Google AI Studio builds a real Android app from a description in plain words, and it can upload that app to Google Play Console for you. But its Publish button stops at internal testing: a private test that does not make your app public and does not count toward Google's closed test. This guide takes you all the way, in 8 steps from your first prompt to a live app.
Shortcut Rather not read it all? Copy our AI prompt and your AI assistant walks you through every step.
Get ready
Before you start
Android app or web app?
AI Studio makes two kinds of app. This guide is for apps you made with Build an Android app: native Android apps that AI Studio can upload to Google Play itself. A web app, the default, runs on a web address, and AI Studio makes no Android file for it.
Have an AI Studio web app?
The simplest route is to describe your app again in AI Studio as a new Android app, if it needs no server features: Android apps from AI Studio run on the phone only. If you can build an Android app yourself, you can instead publish the web app and wrap it in a plain WebView app, as our WebView guide shows. Google sign-in does not work inside a plain WebView, and a wrapper that only shows a website can be rejected. Do not use a TWA tool such as PWABuilder: Testers Community does not accept TWA apps.
What AI Studio does, and what you do
AI Studio writes the app in Kotlin with Jetpack Compose, gives it a package name, signs it and uploads it to Play Console. Everything that makes the app public happens in Play Console, and those steps are the same as for any other app. New to Build mode? Our look at building Android apps in Google AI Studio covers what it makes and where it falls short.
Good to know
An AI Studio Android app is a native app. It is not a website in a wrapper and not a TWA (Trusted Web Activity), so Google Play treats it like any other Android app.
Have these ready
- A Google accountAI Studio is free. Use the same account you use for Play Console.
- A Google Play developer accountUS$25, paid once. Step 3 covers it. AI Studio needs it before you can publish.
- An Android phone and a USB data cableTo install and test the app, with Chrome or Edge on your computer.
- A privacy policy pageAt a public web address that opens without signing in. AI Studio Android apps have no website of their own, so a one-page site works, such as an AI Studio web app.
- Account deletionIf people can sign up, they must be able to delete their account in the app and ask for deletion on a public web page.
- 12 or more testersNew personal Play accounts only. Step 7 explains why.
Important: your app is not public after AI Studio's Publish
AI Studio uploads your app to internal testing, a private track for up to 100 people. Nobody can find your app on Google Play yet, and internal testing does not count toward the 12 testers. Steps 6 to 8 make it public.
1. Build your Android app in AI Studio
Describe your app and Gemini writes it as a native Android app. You keep improving it by chatting with it.
Where aistudio.google.com › Build › Build an Android app
- Open AI Studio, go to Build and start a new app. Click the Build an Android app chip.
- Describe your app in the box, including who it is for, the main screens and what it should remember, then click Build.
- When Design previews are ready appears, pick a style and click Select this design, or Skip. The first build takes about 5 minutes.
- Ask for changes in the chat until the app works the way you want. If something breaks, click Fix errors.
Tip: ask for Google Play basics from the start
Google Play checks these during review. Adding them to your prompt saves fixing them later:
Make this app ready for Google Play. Add a settings screen where
users can delete their account and data, and a link to my privacy
policy page. Support dark mode and large fonts, make the back button
go back one screen, and do not ask for any permission the app does
not need.You should see Your app running in the preview on the right.
2. Test it on your phone
The preview runs your app in the browser. Your own phone shows what your users will see, and some features only work there.
Where Preview › Install
- Try every screen in the Preview tab. The preview has no camera and no Google Play services, so the camera, Google sign-in and Maps only work on your phone.
- On your phone, turn on developer options: in Settings › About phone, tap Build number 7 times. Then turn on USB debugging in the developer options.
- Connect the phone to your computer with a data cable. Click Install at the top right of the preview, then Install via USB, choose your phone in the browser's pop-up, and allow USB debugging on the phone.
- Use the app on your phone, then go back to the chat to fix what you find.
Good to know
Installing needs Chrome or Edge on your computer and Android 7.0 or later on the phone. Safari and Firefox cannot install apps over USB.
You should see "App has been successfully installed", and your app on your phone.
3. Create your developer account
AI Studio publishes to your Play developer account, so you need one first. Skip this step if you already have one.
Where play.google.com/console/signup
- Sign in with the Google account you use in AI Studio, and choose Yourself or An organization.
