Anthropic has put Claude directly inside Google’s three main productivity apps. The feature, announced on October 6 and in public beta, works in both directions: you can call up Claude in a sidebar while you work in a Google file, or paste a Google file link into Claude and work on it there. This guide covers what you need, how to set it up and how to use it.

What you need

• A paid Claude plan: Pro, Max, Team or Enterprise.
• A Google account that is allowed to install Google Workspace Marketplace apps.
• Chrome, Edge or Safari. Firefox is not supported during the beta.

Set it up in four steps

1. Open the Claude listing in the Google Workspace Marketplace and click Install, then choose your Google account.
2. Review the permissions and click Allow.
3. Reload any Docs, Sheets or Slides file that is already open.
4. Open a file, go to Extensions > Claude > Open Claude, and sign in to your Claude account in the sidebar.

One installation covers all three apps. If your company blocks Marketplace apps, a Google Workspace admin has to allowlist Claude or install it for the whole organisation or selected groups. On Team and Enterprise plans, owners also need to enable the Docs, Sheets and Slides connectors.

Choose how much control you want

The selector at the bottom of the sidebar has two modes:

• Ask before edits (the default): Claude explains what it is about to do in plain language and waits for you to click Allow.
• Accept all edits: Claude makes routine content changes on its own, but still pauses for security-sensitive actions such as images, links and access changes.

Start with the default until you trust how it handles your files.

What to ask Claude to do

In Docs: rewrite, restructure or shorten text, check that headings, numbering and defined terms are consistent, or try something like “Turn the notes under ‘Next steps’ into a table with owner, action and due date.” Small changes keep your formatting; larger revisions appear as proposed edits for you to review.

In Sheets: explain a formula or find an error, clean up inconsistent data formats, build charts and sensitivity tables, create a new tab, or ask for a model such as “Build a three-statement model on a new tab from the assumptions.”

In Slides: draft slides from speaker notes, split a crowded slide in two while keeping the deck’s styling, make titles parallel, or add styled charts. Claude uses your deck’s existing layouts and themes.

In all three apps you can also just ask questions about the file without changing anything.

The other direction: open Google files in Claude

You can paste a Google Docs, Sheets or Slides link into a Claude conversation and ask for edits there, or ask Claude to create a new Google file for you. Claude respects the sharing permissions already set on the file. This relies on the separate Google Workspace connectors, which are switched on from the + menu in the Claude interface rather than from the Google sidebar.

Limits to know about

• The sidebar extension works only on the file you have open. Google says it cannot reach your Drive, Gmail, Calendar or other files.
• Keep the sidebar open while Claude works. A single task can run for up to six minutes.
• It cannot read Connected Sheets (BigQuery tabs), create document tabs or menus, or run scheduled automations.
• Charts added to Slides are inserted as static images and are not linked to your data.
• Chat history is stored per file on your device and does not sync across devices.

Privacy in brief

According to Anthropic’s help page, the extension asks for two Google permissions: one to show the sidebar and one to view and manage the file it is installed in. Anthropic says it does not use this content to train its models, and that inputs and outputs are deleted within 30 days.

A sensible first try

Open a document you can afford to experiment with, keep the default mode on, and ask Claude to tighten one paragraph. Check the proposed edit before clicking Allow. Once you are comfortable with how it works, try a bigger task such as restructuring a long document or cleaning a messy sheet.

No separate charge has been announced; the feature is included with paid Claude plans.