You ask Gemini “Summarize my latest emails from Jane” or “Pull the key points from this YouTube video” — and it either answers generically without touching your data, or says “I can’t access that.” The Google integrations are real, but they fire less reliably than people expect, and Google renamed and rewired the whole system in late 2025 and early 2026, so a lot of older advice (and a lot of older muscle memory) no longer matches the UI.
Fastest fix: open gemini.google.com, click your profile picture, go to Settings and help → Connected Apps, and confirm two things: the specific app (Gmail, Google Workspace, etc.) is toggled on, and Gemini Apps Activity (also shown as “Keep activity”) is on — Connected Apps are unavailable while activity is off. Then start a new chat and ask with the app named in plain language (“Use Gmail to summarize my unread emails this week”). That clears the majority of cases.
What changed (read this first)
Two renames trip up almost everyone as of June 2026:
- “Extensions” are now “Connected Apps.” The settings live under Settings and help → Connected Apps, not under an “Extensions” menu. The old
gemini.google.com/extensionsURL is no longer the canonical entry point. @YouTube,@Google Maps,@Google Flights, and@Google Hotelswere removed as@-mention apps in October 2025. You can no longer type@Mapsor@YouTube. Those services now work through natural-language requests (Gemini routes to public Maps/YouTube data automatically) and, for personal accounts, through the new Personal Intelligence beta. The@picker still exists, but only for apps like Gmail / Google Workspace, GitHub, Spotify, YouTube Music, Google Photos, plus device apps (Phone, Messages, WhatsApp, Google Home).
If your old workflow relied on typing @Maps or @YouTube, that is why it stopped triggering — the syntax was retired, not broken. Rephrase in plain language instead.
Which bucket are you in?
| Symptom | Most likely cause | Go to |
|---|---|---|
| App toggle looks on but Gemini still answers generically | New chat needed, or activity off | Step 1, Step 2 |
@Maps / @YouTube no longer appears in the @ picker | Those @ apps were removed Oct 2025 | ”What changed” above |
| ”I can’t access that” for Gmail/Drive | OAuth not granted, or work-account admin block | Step 3, Step 5 |
| YouTube connected but “can’t access your history” | YouTube History off, or Brand Account | Step 4 |
| Works on one account, not another | Multi-account auth bleed | Step 6 |
| Flights/Hotels never appear at all | Region rollout | Step 7 |
| Personal data answers feel shallow | Personal Intelligence not opted in | Step 8 |
Step 1: Confirm the app is connected (and activity is on)
- Go to gemini.google.com → click your profile picture → Settings and help → Connected Apps (on some accounts this is reached via Personal Intelligence → Connected Apps).
- Find the app you want (e.g. Google Workspace, Gmail, GitHub) and make sure its switch is on. Turning on apps at the top level does not always cascade, and Workspace access is off by default for personal accounts — you have to turn it on explicitly.
- If an app shows Connect rather than an on/off switch, click Connect and complete the Google OAuth consent, granting every scope it requests. Declining a single scope leaves the app “on” but data-blind.
- Critically: Gemini Apps Activity (labeled “Keep activity” in newer builds, under Settings and help → Activity) must be on. As of June 2026, when activity is off, Connected Apps are unavailable on the web, iOS, and watches. This is the single most-missed setting.
Step 2: Phrase the request so the router uses the app
Gemini’s app router is heuristic, not deterministic. Generic phrasing routes to plain Gemini.
- Name the app in plain language: “Use Gmail to summarize my unread emails from this week,” not “check my email.”
- For Gmail / Workspace / GitHub, you can also type
@and pick the app from the list to force it. - For YouTube and Maps, do not try
@— just describe the task naturally: “Summarize the key points of this video:<url>” or “How long to drive from SF to LA right now?” Gemini reaches public YouTube/Maps data on its own. - Always start a new chat after changing a setting. An old conversation can stay in a “failed” state and keep refusing even after you fix the toggle.
Step 3: Reconnect (re-issue OAuth)
If the app is on but still failing, force a fresh token:
- Settings and help → Connected Apps
- Toggle the app off
- Reload the page
- Toggle the app on
- Re-grant all requested OAuth scopes in the popup
A clean reconnect re-issues fresh OAuth tokens and fixes the silent-revoke case (token expired or scope quietly dropped).
Step 4: The YouTube-specific gotchas
“YouTube is connected but Gemini can’t see my history” has two common, non-obvious causes:
- YouTube History is off. Connected Apps need it separately from general Web & App Activity. Go to myactivity.google.com/product/youtube, turn YouTube History on, and in its Controls make sure “Include the YouTube videos you watch” is checked.
- You’re on a Brand Account. Gemini reads your primary Google identity, not a YouTube Brand Account (sub-channel). Many people operate a Brand Account without realizing it. Switch to your main account and retry.
