How to Use Claude in Google Docs, Sheets and Slides, Step by Step

Quick answer: Install the Claude add-on from the Google Workspace Marketplace, open any Doc, Sheet or Slides file, and click Extensions > Claude > Open Claude. Free? The add-on needs a paid Claude plan (it is in beta). Time: about 2 minutes if your Google account is allowed to install Marketplace apps.

Anthropic announced Claude for Google Workspace on 6 October 2026 as a public beta. One install covers Docs, Sheets and Slides, and Claude opens in a sidebar next to your file.

What do you need before you start?

You need a paid Claude plan and a Google account that is allowed to install Marketplace apps. Anthropic's Help Center lists Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise. The announcement says "all paid plans".

Check these four things first:

• A paid Claude account. You sign in with it inside the sidebar. API keys and cloud-provider sign-ins (Bedrock, Vertex AI) are not supported.
• A browser that works. Chrome, Edge and Safari are supported. In Firefox the sidebar loads, but actions do not complete.
• Permission to install Marketplace apps. At work or school, an admin may have blocked them.
• A file you can edit. Claude follows the file's normal Google sharing permissions.

How do you use Claude in Google Docs, Sheets and Slides? (Method 1: the sidebar add-on)

Install the add-on once, then open it from the Extensions menu in any file. These steps follow the Help Center quick start.

1. Open the Claude listing in the Google Workspace Marketplace. Anthropic links it from its announcement.
2. Click Install, choose your Google account, and click Continue.
3. Review the permissions and click Allow.
4. Reload any Doc, Sheet or Slides file that was already open.
5. Open a file and click Extensions > Claude > Open Claude.
6. On first use, Google asks you to allow two permissions. Click Allow.
7. In the sidebar, sign in with your Claude account. You can turn on connectors here if you want them.
8. Type a request about the file, for example "Summarize this document in five bullets" or "What does column F calculate?"

If an admin already installed Claude for your organization, skip steps 1 to 4.

If Claude is not in the menu, press Alt+/ (Option+/ on Mac) and type "Claude". Anthropic suggests this as a quick check.

What can Claude do in each app?

Anthropic describes the following (company descriptions, as of 6 October 2026).

Claude can also answer questions without editing. The Help Center gives "Which slides mention pricing?" as an example of a question-only request.

How do you stop Claude from changing your file without asking? (Edit modes)

Leave the sidebar on Ask before edits, which is the default. Claude explains what it is about to do and waits for you to click Allow. The selector sits at the bottom of the sidebar.

Even in Accept all edits, Claude still pauses for anything that touches links, external images, web addresses or someone's access to the file. These show a "Security review" label and have no "always allow" option.

Claude cannot share the file, grant access or change ownership. It also cannot create menus or scheduled automations. The Help Center says these requests are refused even if you ask.

Edits are made in place. Google records them under your name, so they appear in File > Version history. Use Undo for the last change, or restore an earlier version.

How do you use Claude to create Google files from a chat? (Method 2: the connectors)

Turn on the Google Docs, Sheets and Slides connectors in Claude, then ask for a file from the chat. Anthropic also released these connectors in beta, and they work in the opposite direction: you start in Claude, not in the file.

1. In Claude, click the plus sign, hover over Connectors, and switch on the Docs, Sheets and Slides connectors. On Team and Enterprise plans, an owner or primary owner must enable them first.
2. Paste a Google file link into the chat, or ask for a file by name, such as "make a Google Slides deck from these notes".
3. The file opens in a pane next to the conversation. If the pane is not available, use Open in Google on the file card.

Name Google in your request. According to the connectors article, asking for a generic "doc" or "deck" creates a local file instead.

The live editing pane works on Claude on the web in Chrome, and in Claude Desktop with the built-in browser turned on. On Enterprise plans the built-in browser is off by default. Claude can only open files your Google account can access.

Which method should you choose?

Use the sidebar for work inside one file. Use the connectors when you are starting from a blank page or combining several files.

What's free and what costs money?

The add-on needs a paid Claude plan. Anthropic's Help Center lists Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise for the beta, as of 13 October 2026. Plan prices change, so read them on Anthropic's pricing page rather than relying on a third-party list.

The Marketplace install itself has no separate charge described in Anthropic's documentation. Models in the sidebar are the same ones your plan offers in Claude.

Enterprise plans add the Compliance API, customer-managed encryption keys (CMEK) and OpenTelemetry audit export for the add-on, the company says.

Attachment limits in the sidebar, as of 13 October 2026:

• Up to 20 files per message.
• 30 MB per document.
• 10 MB per image.
• The Search the web toggle is off by default.

What can go wrong, and how do you fix it?

Most problems come from admin settings, the browser, or the six-minute operation cap. These fixes come from the Help Center troubleshooting section.

For admins, the Help Center says only Google Workspace super administrators can install for everyone or for groups. Open the listing as a super admin, click Admin install, choose who gets it, and click Finish. To allowlist instead, go to the Admin console, then Apps > Google Workspace Marketplace apps > Settings.

Keep the sidebar open while Claude works. Closing it stops the task. Switching to other browser tabs is fine.

Is this allowed, and is my data safe?

Your file content leaves Google. File content, your messages and attachments are sent to Claude, per the Help Center.

Key points from Anthropic's documentation (company statements, as of 13 October 2026):

• The add-on asks Google for two permissions: showing the sidebar, and viewing and managing the one file it is installed in. It does not request Drive, Gmail, Calendar or contacts access.
• Team and Enterprise use Anthropic's Commercial Terms and Data Processing Addendum. Pro and Max use the Consumer Terms and Privacy Policy.
• Anthropic says it does not use this content to train models.
• Inputs and outputs are deleted from Anthropic's systems within 30 days, with exceptions listed in its retention article.
• Zero Data Retention is not available, and HIPAA-ready organizations are not covered. Do not use it with protected health information.

Check your school or employer rules before pasting confidential material. If your organization restricts AI tools, ask before installing.

Prompt injection is a real risk with any AI that reads documents. Anthropic says Claude treats document content as data, labels hidden text such as white or tiny fonts, and is designed not to follow a document's instruction to share the file or fetch a link. It still advises you to review proposed actions, especially in files from outside your organization.

What's still unclear?

The product is new, and the sources do not agree on everything.

• Plan wording. The announcement says "all paid plans". The Help Center lists Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise. Both are Anthropic pages, and the Help Center list is the more specific.
• Docs suggestions. The announcement says Claude can propose edits as suggestion cards in the sidebar. The Help Center says Claude's own edits land as direct edits, not Google suggestions, and that it cannot accept or reject existing suggestions or read comments in the add-on. Use Ask before edits to review each change.
• Charts. The announcement says Sheets can build native charts. The Help Center says charts Claude creates in Slides are inserted as images that do not update, so you must ask Claude to regenerate them.
• Source of the details. The details above are Anthropic's own descriptions, as of 13 October 2026.
• Beta limits. Connected Sheets tabs, comments in Docs and cross-file work are not supported in the add-on. The connectors article lists its own beta limits, including no charts in Slides.

For related Google Workspace automation, see how to send emails from Google Sheets automatically, how to log Gmail into Google Sheets with Apps Script and how to get Google Sheets alerts on WhatsApp. Claude's add-on cannot create triggers, custom menus or scheduled automations, so those guides cover what it will not do.

Last checked: 13 October 2026.