برچسب: the

Behind the Strategy: 6 CX lessons from Company Sage

What does it really take to build a business around customer experience?

In a recent episode of Behind the Strategy: CX Leadership in Action, Alchemer CMO Bo Bandy sat down with Company Sage CEO Andrew Pierce and COO Jeff Cummings to unpack how they’ve turned CX into a strategic advantage.

Company Sage helps entrepreneurs and small businesses start, manage, and grow their companies, handling everything from entity formation and compliance to back-office support. With more than 80,000 customers and a fast-growing SaaS platform, they’ve built their success not just on operational excellence, but on a company-wide obsession with treating customers right.

From real-time NPS follow-up to transparent team communication, here are six lessons from their playbook that any CX leader can apply.

Lesson 1: Start with culture

Company Sage didn’t launch with a polished strategy. They started by simply being kind to customers.

“I didn’t want to be mean to clients on the phone,” Andrew said. “So we over-delivered.”

That basic principle—treat people well—grew into something more powerful. The team realized that while their larger competitors treated customers like numbers, they could stand out by being personal, responsive, and transparent.

Today, customer experience is one of three strategic lenses for the business, alongside scalability and compliance.

Lesson 2: Operationalize feedback early and often

Company Sage’s NPS program isn’t an annual box to check. It’s a living system that drives action.

Instead of blasting all 80,000 customers at once, they send surveys in rolling batches to keep the workload manageable. Every detractor or comment with negative sentiment creates a case in Salesforce. Their support team personally follows up, logs the conversation, and shares insights with leadership.

This approach helps the team spot issues early, respond quickly, and turn frustration into loyalty.

Lesson 3: Let the data challenge your assumptions

Tough feedback isn’t always easy to hear—but it’s essential.

Andrew shared how a switch from annual to monthly billing, which seemed customer-friendly on paper, was met with overwhelming negative feedback. “We thought we were doing the right thing,” he said. “The survey results told us otherwise.”

Other surprises? Customers didn’t care about hold times as much as they cared about getting their questions answered on the first try. And small changes in mail pricing sparked major backlash that wasn’t obvious until the NPS results came in.

Lesson 4: Share feedback across the entire organization

At Company Sage, feedback doesn’t stay hidden in dashboards. It’s shared company-wide.

Survey insights are discussed in weekly ops meetings, reviewed in all-hands calls, and used to prioritize product roadmaps. Teams are encouraged to face the tough stuff and take ownership.

“If we’re not a culture-first company, we can’t be a customer-first company,” Jeff said. One team member, after hearing tough feedback, told her team: “We’re owning this. It’s never coming up again.”

That transparency keeps everyone connected to the customer and accountable for improving the experience.

Lesson 5: Close the loop and keep it closed.

Every round of NPS is followed by a summary of what the team is doing differently as a result. If a customer didn’t fill out the last survey, they get a little FOMO when they see real changes being made and they’re more likely to respond next time.

Even internal teams benefit. By tying customer feedback to changes in process or product, employees can see the impact of their work. That alignment keeps morale high and focus sharp.

Lesson 6: Keep evolving or fall behind

“Customer experience isn’t a destination,” Jeff said. “If we offer the same level of service next year, it’ll feel like a drop.”

That’s why they’re constantly looking for ways to improve. They’re using integrations to route feedback in real time. They’re exploring session monitoring tools to trigger intercepts when customers show signs of frustration. And they’re watching trends closely—like the sudden rise in mobile requests that no one mentioned two years ago.

The goal is to stay close to what customers want, not just what the company thinks they want.

Watch the full conversation

For more CX insights, listen to Andrew, Jeff, and Bo’s full conversation in the this episode of Behind the Strategy: CX Leadership in Action.

Looking for more CX guidance?
Check out additional Behind the Strategy episodes or download The CX Leader’s Guide to the CFO for help aligning your feedback program with business goals.

Source link

02/07/2025
Build the Best Zoo in the Acclaimed Board Game Ark Nova

Players are tasked with planning and designing a modern zoo with the eventual goal of it becoming the most successful. To do that, you will need to build enclosures, accommodate animals, and support conservation products all around the world. To do that, you will need both specialists and unique buildings.

