- Claude for Google Workspace, a sidebar add-on for Google Docs, Sheets and Slides, entered public beta on October 6, 2026, on all paid Claude plans (Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise). It isn't on Free.
- Install it once from the Google Workspace Marketplace, then open Extensions › Claude › Open Claude in any file. Claude reads only the open file and your selection, and asks before each edit by default.
- It doesn't support API keys, Bedrock, Vertex AI, Zero Data Retention or HIPAA use, and Google stops any single operation after six minutes.
Contents
On October 6, 2026, Anthropic put Claude for Google Workspace into public beta. It's an add-on that opens Claude in a sidebar inside Google Docs, Sheets and Slides, where it can read the open file and edit it directly. It's available "on all paid Claude plans," which Anthropic's Help Center lists as Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise. This guide covers how to install it, how to use it in each app, what admins control, how your data is handled and the limits Anthropic documents.
The steps below follow Anthropic's Help Center article "Use Claude in Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides" as displayed on October 12, 2026 (the page is marked "Updated this week" and carries no exact date), Anthropic's October 6 announcement, and the Google Workspace Marketplace listing (last updated October 7, 2026).
The short version
- Who can use it: Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise, in beta. Not Free.
- Install: once, from the Google Workspace Marketplace. One install covers Docs, Sheets and Slides.
- Open it: Extensions › Claude › Open Claude in any file.
- Default safety: "Ask before edits." Claude reads only the open file and your selection.
- Not supported: API keys, Amazon Bedrock, Vertex AI, gateways, Firefox, Zero Data Retention and HIPAA use.
What you need
- A paid Claude plan: Pro, Max, Team or Enterprise.
- A Google account that's allowed to install Google Workspace Marketplace apps. On work accounts, your Google admin may need to allow it first.
- Chrome, Edge or Safari. Anthropic says Firefox isn't supported.
- A Claude account login. The add-on doesn't work with Claude API keys, Amazon Bedrock, Vertex AI or LLM gateways.
How do I install Claude in Google Docs, Sheets and Slides?
Anthropic's Help Center gives these steps:
- Open the Claude listing on the Google Workspace Marketplace and click Install.
- Open any Google Docs, Sheets or Slides file and go to Extensions › Claude › Open Claude.
- The first time, review the permissions Google shows and click Allow.
- Sign in with your Claude account in the sidebar. Optionally, turn on connectors.
- Ask Claude about the file.
Shortcut: press Alt+/ (Option+/ on a Mac) and type "Claude."
If the Install button is grayed out, or you see "This application is not allowed by your administrator," your Workspace admin has to allow or install Claude for you.
What the permissions mean. The Help Center describes two permissions: showing third-party content in sidebars, and viewing and managing the files the app is installed in. It says Drive, Gmail, Calendar and contacts access aren't requested. The Marketplace listing also shows two standard sign-in scopes: your primary Google account email address and your basic personal info.
How do I use it in each app?
Ask in plain language in the sidebar. You can also ask questions about a file without changing it. Examples from Anthropic's announcement and help article:
- Google Docs: rewrite and restructure long documents, convert notes into tables, check defined terms and fix heading and numbering. Anthropic says Claude can fix a sentence or restyle a heading "without changing surrounding formatting," and proposes larger rewrites as cards in the sidebar that you apply or dismiss.
- Google Sheets: explain formulas, flag hardcoded values, build models on new tabs, normalize data, debug lookups, build pivot tables and add native charts. For joins or data cleaning, Anthropic says Claude can pull a range into Python and write the results back.
- Google Slides: draft slides from notes using the deck's own layouts and themes, split dense slides, standardize titles, add charts and restyle the deck. Anthropic says Claude checks its work and flags overlapping or off-slide elements and hard-to-read text.
Approval modes. "Ask before edits" is the default: each change appears as an approval card. "Accept all edits" lets Claude apply ordinary changes without stopping, but it still asks before adding links, external images or web addresses, or changing access. Anthropic says the add-on can never share a file, change access or ownership, create menus or automations, or load arbitrary web pages.
Undoing changes. Claude's edits are recorded under your name in version history. Use Undo for the latest change, or restore an earlier version.
