Claude Connectors: How I Turned Claude Into My Intern
If you hired a personal assistant tomorrow, you'd give them access to your email, your calendar, your to-do list, and the software you use to run your life. Claude connectors are how you do that with Claude. They're the step where he stops telling you how to do things and starts doing them, right inside the apps where your life actually happens.
Here's how much that matters. In July I had a family emergency, so I told Claude, "I need you to clear my calendar for the next week." He did it in about four minutes. Without me asking, he left my medicine and a bill I had to pay right where they were. I sat there thinking, sweet baby cheeses, I have a personal assistant for real.
Get all the steps in a free guide
Every click and link for connecting your email, calendar, Google Tasks, and Chrome.
Get the Free GuideIt was very Alexis Carrington on Dynasty: giant shoulder pads, one finger on the intercom button, summoning some ridiculously hot manservant to make my problems disappear. Which totally meets the requirements of my entire me-in-a-caftan-with-an-eager-to-please-intern fantasy.
This post goes with Episode 3 of my Getting Started with Claude Cowork series on The Mandi Channel, and it's the why. For all of the steps and links to set up connectors, get my free Connect the Intern guide.
What are Claude connectors?
Claude connectors link Claude to the apps you already use, like Gmail, Google Calendar, and Microsoft, so he can read and work inside them. You'll find them in Claude under Customize, then Connectors.
Once he's connected, he can do things like:
- Find the emails that actually need your attention and bring them to you
- Remind you before subscriptions renew
- Fit your plans into the time you actually have, because he can see your calendar
Connect pretty much all the software you use, so he can help you with all of it.
Is it safe to connect your email to Claude?
Nothing online is completely risk-free, but you decide exactly what Claude can do in every connected app, and Anthropic publishes how it handles your data.
A lot of people clutch their pearls when they hear you're connecting your email to an AI, and I totally get that. Personally, I'm comfortable connecting my accounts when the benefit is worth it, and getting help with my 83,000 emails is very worth it.
For every action a connector offers, you choose Always Allow, Needs Approval, or Blocked, so you're the boss of permissions. Anthropic also has a whole page explaining how connector data is stored and protected.
Can Claude connect to Google Tasks and more than one Gmail?
Yes, through Composio, a free service that connects Claude to more than 1,000 apps. Claude has no built-in Google Tasks connector, and its built-in Gmail connector holds one account.
Google Tasks has kept my life from flying apart for years. There's a widget on my phone, and every random thought I have goes in there. The list is insane, but it works, baby. So I was pretty annoyed when I realized Claude had no Google Tasks connector.
Then a few months ago I found Composio. Suddenly he could see my to-do list, hallelujah, and it fixed the other thing driving me nuts: I have a personal Gmail and a work Gmail. Now both are connected, and when I say "my email," he searches both inboxes.
What if your app doesn't have a Claude connector?
Use Claude in Chrome, the Claude browser extension. If you can open it in Chrome, there's a pretty decent chance Claude can help you with it.
Now, this may come as a shock, but I do not enjoy domestic chores. I would very much like Alice from The Brady Bunch to do all my cooking, shopping, and cleaning. Alas, there is no Alice in my life.
So when I figured out I could log in to Walmart, where I order my groceries, and Claude would put the groceries in my cart for me, my face almost exploded into a puff of glitter. I upload a recipe, he searches, he puts everything in, and I eat snacks while he does it. Boom, grocery shopping done for the week.
And he has guardrails: he can't make purchases or create accounts, and he stops and asks you to handle anything sensitive.
You're too fab for that. Give it to the bot.
Get every step in the free guide
For all of the steps and links to set up connectors, get the guide. Connect the Intern covers:
- Connecting your email and calendar
- Setting permissions so you stay in charge
- Google Tasks and a second Gmail through Composio
- Claude in Chrome, for apps without a connector
- Workarounds for Apple Mail and Apple Calendar
- The prompts I actually use, including the one I use in the car
It's free, dude. It is free.
Get the Free Connect the Intern Guide
What's next in the Claude Cowork beginner series?
Episode 4 is Scheduled Tasks, where Claude does things without you remembering to ask. That's how I wake up to my whole day already sorted.
If you're just getting started, read the post for Episodes 1 and 2 first. It covers what Claude Cowork is and how to get set up with my free Hot Butler Bot™.
Come tell me in the YouTube comments which app you're letting Claude into first. Mine was Google Tasks, home of every random thought I have.
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