- Pay the US$25 fee with a credit or debit card.
- Complete your developer profile and verify your identity, your email and phone, and an Android phone in the Play Console app.
Important
Apps for financial services, health, VPN or government must be published from an organization account. Our guide to publishing on Google Play covers accounts and verification in full.
4. Check three things before you publish
Your first publish creates the app in Play Console for good. Check these three things first.
Where The AI Studio chat › Code
- The package name. AI Studio sets it for you, for example
com.aistudio.summitpack.ndpqwv, and the Publish form shows it greyed out. It can never change after the first publish, so ask the AI Studio chat what it is now. If you want a different one, ask before you publish. - The Gemini key. If your app uses Gemini, ask the AI Studio chat how the app gets its API key. Google advises never to build a key into a mobile app, because anyone can copy it out. If a key is built in, leave the Gemini features out of the version you publish for now. When AI Studio offers a spend cap, set one. Google calls spend caps experimental: spending can carry on for about 10 minutes after the cap is reached.
- Target SDK 36. Since 31 August 2026, new apps and app updates must target Android 16 (API level 36). Ask the AI Studio chat to confirm
targetSdk = 36inapp/build.gradle.ktsand to remove permissions the app does not use.
Copy this into the AI Studio chat
It checks all three in one go:
Before I publish: tell me this app's package name, versionCode and
targetSdk. Make sure targetSdk is 36, remove any permission the app
does not use, and tell me whether a Gemini API key is built into
the app.
Keep a backup
In the Code tab, click Download as .zip file now and after big changes. You can also roll back in the Versions tab. Keep building in this same project: a remix may become a separate app, which may not be able to update your Play listing.
You should see Your package name, and an app that targets API level 36.
5. Publish to internal testing
AI Studio builds the app bundle, creates your app in Play Console and uploads the bundle to internal testing. You never handle the file yourself.
Where Publish (top right) › Get started
- Click Publish at the top right, then Get started (Google's codelab calls it Publish to Play Store). If AI Studio asks you to sign in to your Play developer account, use the same Google account.
- If your app uses Gemini, AI Studio shows Control Gemini API usage. Click Set spend cap.
- Check the form: your Play Console developer account, the App name and Package name (both filled in for you) and the Release name. Click Publish app for testing.
- Wait while AI Studio builds the app bundle, uploads it and creates the app in Play Console.
- When it says your app is published, use the Link to download app or the QR code to install the test version.
About the testers you add in AI Studio
If AI Studio lets you add tester email addresses, those people get the internal test only. That is handy for a quick check with friends, but they do not count toward the 12 testers Google needs. Step 7 sets up the test that counts.
You should see "[your app name] is published!", a test link, and your app in Play Console under internal testing.
6. Finish the store listing and App content
AI Studio created the app record, but it is empty. Your store listing and App content answers come next.
Where Play Console › your app
- Open Play Console and choose the app AI Studio created. On Google Play, its test page shows the package name, marked unreviewed, until you add a store listing.
- Go to Grow users › Store presence › Store listings and open the default listing: an app name of up to 30 characters, a short description of up to 80, a full description of up to 4,000, a 512 by 512 icon, a 1024 by 500 feature graphic and 2 to 8 phone screenshots.
- Go to Policy and programs › App content and answer every item: privacy policy, app access (with a test login if your app needs one), ads, content rating, target audience, Data safety and the rest.
- If your app sends what people type to Gemini, include that in your Data safety answers and your privacy policy.
Our main publishing guide explains the store listing and every App content question in detail, including Data safety and Target audience.
You should see Your app's Dashboard in Play Console, with its setup tasks marked as done.
7. Run your closed test
Personal accounts created after 13 November 2023 need at least 12 testers who stay opted in for 14 days in a row in a closed test, before the app can go public.
Where Test and release › Testing › Closed testing
- Open Closed testing and click Manage track on the track that is already there (extra closed tracks you create cannot target countries). Add all countries, or at least every country your testers live in.
- Add your testers on the Testers tab, with an email list or a Google Group.
- Create a new release and click Add from library. Choose the bundle AI Studio uploaded.
- Send the release for review from Publishing overview. This usually takes a day or two.
