Google Opal is a free experimental tool that lets you build mini AI apps using plain language. No code. You describe what you want, Opal builds the app, and you can use it, share it, or even sell it.
Here are 100 prompt ideas for educators — and a walkthrough of how Opal actually works.
## What Is Google Opal?
Opal is Google’s mini agent creator. You give it a natural language description of what you want an app to do. It creates a working mini app with user inputs, AI-powered processing (via Gemini), and outputs that can be saved to Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, or displayed as a web page.
The structure is simple: Input (what the user provides) → Generate (what Gemini does with it) → Output (where the result goes).
Right now it is experimental and available in the US.
## How to Build a Mini App in Opal
Here is the lesson script generator example from the video:
1. Open Opal and click Create New.
2. In the prompt area at the bottom, paste: “Create an app called Lesson Script Generator. It needs one text input called Lesson Topic. The app will act as an expert instructional designer and generate a comprehensive 5-minute video script for new students. Output must be formatted as a Google Doc.”
3. Opal builds the app interface automatically — input field, AI generation step, and Google Doc output.
4. Enter a topic (e.g., “How to build instructions for your custom GPT”), click generate, and download or share the resulting script.
The entire process takes about 60 seconds.
## The Input-Generate-Output Model
Every Opal app follows this pattern:
– **Inputs**: Text, audio, image, video, or URL.
– **Generate**: Gemini Flash or Gemini Pro processes the input using your custom prompt. You can also add web search and code execution as tools.
– **Outputs**: Manual layout, web page, Google Doc, Google Slides, or Google Sheets.
You can stack multiple generate steps to create multi-task workflows.
## 100 Prompt Ideas for Educators
The video includes a document with 100 ready-to-use Opal prompts organized into categories:
– **Course creation**: Mini-course outline generator, lesson script drafter, practice exercise creator, curriculum designer.
– **Student support**: FAQ page creator from documentation, assignment feedback generator, progress tracker.
– **Marketing**: Lead funnel creator, social media post generator, email sequence builder.
– **Administration**: Schedule optimizer, meeting notes formatter, resource organizer.
Each prompt is designed as a standalone mini app, but they can be combined. The output from one app (like a course outline) becomes the input for the next (like a lesson script generator).
## The FAQ Page Creator Example
Another demo from the video: “Develop an FAQ page creator. Input: a documentation URL. The app scans the page, predicts what a new user would be confused about, and generates a ready-to-use FAQ list. Output in a Google Doc.”
Opal built this as a four-step app: accept URL → fetch web page → predict questions with Gemini → save formatted FAQ to Google Doc.
## Why This Matters for 2026
These mini apps are not one-time prompts. They are reusable tools you own. You can share them with students, bundle them as resources in your campus, or sell them as digital products.
And they are combinable. String five mini apps together and you have an AI employee handling an entire workflow — from research to content creation to publishing.
## What to Do Next
1. If you are in the US, go to Google Opal and create a free account.
2. Start with one simple app — the lesson script generator is a good first try.
3. Test the suggest-and-edit feature to refine your app through conversation.
4. Think about which repetitive tasks in your business could become reusable mini apps.
