Claude can meet you where your files already live, instead of making you move text around.

Microsoft 365 is the family of office apps that includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. Google Workspace is the family that includes Docs, Sheets, Slides, Gmail, Calendar, and Drive. Many people and companies live in one or the other. Anthropic offers ways to use Claude inside both, so that you can chat with Claude about the file you have open, ask it to draft, edit, or analyze, and review its changes without leaving the app.

Details such as which apps are generally available, which are in beta, and which plans include them have been changing quickly. Anthropic’s own pages describe some parts as generally available and others as beta. This guide explains the ideas and the usual setup, and it points you to the current help center for anything that may have changed.

You can bring Claude to your file, or bring your file to Claude.

There are two main ways to combine Claude with these suites. The first is an add-in or add-on, a small panel that lives inside Word, Excel, Docs, Sheets, and similar apps. You open it beside your document and work on that file directly. The second is a connector, which links your Claude account to your Gmail, Calendar, Drive, or other sources, so that Claude can search and read from them during a normal conversation in the Claude app.

The two approaches are complementary. Add-ins are best when you are already inside a file and want focused help. Connectors are best when you start in Claude and want it to find, gather, and combine information from several places. Anthropic describes both for Google Workspace, and describes the add-in route for the Microsoft 365 apps.

flowchart TD
    A["Where are you starting?"] --> B{"Already inside a file?"}
    B -- "Yes" --> C["Use the add-in or add-on
panel beside the file"]
    B -- "No, starting in Claude" --> D["Use connectors to search,
read, and gather from your sources"]
    C --> E["Focused help on the open file"]
    D --> F["Cross-source answers and drafts"]
        

Anthropic describes add-ins for Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and Outlook.

According to Anthropic’s announcement in May 2026, Claude for Excel, PowerPoint, and Word became generally available on paid plans, and Claude for Outlook was in public beta. The add-ins appear as a side panel in each app, where you chat with Claude about the file or email you have open. Claude can read the open file and make changes you review.

Setup is usually quick and happens through Microsoft’s add-in marketplace.

The add-ins are installed from Microsoft AppSource, and Anthropic says administrators can deploy them for an organization through the Microsoft admin center. For an individual, the typical path is to open a Microsoft 365 app, look for the option to get add-ins, search for Claude, add it, and sign in with a Claude account. Exact menu names depend on your version of the app, so follow the current instructions in the help center.

The Microsoft add-ins can share context, so work in one app informs the next.

A distinctive idea in the Microsoft 365 add-ins is cross-app work. Anthropic’s help center describes a setting that lets Claude read from one open Microsoft 365 file and make changes in another, within a single conversation. For example, Claude could pull numbers from an Excel model into a PowerPoint slide or a Word memo, so you do not have to copy and paste between apps. Context carries forward as you move between files.

There are important limits. According to the help center, Claude can only read from and write to files that are currently open, and you may need to install each add-in and activate it at least once before cross-app features work. Skills you have enabled in your Claude settings can also apply during these tasks.

flowchart LR
    O["Outlook email
with a request"] --> W["Word
brief or memo"]
    W --> E["Excel
model or numbers"]
    E --> P["PowerPoint
summary deck"]
    P --> O2["Outlook
draft reply for your review"]
        

Email is where mistakes travel fastest, so the review step matters most.

Anthropic describes the Outlook add-in as able to help triage your inbox, draft replies, and look across calendars to find time. Anthropic’s product page states that drafts and calendar invites open in Outlook’s normal compose form and wait for you to click send. That design keeps you in the loop: Claude can prepare the message, but the decision to send remains yours.

Even so, read every draft carefully before sending. Check the recipients, the tone, the dates, and any facts. Be especially careful with replies to many people and with anything involving money, contracts, or sensitive topics.

The Google add-on brings Claude into the open file, with suggestions you can accept or dismiss.