- Copy the opt-in link from the Testers tab and send it to every tester. Keep them using the app for 14 days. Short of testers? Our guide to getting 12 testers covers your options.
Does your app use Google sign-in?
If your app uses Google sign-in through Firebase (new for AI Studio Android apps and still rolling out), sign-in can fail in any version installed from Google Play, including the test link from step 5, until Google's signing fingerprints are added. Open Protected with Play › Play Store distribution › Go to Play app signing, copy every SHA-1 and SHA-256 fingerprint in the App signing key section (new apps can list three keys), and ask the AI Studio chat to add them to your Firebase project. If it cannot, add them in the Firebase console under Project settings › General › Your apps › SHA certificate fingerprints.
No 12 testers? We run this step for you.
Starter $15
Testing starts within 6 hours: 15 verified testers join your closed test and stay for the full 14 days. Anyone inactive is replaced. Our production access guarantee, or a full refund.
Opt for StarterCommunity app Free
Join a Pack of 16 developers who test each other's apps for 16 days. Inactive members are replaced.
Get the free app8. Apply for production and release
After 14 days, ask Google to let your app go public. Then release it.
Where Dashboard › Apply for production, then Test and release › Production
- On the Dashboard, click Apply for production and answer the 10 questions about your test. Be specific about what testers told you and what you changed.
- Google usually replies by email within 2 to 3 days.
- Once approved, open Production and click Create new release.
- Click Add from library and choose your latest AI Studio bundle, write release notes, and choose countries.
- Send the release for review from Publishing overview. The review usually takes 2 to 3 days, and can take up to 7.
Tip
Our production access form guide has a sample answer for every question Google asks.
You should see The release In review, then your AI Studio app live on Google Play.
Your AI Studio app is on Google Play
Its public link is play.google.com/store/apps/details?id= followed by your package name.
Next
Updating your app after launch
Every change to an AI Studio Android app is a new build. There are no instant updates: each one goes through Play Console and a new Google review.
Make your changes in the same AI Studio project and click Republish. The new bundle goes to internal testing. Then, in Play Console, create a new production release, click Add from library, choose the new bundle and send it for review.
If it goes wrong
If Google rejects your AI Studio app
Google tells you the reason by email and on the Policy status page. These are the reasons that come up most often for AI Studio apps:
| Reason | How to fix it |
|---|---|
| Target API level too low | Since 31 August 2026, new apps and app updates must target Android 16 (API level 36). Ask the AI Studio chat to set targetSdk to 36, then republish. |
| Missing privacy policy | Publish a privacy policy at a public web address and add the link in App content. |
| No way to delete an account | Ask the AI Studio chat to add account deletion in the app, and put a deletion request page online. |
| Permissions the app does not need | Ask the AI Studio chat to remove them, or declare why the app needs them in App content. |
| The app does not work for the reviewer | Add the signing fingerprints for Google sign-in (step 7), and give Google a test login under App access. |
| The app does too little | Google turns away apps with very few features. Add real features before you apply. |
| More testing required | Run your closed test for another 14 days with active testers, then apply again. |
For every other reason, see every Google Play rejection reason and the fix.
How we help
Where Testers Community fits
AI Studio takes care of writing the app and uploading it. Step 7 is the one it cannot do for you: finding 12 people who install your app, accept the invitation and keep using it for 14 days.
Add our Google Group to your closed test and send us your opt-in link. Real people start testing within 6 hours, on their own Android phones, and stay active for the full 14 days. Anyone who goes quiet is replaced. At the end you get a feedback report and help writing your production access answers. Every paid plan comes with our production access guarantee, or a full refund.
Quick answers
Frequently asked questions
Can you publish a Google AI Studio app on Google Play?
Yes, if you made it with Build an Android app. AI Studio builds the app bundle, creates the app in Play Console and uploads it to internal testing. You then finish the store listing, run the closed test and release it to production in Play Console.
Is it free to publish an app from Google AI Studio?
AI Studio itself is free. Google Play charges a one-time US$25 fee for the developer account. If your app uses the Gemini API on a paid tier, that usage is billed separately.
Does AI Studio publish my app publicly on Google Play?
No. AI Studio's Publish button only uploads to the internal testing track, and AI Studio itself says the app will not be available publicly. You make it public from Play Console after the closed test and production access.
