Anthropic Brings Claude To Google Docs, Sheets & Slides For Paid Users
· Free Press Journal
The AI assistant can now be opened in a sidebar inside Google's productivity apps, and can also create and edit Drive files directly from the Claude chat window.
Anthropic has rolled out Claude for Google Workspace, putting its AI assistant inside Google Docs, Sheets and Slides. The feature is in public beta and open to subscribers of any paid Claude plan, according to a report published on October 7.
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The integration spares users the routine of copying text between browser tabs. They can either open Claude in a sidebar within a Google file, or ask it to build and modify Workspace files from the Claude web interface. The launch puts Claude in direct competition with assistants already built into these suites, such as Google's Gemini and Microsoft 365 Copilot.
Two ways to use it
The integration works through a Workspace add-on and a set of Drive connectors.
The add-on: Claude in the sidebar
Installed from the Google Workspace Marketplace, the add-on opens Claude in a panel next to the file the user is working on.
Docs: Claude can read a selected passage or an entire document, then rewrite text, fix prose or restyle headings while leaving the surrounding layout intact. Larger changes show up as proposal cards in the sidebar, which users can accept or reject one at a time.
Sheets: The assistant can write native formulas, set up pivot tables and create built-in charts. For heavier jobs such as data cleaning or joining tables, it can run the data through a separate Python environment and send the results back to the open sheet.
Slides: New slides pick up the theme and master layout of the existing deck. Claude also examines how slides actually render, flagging overlapping text boxes and hard-to-read colour contrast.
Users decide how much freedom Claude gets. In "Ask before edits" mode, every change waits in a queue for approval. In "Accept all edits" mode, Claude carries out tasks without pausing.
The connectors: editing Drive files from Claude
Alongside the add-on, Anthropic has released beta connectors for Google Docs, Sheets and Slides. With these enabled in Claude's chat interface, users can paste a Drive link or ask for a new file, and Claude will create, edit or update it in Google Drive. It operates within the sharing permissions already set on the file and the domain.
How to set up Claude for Google Workspace
To use Claude inside Docs, Sheets or Slides:
1. Open the Google Workspace Marketplace, search for "Claude for Google Workspace" and click Install. Users on managed accounts may need to ask their IT administrator.
2. Open any Google Doc, Sheet or Slides file and go to Extensions > Claude > Open Claude.
3. Sign in with a paid Claude account (Pro, Team or Enterprise). The sidebar will then open beside the file.
To edit Google files from the Claude web app:
1. Go to account settings in Claude and switch on the Google Docs, Sheets and Slides connectors (beta).
2. On Team and Enterprise plans, an Owner or Primary Owner must first enable the Google Workspace connectors in admin settings. Individual members can only turn them on after that.
3. Follow the prompt to sign in to Google Drive and grant the file-access permissions Claude asks for.