Models. You pick from the model selector at the bottom of the sidebar. You get the same models your plan includes. The help article doesn't list them or say how the add-on counts against usage limits.
How do connectors and skills work in the sidebar?
The sidebar uses the same connectors and skills as Claude. Connectors your organization has enabled appear in the sidebar's + menu. You add new ones at claude.ai, not in the sidebar. Anthropic's example is pulling account history from Salesforce and call notes from a Google Drive connector to build a quarterly business review deck. Connectors are built on the open Model Context Protocol; see what MCP is.
On Team and Enterprise, "an owner or primary owner needs to enable the connectors first," per the announcement.
One inconsistency to know: the help article says Google restricts the add-on "to the single file it is opened in," but its FAQ adds that a connected Google Drive MCP connector could expose other Drive files. That connector is off by default.
Anthropic also launched separate Google Docs, Sheets and Slides connectors in beta, which work the other way around: you start in Claude and have it create or edit Google files from the chat. Anthropic says "Claude's access matches your existing Google sharing permissions."
Admin controls
Google Workspace admins (per the Help Center):
- Roll it out: a super admin opens the Marketplace listing, clicks Admin install and chooses everyone, or specific groups or organizational units. Users reload open files.
- Allow it: if Marketplace installs are blocked, allowlist Claude in the Google Admin console or admin-install it.
- Remove it: Google Admin console › Apps › Google Workspace Marketplace apps › Apps list › Claude › uninstall. It's removed for users on their next file reload.
Claude organization admins control which connectors, skills and models members can use. The sidebar inherits those settings. On Enterprise, Anthropic says the Compliance API, customer-managed encryption keys (CMEK) and OpenTelemetry audit export also apply to the add-on.
What happens to my data?
According to the Help Center:
- File content, messages and attachments are sent to Claude for processing.
- Team and Enterprise use is governed by Anthropic's Commercial Terms and Data Processing Addendum. Pro and Max use is governed by the Consumer Terms and Privacy Policy.
- "Anthropic does not use this content to train its models."
- Inputs and outputs are deleted within 30 days, except as described in Anthropic's retention article. The add-on doesn't inherit custom retention settings.
- Your sidebar chat history is stored locally in your browser for each file. It isn't synced, and collaborators can't see it. You can clear it in the sidebar settings.
- Zero Data Retention, third-party inference and HIPAA use aren't supported. Anthropic says not to use the add-on with protected health information.
Anything in a document that Claude reads becomes part of what the model sees, including text someone else wrote. If you work with shared files from outside your organization, keep "Ask before edits" on. Our story on prompt injection and agents reading untrusted content explains why.
Limits and known issues
From the Help Center, as of October 12, 2026:
| Area | Limit |
|---|---|
| All apps | Works only in the open file. Closing the sidebar stops the task. Google stops a single operation after six minutes. No voice dictation, and no handoff to Microsoft 365 apps |
| Docs | Can't read or resolve comments, accept or reject suggestions, or create, rename or reorder tabs. Its own edits land as direct edits, not suggestions |
| Sheets | Can't read or edit Connected Sheets (BigQuery) tabs. No triggers, custom menus or scheduled refreshes |
| Slides | Charts Claude creates are static images, not linked charts. Images from web addresses need approval each time |
Last verified: October 12, 2026
Troubleshooting
- Install button grayed out or "not allowed by your administrator": ask your Workspace admin to allow or admin-install Claude.
- Task stopped partway: check that the sidebar is still open, and break long jobs into smaller steps to stay under Google's six-minute cap.
- Connector missing from the + menu: add it at claude.ai, or on Team and Enterprise ask an owner to enable it.
- Can't sign in with an API key or through Bedrock or Vertex: that isn't supported; use a Claude plan account.
What's confirmed, reported and uncertain
- Confirmed (Anthropic and Google listing): the October 6 public beta, eligible plans, install steps, permissions, approval modes, admin controls, data handling and documented limits.
- Not documented: how sidebar use counts against plan usage limits, which models appear in the picker, and when the beta ends.
- Inconsistent: the help article says Claude sees only the open file, but its FAQ says a connected Google Drive MCP could expose more.
For the rest of Claude's October output tools, see Claude Dashboards, Motion and Docs for all plans. For what each plan includes, see our Claude app explainer.
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