Trends MCP for Gemini

Trends MCP is the shared trend API. Gemini is a model that can call it if the surrounding product (Google AI Studio, the Gemini API, or another Gemini-compatible host) actually supports custom MCP HTTP or an equivalent function-calling bridge. The Bearer endpoint is https://api.trendsmcp.ai/mcp with Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY. Tools: get_trends, get_growth, get_top_trends. REST apps that skip MCP should POST https://api.trendsmcp.ai/api with mode: "get_time_series" for history. Free usage is 100 requests per month. Starter is $19 per month. Gemini is the right client when the application already runs on the Gemini API and needs live demand numbers inside the same function-calling loop as the rest of the product.

Config for AI Studio and for an app’s function loop

When Google AI Studio exposes a custom MCP or HTTP tool field, set:

URL: https://api.trendsmcp.ai/mcp
Transport: HTTP (Streamable HTTP)
Headers: { "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" }

When the Studio project has no such field, do not invent a ~/.cursor/mcp.json inside Google Cloud. Cursor’s url plus transport file is for Cursor. Windsurf’s serverUrl file is for Windsurf. Gemini API apps should either (a) run an MCP client library against the api host, or (b) wrap the three REST modes as Gemini function declarations and execute POST https://api.trendsmcp.ai/api in application code.

Never point Gemini at https://www.trendsmcp.ai/mcp. That www URL is OAuth for Claude.ai Connectors. Gemini is a Bearer client on api.trendsmcp.ai, same family as ChatGPT connectors and IDE hosts. Docs Connect is the living snippet list. llms.txt notes this Gemini page applies only if the Google product surface in that account actually allows custom MCP HTTP.

Why a Gemini app would host Trends MCP

Gemini already reasons well over Google-flavored text. It still cannot, from weights alone, return this week’s TikTok hashtag ranking or a five-year npm download series. Trends MCP fills that gap with the same catalog Cursor uses. The fact that both the model and some keyword sources relate to Google does not create a backdoor into Google Ads or Search Console. Operators who need Search Console must still use Search Console.

ChatGPT is a better host for a human in a browser thread with Connectors. Cursor is a better host for a human next to a repo. Gemini is a better host when the end user never sees MCP: a support copilot, an internal research bot, a Cloud Run service that must answer “is this SKU still growing on Amazon and Google Shopping.”

Wiring tools so Gemini does not guess source strings

Declare three functions that match the MCP names. In tool descriptions, paste legal source values and legal get_top_trends type strings from the data sources page. Gemini will still invent “google_trends_api.” Application code should reject unknown enums before they hit Trends MCP, which saves 400s and quota.

Preferred user-visible loop: growth first (percent_growth ["3M", "1Y"]), live feed second if the user had no keyword, series third. History via MCP is get_trends; history via REST is get_time_series. Extra windows in percent_growth do not extra-charge. Extra sources do.

Log every outbound call with mode, source, keyword, and HTTP status. Gemini retries are an application problem. Trends MCP will count successful data calls toward the month.

Quotas, keys, and Google Cloud billing

Trends MCP Free is 100 requests per month. Starter is $19 per month for 1,000. That meter is independent of Gemini API token billing. A viral Gemini app can exhaust Trends MCP while Google Cloud still looks healthy. Cache get_top_trends responses for minutes, not milliseconds, and cache get_growth for a keyword list that only changes daily.

Store tmcp_liv keys in Secret Manager, not in AI Studio screenshots, not in client-side Gemini calls from a browser. Browser-exposed keys get stolen. The app server should be the only Bearer holder.

Limits that show up in production Gemini bots

If MCP HTTP is not actually enabled on the Google surface in use, the bot will hallucinate trend numbers. Fail closed: no tool result, no numeric claim. data_unavailable and not_found should render as “no series” rather than a guessed percent. History is weekly over about five years. Asking Gemini to narrate hourly movement from this API is a product bug.

Rate limit 429 is monthly quota, not Google 429. Map it to an upgrade prompt that links pricing, not to exponential retry.

Grounding with Google Search is a Gemini product feature. It is not get_growth. Mixing both without labels produces answers that look cited and still lack a recent_date. Application UX should show “Trends MCP” next to numeric claims and “web grounding” next to URLs. Evaluators should fail a response that states a percent with no tool trace.

Vertex AI and AI Studio labels change. If a 2026 UI hides MCP, keep the REST bridge in Cloud Run and expose three function declarations. The user-facing model can stay Gemini. The trend contract stays POST https://api.trendsmcp.ai/api.

Gemini is a model runtime that can sit in front of the shared Trends MCP server. It is not a Google Trends license, not Claude.ai OAuth, and not a reason to skip the Bearer api host.