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ChatGPT connectors—called apps or connected apps in OpenAI’s current Help Center terminology—can let ChatGPT search information from services such as Google Drive, use supported apps as sources in deep research, display interactive content, or perform certain actions. They do not automatically gain access to everything in an account: what ChatGPT can reach depends on the account you authorize, the app’s supported functions, and any ChatGPT workspace controls.
What a ChatGPT connector is
A connector is a link between ChatGPT and an outside service. You may still see or hear the older word “connector,” but OpenAI’s current help guidance calls these integrations apps or connected apps. Depending on the app and your account, ChatGPT may be able to search and reference information, make that information available as a deep-research source, show an interactive experience, or carry out a supported action such as creating or updating information.
These capabilities are not universal. Connecting a service does not mean ChatGPT can read every file, send every message, or change any record. One app may support search but not writing; another may expose particular actions but not broad access to its service. Availability can also differ by plan, region, account, interface, workspace role, administrator settings, and provider authorization. OpenAI’s connected-app guidance, reviewed October 9, 2026, describes those dependencies; the specific app’s listing and authorization flow determine what applies to your connection.
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How access is decided: three permission layers
It helps to think of access as a chain. Each layer can limit what happens, and a permission granted at one layer does not cancel a restriction at another.
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1. The provider account authorizes access
When you connect an account, the provider—such as Google or Microsoft—shows an authorization screen describing the access requested. The account you choose matters: ChatGPT’s effective reach is bounded by that account’s existing permissions. If the account cannot access a particular folder or record, the connection does not grant it that access. In managed organizations, a provider administrator may also need to approve the integration.
Read the provider’s permission screen before approving. Confirm that you have selected the intended account, especially if a browser has several work and personal accounts signed in. Authorization is not a shortcut around the provider’s own access rules.
2. The app determines the functions available
The connected app defines which searches, retrieval methods, interactive features, or actions it exposes to ChatGPT. Provider authorization alone does not establish that an app supports every kind of access. In particular, a supported read operation does not imply a supported write operation, and a listed action does not mean the app can perform other actions in the service.
For a particular task, check that the app supports the relevant workflow. Deep research, for example, can use an app only when that app supports deep research. A connection that works in an ordinary conversation may not be available in that workflow.
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3. ChatGPT and workspace settings can narrow use
ChatGPT settings, workspace policies, role permissions, and administrator decisions can further restrict whether an app is available and how it may be used. In some setups, a control such as allowing read actions determines whether ChatGPT asks you before using access that has already been granted. That approval choice changes the confirmation step; it does not give the app new provider permissions.
As a result, successful provider authorization is necessary in some cases but not sufficient. An administrator can still disable an app or limit its use, and the app itself may not support the operation you want.
What ChatGPT can do with connected-app information
For an enabled app, connected information can help ChatGPT answer a question using material from that service. Depending on app support, ChatGPT may search or retrieve relevant information, cite or reference it in a response, use it as a source in deep research, or present an interactive feature. Some apps also support actions that create or update information. The app’s available functions and your account context decide which of these apply.
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Connected-app information may also inform a response in less obvious ways. OpenAI says that, when Memory is enabled, relevant information may be remembered subject to restrictions for the app or source. Information from apps may also inform web-search queries. These uses are distinct from the provider’s access permissions: a setting that governs whether an app can be invoked does not by itself explain memory, saved information, or conversation retention.
Does ChatGPT train on connected-app data?
OpenAI’s current Help Center guidance distinguishes among listed account categories. It says information accessed from connected apps is not used to train models by default for Business, Enterprise, and Edu customers. For Free, Plus, Go, and Pro users, it says information accessed from apps may be used for model training when “Improve the model for everyone” is turned on.
That statement is specific to the account categories and connected-app information described in the guidance. Do not assume it settles the rules for every product surface, account type, organizational setting, or kind of data. Check the applicable account and workspace controls if you need to determine how a particular use is handled. Also consider the connected app’s own terms and privacy policy: OpenAI says users can review those before enabling an app, and information shared with an app is handled under those terms.