Does internal testing count toward the 12 testers?
No. Google's rule needs a closed test with at least 12 testers opted in for 14 days in a row. Testers on the internal testing track that AI Studio uses do not count.
What is the package name of an AI Studio app?
AI Studio sets it to com.aistudio, then your app's name and a short code, for example com.aistudio.summitpack.ndpqwv. The Publish form shows it greyed out, and once your app is on Google Play it can never change.
Can I publish an AI Studio web app on Google Play?
Not directly, because AI Studio makes no Android file for web apps. Publish the web app, then wrap it in a plain WebView app and upload that, or rebuild it in AI Studio as an Android app. Do not use a TWA tool.
Do I need 12 testers to publish an AI Studio app?
Yes, if your Google Play developer account is a personal account created after 13 November 2023. You need at least 12 testers opted in to a closed test for 14 days in a row before you can apply for production. Organization accounts do not.
How long does it take to publish an AI Studio app on Google Play?
About 25 days on a new personal account. Publishing to internal testing takes minutes. Then Google Play needs a few days of setup, a day or two for the test review, the 14-day closed test, and about 2 to 3 days each for the production decision and the final review.
How do I update my AI Studio app after it is live?
Click Republish in the same AI Studio project. The new bundle goes to internal testing, then you add it to a new production release in Play Console with Add from library and send it for review.
Shortcut
Let your AI walk you through it
Rather not read all eight steps? Copy the prompt below and paste it into the AI assistant you already use, such as ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini. It asks you five quick questions, works out which steps apply to you, then takes you through them one at a time.
- Copy the promptClick Copy the prompt below. It copies the whole prompt.
- Paste it into your AIStart a new chat in ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or any assistant you use.
- Follow alongIt gives you one step at a time and waits for you to say "done". Back after the 14-day test? Paste the prompt again and say which step you are on.
Your AI does
- Works out your path and tells you which steps apply
- Tells you where to click in AI Studio and in Play Console
- Writes prompts for the AI Studio chat, such as account deletion
- Writes your store listing, privacy policy and Data safety answers
- Drafts your release notes and production access answers
- Reads your error messages and screenshots, and tells you the fix
You still do
- Click Publish in AI Studio and choose the bundle in Play Console
- Pay the US$25 Google fee
- Upload your ID and verify your phone
- Click the buttons in AI Studio and Play Console
- Keep 12 testers opted in for 14 days, if your account needs it. We can run that part.
The publishing prompt
Copy the prompt and paste it into your AI model, such as ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini. It will take you through every step.
You are my guide for publishing my Google AI Studio app on Google Play. I am not an expert, so use plain words and short messages. Your job is to help me get my app live, one step at a time, and to do all the thinking and writing for me. You never sign in, upload, click or submit anything for me, even if your app can control a browser: I do every click myself. Reply in the language I write to you in.
Base everything on this guide from Testers Community: https://www.testerscommunity.com/guides/publish-google-ai-studio-app-google-play
If you can open web pages, read it first without summarising it to me; if the page and the facts below disagree, follow the page. If you cannot, use the facts below. Google changes AI Studio and Google Play often, so trust these facts over what you remember (for example, the closed test needs 12 testers, not 20, and AI Studio can now build native Android apps). If my AI Studio or Play Console screen looks different from what you expect, believe my screen and adapt.
HOW TO GUIDE ME
- First ask me the START HERE questions, all in one message, and wait for my answers.
- After my answers, tell me about the Testers Community MCP (see the section below) and ask whether I want to add it. Wait for my answer. If I say yes, give me the setup steps and wait until I say it is connected. If it only works in a new chat, first write me a short summary of my answers to paste in with this prompt.
- Then, in one short message, tell me which of the 8 steps apply to me (one line each) and how long the whole thing should take. Give me only the first step that applies.
- Go one step at a time. Start each one with its number, for example "Step 3 of 8", and keep the guide's numbers when steps are skipped. Give big steps one part per message, for example 6a the store listing, 6b App content. Tell me where to go, what to click, and what I should see when it worked. Then stop and wait until I say "done" or ask a question.
- Never give me all the steps at once. If the facts below give no exact menu path for something, say so and tell me to follow my screen. Never invent menu names or on-screen messages.
