Opal
Google's no-code visual builder for small AI-powered web apps.
Opal is Google’s experimental no-code builder for AI mini apps. You drag prompts, models and logic blocks onto a canvas, then publish the result as a shareable web app — without writing code.
What is Opal?
Opal is a Labs experiment from Google, launched in the US first and later opened to more regions. It sits somewhere between a flowchart tool and a chatbot builder. Each block is a step, and you chain text prompts, image steps and simple conditionals into a working app that others can run in a browser.
Product Features
- Visual canvas: arrange steps as connected blocks instead of code.
- Prompt steps: each block calls a Gemini model with your instruction.
- Inputs and outputs: text boxes, images and files flow between steps.
- Publishing: generates a public link anyone can use.
- Remixing: start from a shared app and edit the flow.
Product Highlights
The appeal is speed for non-developers. A person who has never touched an API can build a small tool — a trip planner, a caption generator — and share it in an afternoon.
Limits are clear. Flows are linear-ish and hard to debug when a step misbehaves. It runs on Google’s models only, so you cannot drop in GPT or Claude, and it is still an experiment that Google could change or retire.
Use Cases
- Building a small internal tool for a team that cannot code.
- Prototyping an AI app idea before a real developer builds it.
- Making a shareable study or planning helper.
- Wrapping a multi-step prompt into a one-click form.
- Teaching non-technical staff how AI steps chain together.
Is Opal free?
Yes, Opal is free to use and available through a Google account. There is no paid tier, because it is a Labs experiment; availability depends on your region and can change without notice.
Quick Summary
- Opal is Google’s no-code builder for AI mini apps.
- Visually chain prompt blocks into a shareable web app.
- Free, but region-limited and experimental.
- Gemini-only and light on debugging.