The game features 255 cards with animals, specialists, unique enclosures, and conservation projects, each with a particular ability. You’ll use the cards to increase the appeal and scientific reputation of your zoo while collecting conversation points.

Action cards will be used to upgrade and carry out plans. Each player has five action cards and the power of the action is determined by the slot the card currently occupies. The actions include build, animals, cards, association, and sponsors.

You can play locally against an AI, online, or in the same room with others using pass and play.

Designed for the iPhone and all iPad models, Ark Nova is a $10.99 download now on the App Store.

Source link

01/07/2025

Get ready for the next generation of gameplay powered by Play Games Services

Posted by Chris Wilk – Group Product Manager, Games on Google Play

To captivate players and grow your game, you need tools that enhance discovery and retention. Play Games Services (PGS) is your key to unlocking a suite of services that connect you with over 2 billion monthly active players. PGS empowers you to drive engagement through features like achievements and increase retention with promotions tailored to each gameplay progress. These tools are designed to help you deliver relevant and compelling content that keeps players coming back.

We are continuously evolving gaming on Play, and this year, we’re introducing more PGS-powered experiences to give you deeper player insights and greater visibility in the Play Store. To access these latest advancements and ensure continued functionality, you must migrate from PGS v1 to PGS v2 by May 2026. Let’s take a closer look at what’s new:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-6b_wWF96U

Drive discovery and engagement by rewarding gameplay progress

We’re fundamentally transforming how achievements work in the Play Store, making them a key driver for a great gaming experience. Now deeply embedded across the store, achievements are easily discoverable via search filters and game detail pages, and further drive engagement when offered with Play Points.

At a minimum, you should have at least 15 achievements spread across the lifetime of the game, in the format of incremental achievements to show progress. Games that enable players to earn at least 5 achievements in the first 2 hours of gameplay are most successful in driving deeper engagement^*.

The most engaging titles offer 40 or more achievements with diverse types of goals including leveling up characters, game progression, hidden surprises, or even failed attempts. To help you get the most out of achievements, we’ve made it easier to create achievements with bulk configuration in Play Console.

For eligible titles^*, Play activates quests to reward players for completing achievements – for example with Play Points. Supercell activated quests for Hay Day, leading to an average 177% uplift in installs^*. You can tailor your quests to achieve specific campaign objectives, whether it’s attracting high-value players or driving spend through repeated engagement, all while making it easy to jump back into your game.

Achievement-based quests allowing users to grow their farm and earn Play Points in the mobile game Hay Day on Google Play

Hay Day boosted new installs with achievement-based quests

Increase retention with tailored promotions

Promotional content is a vital tool for you to highlight new events, major content updates, and exciting offers within your game. It turns Play into a direct marketing channel to re-engage with your players. We’ve enhanced audience targeting capabilities so you can tailor your content to reach and convert the most relevant players.

By integrating PGS, you can use the Play Grouping API to create custom segments based on gameplay context^*. Using this feature, Kabam launched promotional content to custom audiences for Marvel Contest of Champions, resulting in a 4x increase in lapsed user engagement^*.

Marvel Contest of Champions increased retention with targeted promotional content

Start implementing PGS features today

PGS is designed to make the sign-in experience more seamless for players, automatically syncing their progress and identity across Android devices. With a single tap, they can pick up where they left off or start a new game from any screen. Whether you use your own sign-in solution, services from third parties, or a combination of both, we’ve made it easier to integrate Play Games Services with the Recall API.

To ensure a consistent sign-in experience for all players, we’re phasing out PGS v1.

All games currently using PGS v1 must migrate to PGS v2 by May 2026. After this date, you will no longer be able to publish or update games that use the v1 SDK.

