Claude for Google Workspace

0:00 Claude connects to Google Workspace in two separate ways: the Google Connectors for Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Drive, Docs, Sheets and Slides, which let Claude read and act in your Google account from the Claude app and are available to all users, and the Claude for Google Workspace add-on, which opens Claude in a sidebar inside Google Docs, Sheets and Slides and is in beta on Pro, Max, Ultra, Team and Enterprise (as of Nov 6, 2026). The connectors suit "find the email from Dana and put the meeting in my calendar"; the add-on suits working on the spreadsheet or document already open in front of you. Anthropic says it does not train its models on Gmail, Drive or Calendar connector data, or on content from the add-on.

Quick facts

The Google connectors in the Claude app

2:46 The connectors let Claude reach your Google account from an ordinary chat, from Research, and from voice mode (Use Google Workspace connectors):

• Gmail: search and read mail in plain language, draft, send, reply and forward, manage labels and threads, list drafts. It sees attachment names and details but cannot read attachment contents.
• Google Calendar: view your calendars and shared ones, create, change and delete events, find times when everyone is free, manage attendees, answer invitations and set up recurring meetings.
• Google Drive: search and read Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, PDFs, images and Microsoft Office files, upload files, make folders, see permissions and recent changes, and save files Claude creates (with file creation on). From Drive files it takes the text only, not embedded images. Docs can be added to a chat or a private project by URL.
• Google Docs, Sheets and Slides: create files and edit them live in a pane beside the chat, and work with comments and suggestions in Docs. Live editing works on claude.ai in Chrome or in the Claude Desktop App with its built-in browser on. Claude cannot add charts in Slides. Asking for "a doc" without saying Google makes a local file instead.

How do I connect Gmail, Calendar or Drive to Claude?

1. In a chat, click "+" and hover over "Connectors".
2. Switch on the Google connector you want and sign in to Google when asked.
3. Ask for what you need ("What did Priya say about the budget this week?").

To reconnect, go to Customize > Connectors, open the Google connector and click "Disconnect", then sign in again next time. On Team and Enterprise plans an Owner or Primary Owner enables the connectors for the organization first, and a Google Workspace admin may need to mark Claude as trusted under Security > Access and data control > API controls > "Manage third-party app access" in admin.google.com; one approval covers Docs, Sheets and Slides too (Use Google Workspace connectors).

By default Claude asks before sending, replying to or forwarding mail and before sharing, moving or trashing Drive files. On Team and Enterprise, owners decide whether members may skip those prompts. Speed follows Google's API quotas, so very large mailboxes can be slow.

The Claude for Google Workspace add-on (beta)

0:24 The add-on puts Claude in a sidebar inside the Google file you have open. In Sheets it builds models, writes and fixes formulas, cleans data and makes charts; in Docs it drafts, rewrites and restructures long documents; in Slides it creates slides, splits or tightens content and restyles decks in your theme. It answers questions about the file with citations, and you can select text, cells or slides to point it at one part (Use Claude in Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides). Edits appear in the file's version history under your name.

How do I install Claude in Google Docs, Sheets and Slides?

1. Install Claude from the Google Workspace Marketplace. One install covers Docs, Sheets and Slides.
2. Open a file and choose Extensions > Claude > Open Claude.
3. Allow the two permissions Google shows on first use.
4. Sign in with your Claude account in the sidebar and, if you like, turn on connectors.

Use Chrome, Edge or Safari, and a browser profile signed in to only one Google account, since several signed-in accounts can make the add-on fail. Google Workspace super admins can install it for everyone or for chosen groups from the Google Admin console, and an admin install works even where users are blocked from installing apps themselves.

Edit modes and safeguards

The add-on starts in "Ask before edits", where Claude describes each change and waits for your approval. "Accept all edits" lets it make routine edits without pausing, but it still asks every time before inserting web images, adding links or removing access, marked "Security review", with no "always allow". Claude cannot share files, grant access, change ownership, or create menus and automations (Use Claude in Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides).