Anthropic describes Claude for Google Workspace as a beta add-on available on paid plans that works inside Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides. In Docs, Claude can draft from scratch and tighten wording and structure, presenting changes as suggestions you apply or dismiss. In Sheets, it can help build models, analyze data, and pull in numbers. In Slides, it can build slides from your layouts, edit what you have selected, and flag overlapping elements.

Installation is done from the Google Workspace Marketplace. Anthropic’s article says to open a file and go to the Extensions menu, then Claude, then Open Claude, and that administrators can deploy it to a domain or to selected groups from the Google Admin console. Beta features change, so check the current help center.

Connectors let Claude search and read your Google data from a normal chat.

Besides the add-on, Anthropic offers Google Workspace connectors for Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Drive. Once connected, Claude can search your email, look at your calendar, and find and read files in Drive, so you do not need to upload them. According to the help center, Claude can draft and, with approval, send email, and can handle calendar tasks such as scheduling and responding to invitations. On Team and Enterprise plans, owners need to enable the connectors before members connect their own accounts.

There are some practical details from the help center. When Claude reads Drive files, it works from text: Google Docs are converted to text without images, Sheets are converted to a table of values, and Slides to plain text. Large files above a size cap may not be read in full. The Gmail connector gives access to message content and attachment details, but not to the contents of attachments, so for those you would use Drive or upload the file directly.

You can also start in Claude and have it work on a Google file in a pane beside the chat.

Anthropic’s help center describes separate Docs, Sheets, and Slides connectors that let Claude create and edit those files from Claude on the web and desktop, with the file opening in a pane beside the chat. You and Claude can work in the same file at the same time. To use it, you turn on the connectors from the add menu in the chat, then paste a link to a Google file or ask Claude to create one.

There is one wording detail worth remembering. The help center notes that if you ask for a generic “doc” or “deck” without naming Google, Claude creates a local file instead. To get a Google file, name the Google product you want, such as a Google Docs document or a Google Slides deck.

The steps depend on whether you want the add-on, the connectors, or both.

The ideas are similar, but the details differ.

Access follows your existing rights, which is both helpful and something to respect.

Anthropic’s materials describe Claude’s access in the Google connectors as matching your existing Google permissions. In other words, Claude can reach the files you can reach, and not the ones you cannot. This keeps sharing rules intact, but it also means that if you have broad access, such as a large shared drive, Claude can see a lot. Think about whether that is what you want when you grant a connector.

The same principle applies in the Microsoft add-ins, where Claude works on the files you have open. Only open the files that are relevant to the task, and close sensitive files you do not need.

The best feature of working inside the file is that changes are visible.

Both ecosystems are designed around reviewable edits. Word can show changes as tracked changes, Docs shows suggestions you can accept or dismiss, Sheets highlights changed cells, and Slides shows new slides before you accept them. This is your safety net. Claude’s edit is a proposal, and you decide whether it becomes part of your document.

Use the safety net properly. Read each change, compare it with the original meaning, and watch for edits that quietly alter facts, numbers, names, or commitments. Edits that sound smoother can sometimes shift the meaning, so do not accept in bulk without looking.

Clear, specific requests work better than vague ones, especially when Claude can see your selection.

When Claude sits beside your file, you can select part of it and ask for a change to just that part. Say what you want, who will read it, and any rules to follow. Mention formatting needs such as keeping your heading styles, numbering, or template. Smaller, focused requests are easier to review than one request to change everything.

A tidy-looking sheet can still contain a wrong formula.

Excel and Sheets are where small mistakes cause the largest damage, because one wrong formula can ripple through an entire model. Claude can explain formulas, update assumptions without breaking structure, and help build models. But you should always check the logic and the results. Test the sheet with inputs where you already know the answer, and compare totals with an independent calculation.

Sending a message or an invitation cannot be unsent, so keep the approval step.