Below you’ll find the timeline to plan your migration:

Migration guide

May 2025	As announced at I/O, new apps using PGS v1 can no longer be published. While existing apps can release updates with v1 and the APIs are still functional, you’ll need to migrate by May 2026, and APIs will be fully shut down in 2028.
May 2026	APIs are still functional for users, but are no longer included in the SDK. New app versions compiled with the most recent SDK would fail in the build process if your code still uses the removed APIs. If your app still relies on any of these APIs, you should migrate to PGS v2 as soon as possible.
Q3 2028	APIs are no longer functional and will fail when a request is sent by an app.

Looking ahead, more opportunities powered by PGS

Coming soon, players will be able to generate unique, AI-powered avatars within their profiles – creating fun, diverse representations of their gaming selves. With PGS integration, developers can allow players to carry over their avatar within the game. This enables players to showcase their gaming identity across the entire gameplay experience, creating an even stronger motivation to re-engage with your game.

Gen AI avatar profiles create more player-centric experiences

PGS is the foundational tool for maximizing your business growth on Play, enabling you to tailor your content for each player and access the latest gameplay innovations on the platform. Stay tuned for more PGS features coming this year to provide an even richer player experience.

^* To be eligible, the title must participate in Play Points, integrate Play Games Services v2, and have achievements configured in Play Console.

^* Data source from partner. Average incremental installs over a 14-day period.

^* Data source from partner.

^* The Play Grouping API provides strong measures to protect privacy for end users, including user-visible notification when the API is first used, and opt-out options through My Activity.

Source link

01/07/2025

Survey software 101: Answers to the most common questions about surveys
Surveys are one of the most effective tools for collecting structured and unstructured feedback—and the right survey software makes it easier than ever to do so at scale.

Whether you’re measuring customer satisfaction, checking in with employees, or researching new markets, knowing how and when to use surveys can make all the difference.

In this quick guide, we’ll tackle the most frequently asked questions about surveys and survey tools, so that you can turn feedback into action with confidence.

What is the definition of a survey?

A survey is a method of collecting data from a defined group of people to gain information and insights on various topics, behaviors, opinions, or experiences. Surveys typically consist of structured questions and are delivered via online forms, email, mobile apps, or in person.

What is the purpose of using a survey?

The purpose of a survey is to gather accurate and actionable data that helps organizations make better decisions.

Whether you’re fine-tuning a product, leveling up the customer experience, boosting employee morale, or spotting your next big market move, surveys help you gather the data you need to make smarter, faster decisions.

A survey and feedback platform—like Alchemer—helps you design, distribute, and analyze surveys. A robust survey platform should be able to automate data collection, ensure data quality, and integrate results into your existing workflows or analytics platforms, making insights more actionable.

Why is it important to run surveys?

Surveys are essential because they give your audience a seat at the table. Whether it’s customers, employees, or partners, surveys capture perspectives you might not see in everyday operations. They help you measure how people really feel, uncover what’s not working, and confirm whether your instincts are on point.

When should surveys be used?

You would do a survey when you have a clear goal, audience, and set of questions designed to inform a decision. With Alchemer, it’s easy to capture insights exactly when and where they matter most. Common moments to launch a survey include:
- Right after a customer interaction—like completing a purchase or resolving a support ticket
- In the middle of product development or beta testing—to make smarter iterations, faster
- After an event or campaign—to measure impact and improve next time
- On a regular cadence—to track employee or customer sentiment over time and spot trends early
With the right timing and tools, surveys become a strategic advantage—not just a checkbox.

Where do I make a survey?

There are many feedback and survey platforms on the market, each offering different strengths, from quick poll builders to enterprise-level research tools. When evaluating your options, look for a solution that balances ease of use with the power to scale and integrate across your business.

The best survey software includes:
- Drag-and-drop builders for quick, intuitive survey creation
- Pre-built templates to help you start with best practices
- Advanced logic and branching for personalized respondent experiences
- Flexible distribution methods like web, email, SMS, or in-app
- Real-time analytics and reporting to uncover insights fast
What are the 3 types of a survey?