Its two Google permissions cover the sidebar and the open file, nothing for Drive, Gmail or Calendar, though the help article adds that turning on the Google Drive connector (off by default) lets Claude reach other files.

Limits of the beta

• Works only on the open file, and only in Google formats: convert Word, Excel and PowerPoint files with File > Save as Google Docs, Sheets or Slides first.
• Attachments in the sidebar: up to 20 per message, 30 MB per document, 10 MB per image.
• Each operation stops after six minutes, and closing the sidebar stops the task.
• Docs: it cannot read or resolve comments, accept or reject suggestions, or manage tabs. Anthropic's product page speaks of edits shown as suggestions; the help article says edits are direct, with proposed changes as accept-or-reject cards when you ask.
• Sheets: no Connected Sheets (BigQuery) tabs, triggers or custom menus. Slides: charts go in as static images.
• Chat history stays in your browser for each file and does not sync.
• No third-party inference, zero data retention or HIPAA coverage in the beta: not for protected health information.

Privacy and data

Claude reaches only the Google account you connected, only when a request needs it, and within your existing Google permissions. Data the connectors fetch is stored encrypted on Anthropic's servers and tied to its chat, and deleting the chat deletes it. Anthropic says it does not train on Gmail, Drive or Calendar connector data; on consumer plans, though, if you allow training, text you copy out of those connectors into a chat, or Claude's answers containing it, may be used (Use Google Workspace connectors). For the add-on, inputs and outputs are deleted within 30 days with the usual exceptions, it does not follow custom retention settings, and its content is not used for training. Team and Enterprise use falls under Anthropic's Commercial Terms, Pro, Max and Ultra under the Consumer Terms (Use Claude in Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides). See Claude Privacy and Data Use.

How does it compare with Gemini?

Google builds Gemini into Gmail, Docs and the other Workspace apps itself: its US subscriptions page lists "Gemini in Gmail, Docs, Vids and more" with Google AI Plus at $4.99 a month and Google AI Pro at $19.99 a month (Gemini subscriptions, read Nov 6, 2026), against $20 a month for Claude Pro. Gemini is native to Google's apps and needs no add-on, while Claude's add-on is still in beta; Claude makes sense mainly for people who already work in Claude. No independent, dated test compares the two inside Workspace. For Microsoft Office, see Claude for Microsoft 365.

Learn more: Gemini on ai.vi.ki

Frequently asked questions

Can Claude read my Gmail? Yes. With the Gmail connector on, Claude can search, read, draft and send email, asking before it sends by default. It cannot read attachment contents, only their names and details.

Is the Claude Gmail and Google Drive connector free? Yes. Claude's Google Workspace connectors are available to all users, Free included, as of Nov 6, 2026. The Claude for Google Workspace add-on inside Docs, Sheets and Slides needs a paid plan.

Can Claude add events to my Google Calendar? Yes. The Google Calendar connector lets Claude create, change and delete events, find free times and answer invitations.

How do I use Claude in Google Sheets? Install the Claude for Google Workspace add-on from the Google Workspace Marketplace, open a sheet and choose Extensions > Claude > Open Claude. It is in beta on paid Claude plans.

Does Claude train on my Google data? Anthropic says Claude is not trained on Gmail, Drive or Calendar connector data or on Claude for Google Workspace add-on content. On consumer plans with training allowed, connector content you paste into a chat can be used.

Sources

• Claude for Google Workspace™, Claude, Oct 6, 2026 (video)
• Getting started with Claude.ai, Anthropic, Dec 2, 2025 (video)
• Use Google Workspace connectors, Claude Help Center, read Nov 6, 2026
• Use Claude in Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides, Claude Help Center, read Nov 6, 2026
• Claude for Google Workspace, claude.com, read Nov 6, 2026
• Claude on the Google Workspace Marketplace, Google, read Nov 6, 2026
• Use research on Claude, Claude Help Center, read Nov 6, 2026
• Use voice mode, Claude Help Center, read Nov 6, 2026
• Plans and pricing, claude.com, read Nov 6, 2026
• Gemini subscriptions, Google, read Nov 6, 2026