Google is integrating Opal, its experimental lightweight app builder, directly inside Gemini on the web through a “mini app” feature, effectively turning the chatbot into an easy-to-use app studio for anyone who can write a prompt. The consolidation combines natural language app-building and a visual editor under one roof, narrowing that idea-to-operating AI tool gap.
Opal appears as a new experimental Gem inside the interface for Gemini. Users can build and share AI-based mini apps, remix existing ones, and iterate logic using an improved step-by-step editor that translates prompts to editable actions.
- What Opal Brings to Gemini on the Web and How It Works
- How to Try Opal Mini Apps Inside Gemini on the Web Today
- Why Opal’s Integration With Gemini on the Web Matters Now
- Mini Apps You Can Build in the Real World With Opal at Launch
- Privacy and Governance Notes for Early Opal Mini Apps
- How Opal Compares to Custom GPTs and Microsoft Copilot Studio
- What to Watch Next as Opal Evolves Inside Gemini on the Web
What Opal Brings to Gemini on the Web and How It Works
Opal allows you to create small, single-purpose applications by composing prompts, models, and operations; no code writing is required. Begin by describing, in natural language, the desired outcome you’d like to produce and eventually input that into a visual editor which extracts the prompt into a sequence of steps. Every one of those steps is editable, meaning you can modify inputs, add validations, or call out to another tool.
The new editor view is the main improvement: it translates a plain-English prompt into structured branching. For instance, “Analyze this CSV and flag anomalies above some threshold and write a summary email” becomes a pipeline with stages for data ingestion, anomaly detection, hyperparameter tuning of the threshold, and drafting an email. You can re-order or refine steps with no need to start over.
Opal is inside of Gemini and therefore receives model enhancements and tooling access while remaining a lightweight build story. It also allows sharing, so one person’s mini app can be reused or remixed by others.
How to Try Opal Mini Apps Inside Gemini on the Web Today
On the web: Open the top-right hamburger menu in Gemini and click Gems. You’ll find a gallery of Gems built by Labs—pre-built mini apps constructed with Opal. You can play them as-is, remix them for your workflow, or select the Advanced Editor option to begin from scratch and create your own logic.
Opal is experimental, and may become available to more people over time. Opal builds live in the Gems area, where you can version them and share with others.
Why Opal’s Integration With Gemini on the Web Matters Now
Low-code AI application development is emerging as a popular battleground itself for competition. OpenAI’s customized GPTs and Microsoft’s Copilot Studio have shown that there’s a need for rapid, bespoke personal assistants which fall between chat prompts and a full enterprise application. Opal’s inclusion also puts Gemini into that conversation by allowing users to go from discrete prompt to a reusable tool in minutes.
Industry surveys by research firms like McKinsey and Deloitte suggest organizations are experimenting with generative AI at speed, particularly for workflow automation and knowledge recall. By taking away the friction of scaffolding and wiring, Opal makes Gemini an easy-to-work-with platform for enabling “citizen developers” and teams that want to prototype new things before they commit engineering resources.
Mini Apps You Can Build in the Real World With Opal at Launch
Opal’s step-based editor is conducive to short, high-impact scenarios. Examples include:
- A customer support triage tool that categorizes incoming messages, suggests replies, and escalates more complex cases.
- A data cleaner that eats spreadsheets and spits out normal columns, flagged outliers, and a cleaned-up file.
- A content assistant that turns a brief into the outline of a blog, spits out draft sections, and applies a house style.
- A study companion that converts lecture notes into quizzes, tracks weak areas, and schedules spaced-repetition reviews.
Because every step is visible, users can tweak how they want the app to act — tightening a classifier or swapping tools or adding guardrails — without touching code.
Privacy and Governance Notes for Early Opal Mini Apps
Google says Opal isn’t included in Gemini Apps. Activities from mini apps built with Opal will not show in Gemini Apps Activity and are not affected by the Workspace Connected Apps setting. For business and education admins, that separation matters: It signals Opal as a test space rather than an experimentation surface owned by Workspace.
Unless they have clear data-handling guidelines, teams should consider their Opal projects as prototypes. As with all generative AI workflows, do not enter sensitive content unless your organization has put in place approved controls.
How Opal Compares to Custom GPTs and Microsoft Copilot Studio
Whereas both custom GPTs and Copilot Studio are impressive, where Opal shines through is the automatic step translation from a single prompt (reducing the barrier to turning your thoughts into structured applications). Whereas other platforms bank everything on plugin ecosystems and enterprise connectors, Opal (as it’s being called) is chasing things like speed, clarity, and remixability inside the Gemini web experience right out of the gate.
What to Watch Next as Opal Evolves Inside Gemini on the Web
The key signals to watch for are deeper integration with Workspace, admin controls over sharing and retention, and more tool support for external data sources. If those do arrive, Opal has the potential to grow from a neat lab feature into a widely used method for standardizing and sharing AI workflows among teams.