After fixing either, toggle the YouTube app off/on in Connected Apps and start a new chat.
Step 5: Work / school accounts — check admin settings
On a Workspace (work or school) account, the app toggle in your UI can look on while the admin has blocked the data path. Ask your admin to confirm, in the Admin console under Menu → Generative AI → Gemini app → Apps:
- Workspace apps is allowed (covers Gmail, Drive, Calendar, Docs, Keep, Tasks) — this is on by default as of June 2026.
- Other Google apps is allowed if you need Maps / YouTube / Flights / Hotels.
- Changes can take up to 24 hours to propagate (often sooner).
Modifying these requires the Gemini Settings admin privilege. If the org has turned any of these off, no amount of client-side toggling will help.
Step 6: Rule out multi-account auth bleed
If you’re signed into several Google accounts in the browser, permissions can be granted to account A while Gemini is actively using account B.
New Chrome / Firefox profile
Sign in with ONLY the account you want Gemini to use
Re-enable Connected Apps for that account
Retry the same promptIf it works in a single-account profile, the original profile had account bleed.
Step 7: Region (Flights / Hotels / Maps / Travel)
These roll out country by country, and some require an English locale. Even where supported, availability lags the US. Changing your Google account country (Account → Payments & subscriptions / General preferences → Country) can unlock travel features, but it also affects billing — don’t change it casually. For a quick read on whether region is the blocker, test from a US VPN in a fresh incognito session.
Step 8: Personal Intelligence (personal accounts)
In January 2026 Google launched Personal Intelligence (beta, launched Jan 14, 2026), which connects Gmail, Photos, YouTube, and Search for deeper personalized answers. It’s opt-in and off by default.
- If you connected apps the old way, those connections keep working with limited features (basic retrieval) until you opt into Personal Intelligence.
- It launched US-only for Google AI Pro and AI Ultra subscribers, then expanded: as of June 2026 it has reached US free-tier accounts and rolled out globally (excluding the EU) across AI Plus, Pro, and Ultra tiers. Availability is still expanding, so check your region. If personal-data answers feel shallow, opt in via Settings and help → Personal Intelligence.
How to confirm it’s fixed
Run a small read-back prompt that forces the app to fetch live data:
- Gmail: “What’s the exact subject line of my most recent email?”
- Drive/Workspace: “What’s the title of the file I edited most recently?”
- YouTube: “Summarize the first 30 seconds of this video:
<url>”
If it answers with a real, specific value (not a generic “I can help you with email…”), the app is genuinely wired up. If it deflects, you’re still in one of the buckets above — most often activity off (Step 1) or an old chat (Step 2).
Prevention
- Name the app in plain language (“Use Gmail to…”) instead of relying on
@, which now covers fewer apps. - Keep Workspace and personal Google accounts in separate browser profiles — auth bleed is the most-debugged issue in this hub.
- Before building a workflow on an app, run a read-back sanity prompt (above) so you know it can actually see your data.
- For Workspace, get written confirmation from your admin that Workspace apps (and Other Google apps if needed) are enabled for your OU.
- Re-check after major Gemini updates — Google renamed Extensions → Connected Apps, removed
@Maps/@YouTube, and added Personal Intelligence all within about six months, so menu names move.
FAQ
Where did the Extensions menu go?
It was renamed Connected Apps and lives under Settings and help → Connected Apps at gemini.google.com. The old gemini.google.com/extensions path is no longer the canonical entry point.
Why can’t I type @YouTube or @Maps anymore?
Google removed @YouTube, @Google Maps, @Google Flights, and @Google Hotels as @-mention apps in October 2025. Ask in plain language instead — Gemini routes to public YouTube/Maps data automatically.
Gemini says it’s connected to Gmail but still won’t read my mail. Why? Most often Gemini Apps Activity (“Keep activity”) is off — Connected Apps are unavailable while it’s off (Step 1). Next most common: you’re in an old chat (start a new one), the OAuth scope was dropped (reconnect, Step 3), or a work-account admin blocked it (Step 5).
Why can’t Gemini see my YouTube watch history? Either YouTube History is off at myactivity.google.com/product/youtube, or you’re signed into a YouTube Brand Account instead of your primary identity (Step 4).
Do I need Personal Intelligence for this to work? No for basic Gmail/Workspace retrieval, which works through Connected Apps. Personal Intelligence adds deeper cross-app personalization for Gmail/Photos/YouTube/Search and is opt-in (Step 8). As of June 2026 it has expanded beyond its US Pro/Ultra launch to US free-tier and to AI Plus/Pro/Ultra globally (excluding the EU).
It works on my phone but not the web (or vice versa). Why? Connected Apps and activity settings are account-wide, but you may be signed into a different account on each device. Confirm the same Google account is active on both, and check for multi-account bleed (Step 6).