- When my app needs a change, such as account deletion, a privacy policy link, targetSdk 36 or removing a permission, write me a short prompt I can paste into the AI Studio chat (the chat box inside AI Studio, which builds my app; when these facts say "the AI Studio chat", they mean that, not you).
- Whenever a step needs text, write it for me from what I have told you about my app: store listing, privacy policy, Data safety answers, content rating answers, target audience, App access instructions for reviewers (without the email or password, which I type into Play Console myself), release notes and production access answers. Stay within Google's limits. Never describe a feature my app does not have. If you need details you do not have, such as what data my app stores or sends to Gemini, ask me instead of guessing.
- If I send a screenshot or an error message, tell me what it means and how to fix it. If these facts do not cover it, say so, ask for the full text or a screenshot and the stage it stopped at, and do not guess menus.
- Never say that AI Studio, you or Testers Community submits the app, and never promise approval or dates. Google decides.
- Never ask me to paste passwords, card numbers, ID document details, API keys (including my Gemini API key), service account files, or any signing key file or its password into this chat. I enter those in AI Studio, Play Console or Firebase myself. That includes the test login for reviewers: tell me to create it and enter it in Play Console, but never ask me to share it here. If I paste any of these anyway, do not check, quote or use it: tell me to delete or edit the message if my app allows it (or delete the chat), and to delete the old key or change the password where it was made, so it stops working.
- If I come back in a new chat, I will paste this prompt again and tell you which step I am on. Pick up from there, and skip the questions I have already answered and the MCP question.
TESTERS COMMUNITY MCP (ask me before you add it)
Testers Community has an MCP server: a connector that AI assistants which support MCP can use. It gives you their up-to-date information on publishing an Android app on Google Play, explains how their testing works, helps me get testers for the closed test and with each publishing step.
- Explain this to me in two or three plain sentences, then ask if I want to add it. If you know your app cannot use MCP connectors, say so in one sentence instead of asking. Do not give me the setup steps, and never add or connect it, until I say yes.
- If I say yes, I add it myself. Give me only these setup steps: open https://www.testerscommunity.com/mcp/connect in your browser, sign in with the Google account you use for Testers Community, copy the connection URL shown there, and follow the steps on that page for your assistant (ChatGPT, Claude, Claude Code or another app that supports MCP). If my screen looks different, tell me to follow my screen. Once it is connected, use it for the latest facts and, if my account needs the closed test, for getting testers.
- If I say no, or my assistant cannot use MCP, carry on with this guide and the facts below. I can do every step without it.
- It does not replace my part: I still pay the fee, verify my identity, click the buttons in AI Studio and Play Console and submit the app, and Google makes the decision.
START HERE (ask me these)
1. Did you build your app in Google AI Studio with "Build an Android app", or is it an AI Studio web app? Have you clicked Publish in AI Studio yet?
2. Do you already have a Google Play developer account? If yes, is it personal or an organization, was it created before or after 13 November 2023, and is it on the same Google account you use in AI Studio?
3. What does your app do? Does it offer financial services, health or medical features, a VPN, or is it made for a government? Does it sell anything, and is that physical or digital?
4. Does your app use Gemini features (anything that sends what people type to Gemini)?
5. Do people log in or create accounts? Do they sign in with Google?
FACTS TO USE (checked against Google's pages, 10 October 2026)
- AI Studio (aistudio.google.com) is free. "Build an Android app" makes a native Android app in Kotlin with Jetpack Compose. It is not a web wrapper and not a TWA. Web apps are the default in AI Studio and get no Android file.
- AI Studio's Publish button builds the app bundle, creates the app in Play Console and uploads it to the internal testing track only. AI Studio itself says "This app will not be available publicly", and a banner says "Publishing to Play Store is coming soon!". Production releases happen in Play Console.
- Internal testing is a private track for up to 100 testers. It does not count toward the 12-tester closed test. If AI Studio lets me add tester emails, those people are internal testers only.
- Publishing needs a Google Play developer account with a completed profile, on the same Google account used in AI Studio.
- Package name: AI Studio sets it to com.aistudio.<appname>.<6 letters>, for example com.aistudio.summitpack.ndpqwv, greyed out in the Publish form. It appears to come from the app's name and is fixed as soon as AI Studio first uploads the app, even to internal testing. The name shown on Google Play can still change later. Settle the app name before the first publish. If I have already published, still do the other checks in step 4, then Republish.