Most surveys fall into one of three categories, each serving a unique purpose depending on what you’re trying to learn:
- Descriptive Surveys: These are designed to capture the “what”—they describe characteristics of a group based on structured feedback. Think customer satisfaction scores, employee engagement levels, or demographic profiles. The goal is to get a clear snapshot of your audience at a specific point in time.
- Analytical Surveys: Analytical surveys go a step further, aiming to understand the “why.” They explore cause-and-effect relationships by looking at how different variables interact—such as whether satisfaction impacts loyalty, or how usability affects conversion. These surveys often blend structured data with deeper segmentation and statistical analysis.
- Exploratory Surveys: Used early in decision-making, exploratory surveys are all about gathering unstructured feedback—ideas, opinions, or open-ended input you might not have anticipated. They’re especially useful in product development, brand positioning, or when entering a new market. Modern survey platforms use open text analysis and AI-powered sentiment tools to help extract themes, trends, and meaning from unstructured responses.
Each type has its place. When used together, they give you a richer, more complete view of your audience—and the confidence to act on what you learn.

What is the survey method?

The survey method refers to the systematic approach of designing and distributing surveys to collect data. It involves selecting a sample, creating questions, choosing delivery channels (email, SMS, web, etc.), collecting responses, and analyzing results.

How does survey software work?

Survey software works by guiding users through the process of building a survey, distributing it to a selected audience, collecting responses in real time, and analyzing results through built-in dashboards and reports. Advanced tools also allow for automation, logic branching, integrations, and role-based access for collaboration across teams.

So, which software is best for surveys?

The best survey software helps you go beyond just collecting feedback by enabling you to take action quickly and confidently. While many tools focus on basic data collection, Alchemer stands out by combining ease of use, fast time-to-value, and robust omnichannel capabilities.

With intuitive survey builders, seamless integrations, and powerful automation, Alchemer empowers teams to embed feedback into workflows, surface insights in real time, and make smarter decisions—without the need for complex setup or months-long onboarding.

If you want a platform that delivers both speed and impact, Alchemer gives you everything you need to turn feedback into business results—fast.

Ready to take your survey strategy to the next level?

Surveys are just the start. To truly understand your audience and act on what they’re telling you, you need a feedback approach that works across every channel.

Download our free e-guide, Customer Feedback is Everywhere: The Ultimate Guide to Omnichannel Feedback Collection and learn how to:
- Collect insights from every touchpoint—digital, in-person, and everything in between
- Break down silos between feedback channels
- Build a unified strategy that turns customer input into real business results
Whether you’re just starting with surveys or scaling your feedback program, this guide will help you get more value from every response.
Source link
28/06/2025
Marvel Mystic Mayhem Arrives on the App Store Featuring Superhero RPG Battles

In the team-based, tactical RPG, you’ll assemble a team of legendary characters to save the world in tactical battles. You can mix different classes, including Striker, Controller, Defender, and Fighter, to build unstoppable teams and come away with a victory.

Diving into the original storyline, heroes will face their darkest feats with twists and turns with great visuals.

As you might expect, the game is full of boss battles as you’ll exploit enemy weaknesses and traps across game modes to claim victory.

Leveling up your heroes is a big part of game play as you’ll try to make 5-star legends with upgraded skills and abilities to maximize everyone’s power.

Designed for the iPhone and all iPad models, Marvel Mystic Mayhem is a free download now on the App Store. There are in-app purchases available.

Source link

27/06/2025
The Costly Email Mistake Too Many Founders Make — and How to Avoid It
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
There’s a reason every website you visit wants your email address: it’s the most valuable type of contact info in the digital world. Last year, email marketing revenue surpassed $9.5 billion, and by 2028, it’s projected to reach $18.9 billion.

But here’s where so many founders get it wrong: they treat email like a loudspeaker. Build or buy a list, send a “blast,” and repeat whenever you want to make more sales. Only email doesn’t work like that — at least, not if you want to connect with people and see your revenue increase. Your email list isn’t just a collection of email addresses. It’s a living system, and when you neglect it, your sender reputation suffers.

