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Claude can serve as a productivity hub when you connect it to the work services where your files, messages, schedules, and tasks already live. Anthropic’s connector catalog lists services including Google Drive, Google Calendar, Microsoft 365, Notion, Slack, Asana, Linear, monday.com, Atlassian MCP, and Zapier. What Claude can read or do depends on each connector, your account permissions, and the Claude surface you use.
Start with the information bottleneck
Pick the place where work context is hardest to gather: a document store, calendar, chat service, knowledge base, issue tracker, or task board. Start with one service you already use rather than connecting everything at once. Anthropic’s connector directory lists available options; it reported 379 connectors when accessed in 2026, a catalog-wide total rather than a count of productivity connectors. The catalog can change.
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- Open Anthropic’s connector directory and find the service that holds the information you need.
- Choose its connector and complete the authentication and permission steps shown. Custom remote connector setup typically uses OAuth and requires granting permissions.
- In Claude, ask a specific question and name the connected service you want it to use. For example: “Search Google Drive for the latest project brief and list its open decisions.”
Specific instructions help Claude route the request to the intended source. Anthropic’s connector guidance likewise recommends naming the tool; its examples include combining Linear sprint tickets with Notion to draft release notes.
Know what a connection lets Claude do
A connector may expose information for Claude to retrieve and use as context. Some also support actions, such as creating a task, but capabilities vary by service and are constrained by the connector, authentication, and granted permissions. Connecting an account does not mean every available action is enabled.
#1 Best Overall
For an action, state the destination and the change you want, then review the result in the connected service. Anthropic’s examples include turning meeting notes into Asana tasks. Treat that as an illustration of a supported workflow, not a guarantee that every notes source or Asana configuration behaves identically.
Choose connectors by the job they need to do
These are examples listed in Anthropic’s productivity catalog, not a prescribed universal stack. The directory descriptions explain intended capabilities but are not independent product evaluations.
Rank #2
| Work context | Example connector | Catalog-described role |
|---|---|---|
| Files and documents | Google Drive | Search connected files and use their content as context. |
| Scheduling | Google Calendar | Work with calendar information. |
| Workspace knowledge | Notion | Search and update a workspace. |
| Team communication | Slack | Fetch Slack data and, where supported, send messages or create canvases. |
| Tasks and projects | Asana or Linear | Coordinate tasks, projects, and goals, or use issue and sprint context. |
| Cross-app automation | Zapier | Automate workflows across connected apps through conversation. |
Microsoft 365, monday.com, and Atlassian MCP also appear in the directory. Check the individual listing for the current capabilities and access requirements before building a workflow around it.
Decide whether you need a text answer or an interactive app
Most connector use is expressed through a request and a response in the conversation. Some connectors can instead display an interactive app, such as a dashboard or task board, within Claude. Anthropic’s Help Center article dated August 11, 2026 says these interactive connectors are available on Claude, Cowork, Claude Desktop, and Claude for iOS and Android. Interactive display is a feature of some connectors, not all of them. Anthropic describes the change as: “Some connectors can now display live, interactive apps directly within your Claude conversations.”
Check which Claude surface supports the connection
Remote connectors connect Claude to cloud services. Local MCP connections have different surface support: Anthropic’s custom connector guidance distinguishes remote setup, while its surface guidance says local MCP references work in Cowork and Claude Code, not chat. Confirm the connector type and supported surface before troubleshooting a missing connection.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Build a small workflow, then expand it
Once the first connector works, add another only if it closes a real context gap. A useful sequence is to retrieve source material, ask Claude to synthesize it, and then request a destination action only when that connector supports the action and your permissions allow it. For example, a team might use a document connector to find a brief and a task connector to create follow-up items; check the returned source context and resulting records in their original services.
Quick Recap
- Use a read-only request when you need research or synthesis, such as finding decisions across project notes.
- For a write request, identify the exact target and desired change, and verify the result in the source app.
- If the response lacks needed context, check that the correct service was named and that the relevant account access was granted.
- If the connector or interactive view is absent, verify that it is available for that Claude surface and whether it is remote or local.
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