- AI Studio signs the app with a managed key it keeps (the upload key), with no documented way to download it. Building the downloaded ZIP elsewhere and uploading it needs an upload key reset: Protected with Play › Play Store protection › Manage Play app signing › Request upload key reset. It needs admin permission; treat it as one-way, because afterwards AI Studio's Republish will probably stop working for this app. Keep building in the same AI Studio project; a remix may become a separate app.
- The preview emulator has no Google Play services: Google sign-in, Maps and the camera only work on my own phone. Install: turn on developer options (Settings › About phone, tap Build number 7 times), turn on USB debugging, connect a data cable, click Install, then Install via USB. Needs Chrome or Edge and Android 7.0 or later.
- Gemini key: Android apps from AI Studio run on the phone only. Google advises never to build an API key into a mobile app, because anyone can copy it out. If the app uses Gemini, ask the AI Studio chat how the key reaches the app, and set a spend cap when AI Studio offers "Control Gemini API usage" (Google calls spend caps experimental: spending can carry on for about 10 minutes after the cap is reached). If the AI Studio chat says a key is built in, leave the Gemini features out of the version I publish until the calls can go through a server, and tell me to delete that key where it was made.
- Target API: since 31 August 2026, new apps and app updates must target Android 16 (API level 36). Existing apps could request an extension to 1 November 2026; a new AI Studio app must target 36 now. Ask the AI Studio chat to confirm targetSdk 36 in app/build.gradle.kts.
- Updates: every change is a new build. Click Republish in AI Studio (it goes to internal testing), then in Play Console create a new release with Add from library and send it for review. There are no instant updates.
- Google sign-in through Firebase (new for AI Studio Android apps and still rolling out) can fail in any version installed from Google Play, including the internal test link, until Google's signing fingerprints are added: after the first upload, Protected with Play › Play Store distribution › Go to Play app signing, copy every SHA-1 and SHA-256 in the App signing key section (new apps can list three keys), and ask the AI Studio chat to add them to the Firebase project; if it cannot, add them in the Firebase console under Project settings › General › Your apps › SHA certificate fingerprints.
- Privacy policy: Google Play needs one at a public web address. AI Studio Android apps have no website, so a one-page site works, such as an AI Studio web app.
- Selling: in most countries, digital goods sold in the app (subscriptions, premium features) must use Google Play's billing: ask the AI Studio chat to add Google Play billing, and set up a payments profile in Play Console. Physical goods and services can use other payment methods. If I sell something, check Google's Payments policy for my country.
- "Failed to publish app" in AI Studio: ask which stage failed (Building app bundle, Uploading app bundle or Creating app in Play Console). If it was building, ask the AI Studio chat to fix it. Otherwise check that I am signed in to AI Studio with the same Google account as Play Console and that my developer profile and verification are finished, then try again.
- Google Play costs US$25, paid once, by credit or debit card. Prepaid cards are not accepted.
- Financial services, health, VPN and government apps must use an organization account. Organizations need a D-U-N-S number, free but up to 30 days to get.
- Personal accounts created after 13 November 2023 must run a closed test with at least 12 testers opted in for 14 days in a row, then apply for production access. Organization accounts and older personal accounts skip both.
- Typical timeline for a new personal account: publishing to internal testing takes minutes, then about 25 days in Google Play. Setup 2 to 3 days, test review 1 to 2 days, the 14-day test, then about 2 to 3 days each for the production access decision and the final review. A review can occasionally take up to 7 days. Organization accounts and older personal accounts skip the test: about a week, plus up to 30 days for a D-U-N-S number if an organization does not have one.
- AI Studio web apps: recommend rebuilding the app in AI Studio with "Build an Android app". A plain WebView app (an Android app that shows the published web app) is only for people who can build an Android app themselves, and three warnings apply: Google sign-in does not work inside a plain WebView, a wrapper that only shows a website can be rejected, and it is uploaded as a new release in Play Console, not with Add from library. Never use a TWA tool such as PWABuilder: Google often fails to record tester activity in TWAs, and Testers Community does not accept TWA apps.
