.
The pitch is consolidation. In the announcement, Mai Lowe, Group Product Manager for the Gemini App, put it this way: "Today at Made by Google, we're announcing that a new slate of connected apps are coming to Gemini to help you get more done."
The second part of her quote is the useful bit for a busy owner: "By turning on your favorite services in Gemini, you can easily plan, create, and tackle your to-do list all in one place."
Read that again. Turning on your favorite services. You are not adopting a stack of new software. You are pointing an assistant at tools you already trust.
You are not adopting a stack of new software. You are pointing an assistant at tools you already trust.
Which apps can you connect to Gemini?
Google named thirteen apps in four groups. Productivity and creativity covers Granola, Otter.ai, and Wix, used to summarize meetings and edit your website. Local and entertainment covers Fever, GetYourGuide, Localiza, OpenTable (UK), and Ticketmaster. Music covers iHeartRadio and Pandora. Home, health and lifestyle covers Angi, Thumbtack, and Zocdoc.
Here is the same list, sorted by the job it does for you:
- Notes and meetings: Granola and Otter.ai, to summarize meetings so you are not scribbling while a client talks.
- Your website: Wix, to edit the site you already run.
- Booking and errands: Fever and GetYourGuide for local experiences, Localiza to rent a car, OpenTable to reserve dinner (flagged as a UK connection in the announcement), and Ticketmaster to search for event tickets.
- Music for the shop or the drive: iHeartRadio and Pandora, to find stations and stream playlists.
- Home and health: Angi and Thumbtack to find a home professional, and Zocdoc to book a doctor's appointment.
The list runs to thirteen named apps across four categories, from Otter.ai and Wix for daily work to Zocdoc for a doctor visit and Ticketmaster for a night out with your team.
One note on where this works. Google flagged OpenTable specifically as a UK connection. Beyond that, the announcement did not spell out which countries or languages every connection supports, so check the app you care about when the switch shows up.
How do connected apps help a small business?
The value is doing the errand from the same window where you are already thinking. Instead of bouncing between separate apps, you ask once. Summarize the call with Otter.ai. Edit a page on the Wix site. Book the doctor visit through Zocdoc. Grab tickets through Ticketmaster. One conversation, less tab-switching.
Think about a normal Tuesday. You finish a client call. Normally you would open one app to write up notes, another to fix a typo on your site, a third to book the plumber for the shop. Google's setup lets you ask an assistant to reach into the tools that already hold that work.
Two things make this friendly to a tight budget. First, you choose which services to connect. Second, the tools stay the tools you picked. If you already pay for Otter.ai to write up your calls, connecting that same tool inside one assistant is a small step, not a new system to learn.
I want to be honest about what the announcement did not say. It did not say whether any connection requires a paid Gemini tier or a paid account on the partner app. It did not list exact example prompts for each app. So treat this as a starting point to test, not a finished promise. Try one, see if it saves you time, keep it if it does.
How do you turn on a connection safely?
Start with one. Pick a tool you already use every week and would miss if it vanished. For a lot of owners that is the note-taker or the website editor. Turn that one on, give the assistant a small, clear task, and check the result before you trust it with anything bigger.
Google describes an option to turn on favorite services in Gemini. Its announcement does not explicitly state whether any connection is enabled by default for every account. That is a useful starting point for anyone who has felt nervous about AI reaching into their accounts. Decide deliberately whether a connection belongs in your workflow.
A simple test run: turn on your meeting tool, then ask the assistant to summarize your last recorded call into three bullet points and one follow-up email. Read what it gives you. If the summary is accurate and the email sounds like you, you just saved fifteen minutes. If it missed the point, you learned that in two minutes with nothing at stake.
Where does this fit in learning AI?
If you have tried an AI chatbot once or twice, you are already at the first step. In the 7 Levels of AI Proficiency, that step is Level 1: the Cadet, or AI Aware. You know the tool exists and you have used it. Turning on a connected app is a natural next thing to try from there.
The step after that is learning to ask well. In the 7 Levels of AI Proficiency, Level 2 is the Ensign, the Prompt Engineer, where you give the assistant clear instructions: who the output is for, what you need, and the format you want. Connected apps reward that skill, because a sharp request produces a useful summary or a clean booking, and a vague one does not.
You do not need to chase the top of the list to get value this week. A connected note-taker and a clear ask is a real win by itself. The rest of the 7 Levels of AI Proficiency describes where the path leads once you want to go further.
A next step for this week
Pick one tool from the list you already use. When the connection appears in your Gemini app, turn on just that one and give it a small task you would normally do by hand. Notes from a call. A quick page edit. A booking you keep putting off.
If it saves you time, add a second tool. If it does not, you are out two minutes and a little curiosity. Either way, you started, and starting is the whole point of Level 1: the Cadet in the 7 Levels of AI Proficiency.
Related reading: Level 1: The Cadet.
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Frequently Asked Questions
When can I use the new connected apps?
Google said they are coming "over the next few weeks" from the August 12, 2026 announcement. It is a phased rollout, so watch for the option to appear in your Gemini app rather than expecting all thirteen at once.
Do the connections cost extra?
The announcement did not say whether any connection requires a paid Gemini tier or a paid partner account. Check the pricing on the specific app you want to connect. If you already pay for it, you are likely fine to test.
Which apps are available in my country?
Google flagged OpenTable as a UK connection. Beyond that, the announcement did not list regions or languages for each app, so availability may vary. Confirm inside the app when the connection shows up for you.
How do I manage these connections?
Google describes these as services you can turn on in Gemini. The announcement does not say whether any connection is enabled by default for every account.
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