Related: Don’t Sleep on Email Marketing — Here’s Why It’s Still Your Business’s Most Powerful Tool

What taints your email sender reputation

Every email sender has a reputation with inbox providers – services like Google, Yahoo or Outlook that make email communication possible. That reputation helps their algorithms determine whether an email should go to the inbox or the spam folder.

In simple terms, it’s like your email trust score. The better it is, the more likely your messages will reach your audience. The worse it gets, the harder it becomes to land anywhere near the inbox.

Unfortunately, many well-meaning founders damage their reputation without even realizing it. Here are some of the common mistakes they make:
- Buying or scraping lists
- Never cleaning or validating email addresses
- Skipping email warmup altogether
Whenever you send an email, you’re building – or tarnishing – your reputation with email providers. And once that reputation is damaged, fixing it is a lot harder than protecting it in the first place.

So, what can you do today to improve and maintain a strong sender reputation and get your emails into the inbox? Follow this checklist below, and your email marketing will become one of the most reliable channels in your business.

Use your own email list

Purchasing a list of contacts and dumping it into your CRM or email platform may feel like a quick win, but it almost always backfires. I’ve seen countless business leaders take this shortcut and pay the price – bounces, spam complaints and dismal engagement.

To reap the benefits of email marketing, build and nurture your own email list. It takes more effort, but the results are real and sustainable.

Make sure everyone opts in

Building your own email list doesn’t mean you can simply add people to it. Customers and prospects need to subscribe to your emails and grant you explicit permission to reach out. It might take longer to grow your list this way, but the payoff is huge: higher engagement, better deliverability and a list full of people who want to hear from you.

Warm up your domain and IP

Many founders get so excited about sending that first email that they skip a crucial step: warming up their domain and IP. That can tank your email deliverability before you even get started.

Email warmup is closely tied to your sender reputation:
- If you’ve never sent a mass email, reaching out to thousands of people out of the gate is a huge red flag to email providers.
- Instead, start slowly. Increase your volume gradually to build trust with Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo and other providers. Or find a good email warm-up tool.
- Even regular senders can benefit from warming up their emails, especially after switching platforms or letting their lists go cold. It helps re-establish credibility and improve inbox placement.
Check your contacts regularly

Even if everyone on your list has opted in, that doesn’t mean their email address is still valid or that they’re still clicking on your emails. An astounding 28% of the average database degrades every year. People change jobs, abandon their inboxes or mark your messages as spam if they’re no longer interested.

Regular list pruning helps you filter out:

Email providers are watching how your list behaves. High bounce rates, spam complaints and low click rates affect your sender reputation. Clean your list at least once a quarter — or more often if you send campaigns weekly.

Look at the big picture

Open rates used to be the end-all-be-all of email marketing. But thanks to privacy updates and stricter data regulations, those numbers are less reliable than ever.

If you want a true picture of how your emails are performing, shift your focus to metrics that offer more in-depth insights:
- Click-through rates — are people taking action?
- Bounce rates — could your list be outdated?
- Spam complaints — are your messages annoying your audience?
- Engagement over time — are people clicking or tuning you out?
These numbers reveal how your audience feels about your emails and whether inbox providers perceive you as trustworthy. Focus on long-term engagement, not just one-off opens.

Related: 8 Simple Email Marketing Tips to Improve Your Open and Click Through Rates

Think like your subscriber

Before you send your next email, stop and ask: Would I open this? Would I care?

So many brands write for themselves, not for the person on the other side of the screen. But if you want people to engage, you have to earn their attention. That means being clear, consistent and genuinely helpful.

Email marketing isn’t dead, but lazy email marketing definitely is.

Treat your list with the same respect you’d want in your own inbox. Build trust over time. Show up regularly. Say something worth reading. That’s how you stay out of spam — and in business.
There’s a reason every website you visit wants your email address: it’s the most valuable type of contact info in the digital world. Last year, email marketing revenue surpassed $9.5 billion, and by 2028, it’s projected to reach $18.9 billion.

But here’s where so many founders get it wrong: they treat email like a loudspeaker. Build or buy a list, send a “blast,” and repeat whenever you want to make more sales. Only email doesn’t work like that — at least, not if you want to connect with people and see your revenue increase. Your email list isn’t just a collection of email addresses. It’s a living system, and when you neglect it, your sender reputation suffers.

