Google lets AI assistants use your phone's apps directly, in beta

Google has put a new way for AI assistants to use phone apps into beta. Instead of tapping through screens, an assistant such as Gemini can call actions an app offers directly, like adding an expense or searching a trip. Google calls the approach Android MCP. The beta label arrived with a post on October 31.

What changed

MCP stands for Model Context Protocol. It is an open standard that AI agents use to connect to a service, read its data and use its actions. Android MCP brings that idea to the phone. An app lists what it can do, and the system keeps a registry of those actions for assistants to find and run. The tool behind it is called AppFunctions.

How it works

A developer marks an action in the app's code and describes it in plain words. The assistant reads that description to decide when to use it. A sample trip-planning app, JetPacker, offers actions such as addExpense, getItinerary and searchTrip. One marked action can serve several agents, so none of them has to learn the app's screens.

Who it affects

The strongest impact is on businesses with an app. Every action an app exposes is one more way to reach a customer, but the customer may never open the app. Google's coming rules name these app types:

• Messaging, notes, calendar and tasks
• Health, shopping, travel and food
• Creativity, media and system tools

Apps with no relevant use case are exempt. For those that fit, the rules will require at least one use of the AppFunctions tools and passing mandatory tests.

Limits and safeguards

This is not open to everyone yet. The AppFunctions library is public but still in alpha, and it needs Android 16 or later. The Gemini connection is a private preview. Developers request access through an Early Access Program form, and signing up does not guarantee a spot. Some testing commands need Android 17 or later.

Google's guidelines ban actions that ask for or return passwords, financial data or private keys. They also tell developers to share only information that is not highly personal and to avoid actions the user did not ask for.

What happens next

For now, joining is optional. Google will enforce its rules on the later of two dates: March 1, 2027, or three months after self-service registration opens. Google also points to other routes, including a remote MCP server and an upcoming API called Computer Control, aimed at assistants that phone makers preinstall. Which route matters will depend on the assistant a customer uses. How many people will actually ask assistants to use apps this way is not yet known.