The AIEB | How to Connect Your Apps to Claude and ChatGPT
Playbook
October 1, 2026
6 min read
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Connectors are your AI employee's arms and legs. They let Claude or ChatGPT read and act inside the apps you already use.
Instead of copying and pasting between tabs, you can ask the AI to check your calendar, search your inbox or update a record for you.
In Claude
These are called connectors.
In ChatGPT
These are called apps. Find them under Plugins.
🌟 Real-life examples
- Gmail: "Find the emails I sent to Sarah last week and summarize where we left things."
- Google Calendar: "List my meetings tomorrow and write a one-line prep note for each."
- Your CEO command dashboard: pull your email, calendar and Slack into one live page that shows what needs you today.
- Slack: "Summarize what I missed in the #sales channel this week."
- Notion: "Add these call notes to my client database."
- Google Drive: "Find the latest version of the Smith contract and pull out the key dates."
⚠️ Before you connect
A connector gives the AI access to real accounts, so start carefully.
- Only connect accounts you'd trust an assistant with.
- Start with read tasks, like "summarize my emails." Move on to actions like sending or updating once you trust the results.
- Review anything before it goes to a client.
- If you handle health data, Claude only supports HIPAA on its Enterprise plan (details).
- On a Team, Business or Enterprise plan, your admin may need to turn on an app before you can connect it.
🟠 Claude
Step 1: Add the connector
- Click Customize in the left sidebar.
- Click Connectors.
- Click +.
- Find your app, for example Gmail or Google Calendar, and click Connect.
- Sign in to that app and click Allow.
Step 2: Use it in a chat
- In the message box, click +.
- Hover over Connectors.
- Turn on the app you want for this chat.
- Ask your question, for example: Look at my calendar for tomorrow and list my meetings.
Step 3: Choose what it's allowed to do
Every connector comes with a list of actions, like reading your email or sending email. You decide which ones Claude can do on its own.
- Go to Customize, then Connectors.
- Click the connector you want to change.
- Open Tool permissions.
- For each group of actions, or each single action, pick one:
- Always allow: Claude can do it without asking.
- Needs approval: Claude asks you first, every time.
- Blocked: Claude can't do it at all.
A safe starting point: set read actions to Always allow and anything that sends, edits or deletes to Needs approval.
Disconnect or reconnect
- To remove access, go to Customize, then Connectors, and disconnect the app.
- If a connector stops working, disconnect it and connect it again. That fixes most sign-in problems.
Popular Claude connectors
- Google: Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Drive
- Microsoft: Microsoft 365, which covers Outlook, Teams, SharePoint and OneDrive
- Team tools: Slack, Notion, Asana and monday.com
- Sales and marketing: HubSpot and Canva
- Everything else: Zapier, which reaches thousands of other apps
See the full list in the Claude connector directory.
On a Team or Enterprise plan
- The account owner adds the connector first: Organization settings, then Connectors, then Browse connectors, then Add to your team.
- Each person then connects their own account using Step 1.
- Owners can also set tool permissions for the whole team. Those settings override personal ones.
🟢 ChatGPT
Step 1: Add the app
- Click Customize in the left sidebar, then Plugins.
- Search for your app, for example Gmail or Google Drive.
- Click the app, then click Connect or Install.
- Sign in to that app and review what it's asking to access.
- Click Allow.
Step 2: Use it in a chat
- In the message box, type @ and pick the app.
- Ask your question, for example: @Gmail find the last 3 emails from Sarah and summarize them.
ChatGPT Work can also use your connected apps on its own while it works through a bigger job.
Step 3: Choose what it's allowed to do
- Go to Settings, then Apps.
- Click the app you want to change.
- Pick a permission level:
- Always ask: ChatGPT checks with you before every action.
- Allow read actions: it can look things up freely, but asks before changing anything.
- Allow low-risk actions: it can do simple, safe actions without asking.
- Allow all actions: it can do everything without asking. OpenAI marks this as higher risk.
A safe starting point: choose Allow read actions.
Disconnect or reconnect
- Changing a permission doesn't disconnect the app. To fully remove access, go to Settings, then Apps, click the app, open the account menu and click Disconnect.
- To remove a plugin completely, open it and click Uninstall plugin.
- To reconnect, connect again and review the permissions before you approve.
Popular ChatGPT apps
- Google: Gmail and Google Drive (which covers Docs, Sheets and Slides)
- Microsoft: Teams and SharePoint
- Team tools: Slack, Notion and Airtable
- Sales: HubSpot
More detail: Plugins in ChatGPT and Managing app permissions.
On a Business or Enterprise plan
- Your admin controls which apps are allowed and who can use them in Workspace settings, under Apps and Plugins.
- Admins can also limit an app to read-only for the whole workspace.
🔎 What to do if your app isn't listed
Not every app has a connector yet. Work down this list in order:
- Search the directory again using the company's name (Claude, ChatGPT).
- Use Zapier. Once Zapier is connected, it can reach thousands of other apps (Zapier for Claude).
- Ask the app's company whether they offer an official Claude or ChatGPT connector, sometimes called an "MCP server."
- Ask your tech person about a custom connector. This is advanced, and you don't need to build one yourself.
Not in A2A? Head back to the Bootcamp Hub → and enter the email you purchased with, then click "Send My Sign-In Link." It has to be the same email you bought with.
In A2A? Log in to TUB Connect with your A2A email.