Related: Don’t Sleep on Email Marketing — Here’s Why It’s Still Your Business’s Most Powerful Tool

The rest of this article is locked.

Join Entrepreneur+ today for access.

Source link
26/06/2025
In Paris, A New App Explores the French Revolution

A self-guided walking tour explores the French Revolution in the City of Light.

Source link

26/06/2025
The Popular Card Battler Series Continues In Meteorfall: Rustbowl Rumble

The Rustbowl Rumble is the the great tournament in all of Meteorfall. Where players will duke it out to win the legendary Mask of the Uberlich. You’ll hopefully win over legions of fans and help fill Bramble’s wallet as he tries to rebuild his arena.

Instead of fighting fair, battles are all about winning. One of the ways to do that is with Wild Cards to change the rules of the brawl.

You can build a dream team of up to three heroes, from a pool of eight. Each one has their own unique set of cards. There are more than 200 cards available to help turn the battle to your favor. It’s possible to mix and match upgrades on a single card to create overpowered combos.

While looking for a victory, you can also impress the crowd and power up in battle by completing challenging feats.

Between brawls, you can take a break in Bramble Town to upgrade cards, train heroes, or just look around. Time is limited, so you’ll need to make quick decisions on which vendors to visit.

Meteorfall: Rustbowl Rumble is a $6.99 download now on the App Store. It’s for the iPhone and all iPad models.

Source link

26/06/2025
Agentic AI takes Gemini in Android Studio to the next level
Posted by Sandhya Mohan – Product Manager, and Jose Alcérreca – Developer Relations Engineer

Software development is undergoing a significant evolution, moving beyond reactive assistants to intelligent agents. These agents don’t just offer suggestions; they can create execution plans, utilize external tools, and make complex, multi-file changes. This results in a more capable AI that can iteratively solve challenging problems, fundamentally changing how developers work.

At Google I/O 2025, we offered a glimpse into our work on agentic AI in Android Studio, the integrated development environment (IDE) focused on Android development. We showcased that by combining agentic AI with the built-in portfolio of tools inside of Android Studio, the IDE is able to assist you in developing Android apps in ways that were never possible before. We are now incredibly excited to announce the next frontier in Android development with the availability of ‘Agent Mode’ for Gemini in Android Studio.

These features are available in the latest Android Studio Narwhal Feature Drop Canary release, and will be rolled out to business tier subscribers in the coming days. As with all new Android Studio features, we invite developers to provide feedback to direct our development efforts and ensure we are creating the tools you need to build better apps, faster.

Agent Mode

Gemini in Android Studio’s Agent Mode is a new experimental capability designed to handle complex development tasks that go beyond what you can experience by just chatting with Gemini.

With Agent Mode, you can describe a complex goal in natural language — from generating unit tests to complex refactors — and the agent formulates an execution plan that can span multiple files in your project and executes under your direction. Agent Mode uses a range of IDE tools for reading and modifying code, building the project, searching the codebase and more to help Gemini complete complex tasks from start to finish with minimal oversight from you.

To use Agent Mode, click Gemini in the sidebar, then select the Agent tab, and describe a task you’d like the agent to perform. Some examples of tasks you can try in Agent Mode include:
The agent then suggests edits and iteratively fixes bugs to complete tasks. You can review, accept, or reject the proposed changes along the way, and ask the agent to iterate on your feedback.

Gemini breaks tasks down into a plan with simple steps. It also shows the list of IDE tools it needs to complete each step.

While powerful, you are firmly in control, with the ability to review, refine and guide the agent’s output at every step. When the agent proposes code changes, you can choose to accept or reject them.

The Agent waits for the developer to approve or reject a change.

Additionally, you can enable “Auto-approve” if you are feeling lucky 😎 — especially useful when you want to iterate on ideas as rapidly as possible.