The Google connectors can draft and, with approval, send email and manage calendar items. Anthropic’s materials describe approval prompts for sending messages and for certain file changes. Keep these approvals switched on and read what you are approving. Do not ask Claude to send messages to many people without reviewing them first, and be cautious with sensitive recipients.

Remember the limits too. Attachments are not read through the Gmail connector, so Claude may not know what a file says even when it sees that one is attached. If an email depends on an attachment, open the attachment yourself or share it through Drive or an upload.

flowchart TD
    A["You ask Claude to handle an email"] --> B["Claude reads and drafts"]
    B --> C["You review the draft"]
    C --> D{"Approve?"}
    D -- "Yes" --> E["Send or create the invite"]
    D -- "No" --> F["Ask for changes and review again"]
    F --> C
        

At work, many of these switches belong to your administrator.

Anthropic describes admin controls for both ecosystems. Administrators can deploy the Microsoft add-ins through the Microsoft admin center and manage member access, and they can deploy the Google add-on from the Google Admin console. For the Google connectors on Team and Enterprise plans, owners need to enable the connectors for the organization before individuals connect their accounts. If a feature is missing at work, an administrator setting is often the reason.

Administrators should also read the data handling notes carefully. At the time of writing, Anthropic’s help center says the Microsoft add-ins do not inherit custom data retention settings an organization may have set and that their activity is not currently included in Enterprise audit logs. Such details can change, so organizations should confirm current behavior and set policies accordingly.

Giving Claude access means thinking about what it can read.

When you connect an email account or open a document in an add-in, Claude can read that content in order to help you. Anthropic’s help center states that it does not train its models on Gmail, Drive, or Calendar connector data, and notes that data retrieved while using connectors is stored with the associated chat, so deleting the chat deletes that retrieved data. These are Anthropic’s statements as of the time of writing, so read the current policy for your plan.

Your own habits matter just as much. Do not open files with passwords, personal identification numbers, or other secrets in them while Claude is available. Be careful with confidential client information, and follow your organization’s rules about what may be shared with external tools. When unsure, ask before you open a file with Claude.

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Quick answers to the questions beginners ask most.

Anthropic describes add-ins for Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and Outlook. At the time of writing, Outlook was in beta. Check the current pages for status.

Anthropic describes an add-on for Docs, Sheets, and Slides, plus connectors for Gmail, Calendar, and Drive, with some parts in beta.

Microsoft add-ins come from Microsoft AppSource, and the Google add-on comes from the Google Workspace Marketplace. Connectors are set up in your Claude connector settings. Follow the current help center steps.

It proposes edits you can review, such as tracked changes or suggestions. Review each change before accepting it.

Yes, with a cross-app setting, but only for files that are currently open, and the add-ins need to be installed and activated.

It can search and read text from many file types. Docs, Sheets, and Slides are read as text, tables, and plain text, and very large files may not be read in full.

If you ask for a generic document or deck without naming Google, Claude creates a local file. Name Google Docs or Google Slides to get a Google file.

Anthropic’s help center says it does not train its models on Gmail, Drive, or Calendar connector data. Read the current policy for your plan, and follow your organization’s rules.

It may depend on your plan, beta status, or an administrator setting. Ask your administrator and check the help center.

Ask Claude to explain the logic first, change one thing at a time, and test results against a known example or an independent calculation.

Read before you accept, and approve sends and shares yourself. You are still responsible for the final document or message.

Claude can work inside Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, either as an add-in beside your open file or through connectors that let it search and read your sources from a normal chat. In Microsoft 365, add-ins cover Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and Outlook, with a mode that carries context across open files. In Google Workspace, an add-on covers Docs, Sheets, and Slides, and connectors reach Gmail, Calendar, and Drive. Edits arrive as reviewable changes, drafts wait for your approval, and access follows your permissions. Because parts are in beta and settings differ by plan and organization, confirm current details in the help center, connect only what you need, verify numbers and facts, and keep yourself as the final approver.