THE 8 STEPS
1. Build: aistudio.google.com › Build › start a new app › the "Build an Android app" chip. Describe the app and click Build. Pick a design when "Design previews are ready" appears (Select this design, or Skip). The first build takes about 5 minutes. Ask for changes in the chat; use Fix errors if something breaks. Ask from the start for account deletion, a privacy policy link, dark mode and large fonts, a back button that goes back one screen, and no unneeded permissions.
2. Test on a phone: try every screen in Preview, then install on my own phone with Install › Install via USB (see the facts) and test Google sign-in, Maps or the camera there.
3. Create the developer account at play.google.com/console/signup with the same Google account used in AI Studio: choose Yourself or An organization, pay the fee, complete the developer profile, verify identity (government ID, email and phone codes, and an Android phone checked in the Play Console app).
4. Check three things before the first publish: the app name (it becomes the permanent package name), the Gemini key (none built into the app; spend cap), and targetSdk 36 with no unneeded permissions. If I have already published, still check the key, targetSdk and permissions, then Republish. Suggest downloading a backup ZIP from the Code tab and using the Versions tab to roll back.
5. Publish to internal testing: Publish (top right) › Get started › Set spend cap if offered › check the form (Play Console developer account, App name and Package name filled in, Release name) › Publish app for testing. AI Studio shows its progress ("Building app bundle", "Uploading app bundle", "Creating app in Play Console") and then "<App> is published!" with a test link and QR code.
6. Store listing and App content in Play Console: open the app AI Studio created (until there is a listing, its Google Play test page shows the package name, marked "unreviewed"). Grow users › Store presence › Store listings › Default store listing (app name 30 characters, short description 80, full description 4,000, icon 512 x 512, feature graphic 1024 x 500, 2 to 8 phone screenshots). Policy and programs › App content: answer every item, with the privacy policy link and a test login under App access if needed. Include Gemini in Data safety if the app sends what people type to it.
7. Closed test (new personal accounts only): Test and release › Testing › Closed testing, not internal testing. Click Manage track on the closed testing track that is already there (extra closed tracks cannot target countries) and add countries (all countries is simplest). Add testers by email list or Google Group. Create a new release with Add from library (the bundle AI Studio uploaded), then send it for review from Publishing overview. When the test is live, copy the opt-in link from the Testers tab and send it to the testers; Google does not invite them. Each tester must accept while signed in to the exact Google account that was added. Start with 15 or more, so you still have 12 or more if someone stops testing. If I added the Testers Community MCP, use it to help me get testers. If I do not have enough testers, tell me my options: the Testers Community Starter plan ($15; testing starts within 6 hours with 15 testers who stay the full 14 days; testerscommunity.com/pricing), their free community app where developers test each other's apps, or people I know.
8. Apply and release: Dashboard › Apply for production (new personal accounts only). The form has 10 questions, 2 of them multiple choice. Help me write specific answers: how many testers used the app, what they reported and what I changed. The decision usually arrives by email in 2 to 3 days. Then Test and release › Production › Create new release › Add from library (the latest AI Studio bundle), release notes, countries, then Publishing overview › Send changes for review.
IF GOOGLE REJECTS THE APP
Read the reason in the email and under Policy and programs › Policy status, fix that exact issue and send it for review again. Common causes for AI Studio apps: a target API level below 36, a missing privacy policy, no way to delete an account, permissions the app does not need, an app that fails for the reviewer (Google sign-in without the signing fingerprints, or no test login), an app with too few features, and too little tester activity. Every fix to the app needs Republish in AI Studio and a new release with Add from library.
Start now by asking me the START HERE questions.Keep these out of the chat
Never paste passwords, card numbers, ID details, API keys or signing key files into an AI chat. You enter those in AI Studio, Play Console or Firebase yourself. The prompt tells your AI not to ask for them.
Sources
Checked against Google's own pages on 10 October 2026.
- Google AI Studio: build Android apps
- Google codelab: build and publish an Android app with AI Studio
- Android Developers Blog: build Android apps in Google AI Studio
- Gemini API: using API keys
- Play Console Help: app testing requirements for new personal developer accounts
- Play Console Help: set up an open, closed or internal test
- Play Console Help: use Play App Signing
- Play Console Help: target API level requirements
- Play Console Help: account deletion requirements