You can delegate routine, time-consuming work to the agent, freeing up your time for more creative, high-value work. Try out Agent Mode in the latest preview version of Android Studio – we look forward to seeing what you build! We are investing in building more agentic experiences for Gemini in Android Studio to make your development even more intuitive, so you can expect to see more agentic functionality over the next several releases.

Gemini is capable of understanding the context of your app

Supercharge Agent Mode with your Gemini API key

The default Gemini model has a generous no-cost daily quota with a limited context window. However, you can now add your own Gemini API key to expand Agent Mode’s context window to a massive 1 million tokens with Gemini 2.5 Pro.

A larger context window lets you send more instructions, code and attachments to Gemini, leading to even higher quality responses. This is especially useful when working with agents, as the larger context provides Gemini 2.5 Pro with the ability to reason about complex or long-running tasks.

Add your API key in the Gemini settings

To enable this feature, get a Gemini API key by navigating to Google AI Studio. Sign in and get a key by clicking on the “Get API key” button. Then, back in Android Studio, navigate to the settings by going to File (Android Studio on macOS) > Settings > Tools > Gemini to enter your Gemini API key. Relaunch Gemini in Android Studio and get even better responses from Agent Mode.

Be sure to safeguard your Gemini API key, as additional charges apply for Gemini API usage associated with a personal API key. You can monitor your Gemini API key usage by navigating to AI Studio and selecting Get API key > Usage & Billing.

Note that business tier subscribers already get access to Gemini 2.5 Pro and the expanded context window automatically with their Gemini Code Assist license, so these developers will not see an API key option.

Model Context Protocol (MCP)

Gemini in Android Studio’s Agent Mode can now interact with external tools via the Model Context Protocol (MCP). This feature provides a standardized way for Agent Mode to use tools and extend knowledge and capabilities with the external environment.

There are many tools you can connect to the MCP Host in Android Studio. For example you could integrate with the Github MCP Server to create pull requests directly from Android Studio. Here are some additional use cases to consider.

In this initial release of MCP support in the IDE you will configure your MCP servers through a mcp.json file placed in the configuration directory of Studio, using the following format:
{ "mcpServers": { "memory": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-memory" ] }, "sequential-thinking": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-sequential-thinking" ] }, "github": { "command": "docker", "args": [ "run", "-i", "--rm", "-e", "GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN", "ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server" ], "env": { "GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN": "<YOUR_TOKEN>" } } } }
Example configuration with two MCP servers

For this initial release, we support interacting with external tools via the stdio transport as defined in the MCP specification. We plan to support the full suite of MCP features in upcoming Android Studio releases, including the Streamable HTTP transport, external context resources, and prompt templates.

For more information on how to use MCP in Studio, including the mcp.json configuration file format, please refer to the Android Studio MCP Host documentation.

By delegating routine tasks to Gemini through Agent Mode, you’ll be able to focus on more innovative and enjoyable aspects of app development. Download the latest preview version of Android Studio on the canary release channel today to try it out, and let us know how much faster app development is for you!

As always, your feedback is important to us – check known issues, report bugs, suggest improvements, and be part of our vibrant community on LinkedIn, Medium, YouTube, or X. Let’s build the future of Android apps together!
Source link
26/06/2025
Grab Your Friends to Play the Party Platformer Ultimate Chicken Horse

In the party platformer, you and three other animal buddies build a level as you play, trying to place deadly traps before reaching the end of the level. If you can make it while leaving your friends in the dust, you’ll earn points. But you need to make sure you don’t mess with yourself in the process.

You can play locally or in online, cross-platform battle.

While trying to win, you’ll need to juggle the unique game flow including strategic block placement to twitch control platforming.

There are 18 different levels to explore, each with different features. You can also build and share custom levels using the huge library of blocks. To help you keep coming back, there is also customizable rule set and other game modes.

With the shared controller mode, you can play multiplayer with a single controller of keyboard.

Ultimate Chicken Horse is a free download now on the App Store. It’s for the iPhone and all iPad models. In the free version, you can play the beginning for free. To enjoy the entire game, ad-free, you’ll need to make a $9.99 in-app purchase.

Source link

21/06/2025