Connectors: Letting Claude Read Your Tools

Every workflow in this library has assumed the same starting point: you copy something, paste it into Claude, get a result. That's the right place to start. Once Empower is comfortable with Claude day-to-day, connectors are the next step — Claude reads directly from tools you already use.

What Connectors Are

A connector is a permission you grant that lets Claude access a specific tool or data source on your behalf. Once connected, Claude can pull information from that source during a conversation.

Common examples (verify current availability in Settings → Integrations or Settings → Connectors):

Google Workspace — Drive, Gmail, Calendar
Microsoft 365 — Word, Excel, Outlook, OneDrive
Claude for Excel / Word / PowerPoint / Slack — in-app Claude inside Microsoft apps and Slack
Claude for Chrome — a browser extension that lets Claude work alongside any web page you're on
Ticketing and project tools — Jira, Linear, Zapier, Intercom (varies by plan)
Custom / MCP integrations — connect Claude to internal tools your team builds

Most connectors are read-only by default. A subset support write actions (create a ticket, draft a reply); those are always opt-in and confirmed before anything happens.

What Connectors Are Not

Not surveillance. Claude doesn't continuously watch your tools. It reads when you ask it to.
Not automatic. You initiate every action. Nothing runs on its own unless set up explicitly.
Not universal. Not every tool has a connector. Coverage grows over time.

Why This Matters

Without a connector:

You open 7 emails, copy each, paste all into Claude, then ask for a summary.

With a Gmail connector:

"Summarize the last 10 emails from our main client." One step.

The time saved is real. The bigger benefit is reducing friction — when access is easy, people use Claude consistently instead of reverting to the old way when they're busy.

Who Gets Connectors

Connectors are generally available on Team and Enterprise plans. Some are available on Pro, but the full catalog and admin controls are Team/Enterprise features.

Each user connects their own accounts individually. Your Gmail is not shared with your colleagues. Each person grants their own permissions and can revoke them at any time from Settings.

Empower's workspace admin can see which connectors are available but cannot see the content of your personal connected accounts.

Where to Start

Two highest-leverage starts for most business roles:

Google Drive or OneDrive Best for: summarizing documents, comparing versions, cross-referencing files without copy-paste.

Gmail or Outlook Best for: email triage, summarizing threads, drafting replies, finding messages without digging.

Straightforward to connect and cover the most common daily friction points.

How to Connect

In Claude, Settings (profile or workspace name menu).
Integrations or Connectors (label may vary by release).
Select the tool.
Authorize — standard OAuth screen where you approve access.
Claude confirms the connection is active.

From there, you reference the tool in conversation: "Summarize my last 5 emails from {sender}" or "Pull the latest version of the proposal in my Drive folder."

Privacy Reminder

Connectors follow the same rules as everything else. Full picture: Lesson 14. Short version:

Claude only reads what you explicitly authorize
Access is scoped to what you grant — not your whole account
Revoke at any time from Settings
On Team and Enterprise plans, data from connected tools is not used to train models by default

When in doubt, ask Empower's IT or your workspace admin before authorizing. Sixty seconds to set up; sixty seconds to remove.

Try This Now (5 min)

Connect one tool — the one where you currently copy-paste most. Run two real tasks with it before connecting anything else. Note what worked and what didn't; that's your feedback loop for deciding what to connect next.

What Comes Next

Once connectors are part of your flow, how Claude delivers polished outputs starts to matter more. Continue to Lesson 18.