Live app connections and workspace sync are different
A live connection and administrator-managed sync are separate ways of making information available. A live connection uses the authorized provider account and the app’s supported capabilities. Sync is a workspace feature in which an eligible administrator connects a supported source, chooses an approved scope, and indexes content so members can search it. Sync does not erase the provider’s permission rules or make every item available to every member.
| Question | Live app connection | Administrator-managed sync |
|---|---|---|
| Who configures it? | A user connects an account, subject to workspace and provider controls. | An eligible workspace administrator configures the source and approved scope. |
| How is information made available? | ChatGPT accesses the service through the connected account and app’s supported functions. | Approved content is indexed for search in an eligible workspace. |
| What limits retrieval? | The account’s provider permissions, app capabilities, and applicable ChatGPT controls. | The administrator’s selected scope and the member’s underlying provider permissions. |
| Does it enable live actions? | Only if the app supports the relevant action and the connection and settings allow it. | A separate provider-account connection may still be needed for live app actions. |
| What about updates and regions? | Availability depends on app, account, interface, and workspace conditions. | Initial indexing and change propagation take time; source and data-residency availability vary by provider, workspace, and region. |
OpenAI’s sync guidance lists Google Drive, SharePoint, and Microsoft Teams as possible sources where the workspace and region support them. This is not a permanent, global availability guarantee: the provider, data-residency requirements, and workspace eligibility matter. The Google app FAQ also distinguishes an ordinary Google app connection from a personal synced index: connecting the app does not automatically create that index. Eligible workspace administrators can configure Google Drive indexing separately.
Sync can therefore make approved material searchable without making it universally visible. A member still retrieves only content their provider permissions allow, and the administrator’s configured scope can narrow what is indexed further. If a live action is needed, indexed search should not be assumed to substitute for a separately authorized live app connection.
How to connect an app and check what it can access
- Open ChatGPT’s app settings. Find the app or connected-app area in Settings. OpenAI’s current guide uses the path Settings > Plugins in its instructions, but labels and locations can change across app versions and interfaces.
- Choose the intended app and account. Start the connection for the service you want to use. If prompted to sign in, select the exact provider account whose content ChatGPT should be able to reach.
- Review the provider’s authorization request. Check the requested services and permissions on the provider screen before approving. If the account is organization-managed, confirm whether an administrator must approve access.
- Check the app’s supported functions. Confirm that it supports your intended task—such as search, a deep-research source, or a specific action. Do not infer an unlisted capability from the fact that the connection succeeded.
- Use the app in a supported conversation or workflow. Ask ChatGPT to use relevant information, or select the app or source where the interface provides that option. If the task needs confirmation, review the requested action before approving it.
- Review the connection later in settings. The connected-app area can be used to review accounts, reconnect, add another supported account, or disconnect, subject to the current interface and workspace controls.
There is no single setup path that applies to every account. The menus can change, and workspace or provider administrators may need to enable or approve access. Treat the provider’s authorization screen and the app’s own capability description as the practical checks for what your particular connection requests and supports.
Why an app may be missing or fail to return information
If an app does not appear, or a request produces no result, check the relevant layer rather than assuming the connection is broken.
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- Plan, region, or interface: App availability can vary by subscription, region, account, and ChatGPT interface. Check that the feature is offered in your context.
- Workspace policy or role: A workspace administrator may not have enabled the app, or your role may not permit its use. Ask the workspace administrator if the controls are managed centrally.
- Provider account and permissions: Confirm that you connected the account you intended and that it can access the missing content. A provider administrator may need to authorize the request.
- Unsupported workflow: The app may support ordinary search but not deep research, or it may not expose the action you are asking it to perform. Check support for that exact workflow.
- Sync scope or indexing delay: For administrator-managed sync, the source must be supported, included in the approved scope, and indexed. Initial indexing and propagation of changes can take time; check with the administrator if newly added or changed material is not searchable.
These checks separate a missing permission from a missing capability. Reauthorizing may help when the wrong account was connected or a provider grant changed, but it cannot add an app feature that is not supported or override a workspace restriction.
What disconnecting an app does—and does not do
Disconnecting an account stops future access through that disconnected account. It is not the same as deleting information already present in ChatGPT. Existing or archived chats, saved files, memory summaries, and other saved memories are not automatically erased just because the connection ends.
Review the relevant controls separately: the ChatGPT app connection, provider-side access, chat history and retention, saved items, Memory, and any workspace-managed sync. Disconnecting one provider account also does not necessarily disconnect another account or turn off an administrator-managed source. If you are in a managed workspace, ask its administrator how the configured sync scope and indexing are handled.
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