AI Guides › Step-by-step guides
By Nigel Guy · 6 min read
Most people use Claude as a very well-read stranger: they paste text in, copy text out, and wonder why it keeps being out of date or ignorant of their own files. The fix is not a cleverer prompt, it is giving Claude three separate capabilities and knowing which one each job needs. Switching everything on at once feels productive and is how you end up with a tool that has read access to your inbox for no reason.
The rule: connect one capability per job, in this order: search first, then read, then act, and grant write access only when you can name the task that needs it.
This guide uses three connections as the "search, read, act" set: web search (search), Google Drive (read) and Gmail with Google Calendar (act). The source material for this topic did not say which three it meant, so this is our choice, and each one is checked against Anthropic's help pages. The same steps apply to other connectors in the directory.
You need a Claude account and, for the Google parts, a Google account you are allowed to connect (a work account may be blocked by your administrator).
| Item | Detail at time of writing |
|---|---|
| Free plan | $0. Web search is available, but it counts towards your usage limits. Custom connectors are limited to one. |
| Pro | $20 a month (about £16 at time of writing; check the £ price at checkout, as tax and exchange rates vary). Unlimited custom connectors. |
| Max | From $100 a month (about £80 at time of writing; check at checkout). |
| Team and Enterprise | An Owner must switch web search on in Organization settings > Capabilities, and must enable the Google connectors at organisation level, before you can use them. |
Anthropic's pricing page lists US dollar prices and notes they exclude tax and may change, so treat every figure here as a snapshot.
Claude includes citations with web answers. Open at least one before you rely on the claim. Anthropic's own guidance is that web search suits quick factual lookups, while its separate Research mode suits questions that need many searches over a few minutes.
Claude inherits your own permissions in Google. It cannot see a file you cannot see. According to Anthropic's help page, the Drive connector can search documents and read Sheets, Slides and PDFs. Images embedded inside documents are not processed.
Try a bounded read first:
You are helping me find information in my own Google Drive.
Task: Find documents about [TOPIC] and summarise what they say.
Steps:
1. Search my Drive for [TOPIC], limited to files modified since [DATE].
2. List the files you found with their titles and last-edited dates, and wait for me to confirm which ones to open.
3. After I confirm, read only those files and give me a summary of no more than [LENGTH] words.
Rules:
- Read only. Do not create, move, share or delete anything.
- Quote the file title next to each claim so I can check it.
- If you cannot find a file or cannot read part of one, say so rather than filling the gap.
- If [TOPIC] or [DATE] is missing from my message, ask me before searching.
Before you answer, check that every claim names a file.
Fill in the topic, the date and the length.
Note that attachment content is not directly accessible through Gmail: Claude sees metadata only. If the answer is inside a PDF attachment, you will need to save it somewhere Claude can read.
You are my email assistant. You may read my Gmail and Calendar, but you must never send anything.
Task: Draft a reply to the latest email thread about [SUBJECT] from [PERSON].
Steps:
1. Find the thread and tell me in two sentences what is being asked.
2. Check my calendar for [DATE RANGE] and list two or three free slots if a meeting is needed.
3. Write a draft reply in a [TONE] voice, under [LENGTH] words, and save it as a draft.
4. Show me the draft text and stop.
Rules:
- Do not send, forward, delete or label anything.
- If the thread is ambiguous, ask which one I mean.
- Do not invent facts, dates or commitments that are not in the thread or my calendar.
Before you answer, check that nothing in the draft promises something I have not agreed to.
Fill in the subject, sender, date range, tone and length.
If you collect ten or more connectors, open the "+" menu, then Connectors > Tool access. Anthropic describes two modes: Auto (the default) and On demand. On demand leaves more room in the conversation for your actual work. On Team and Enterprise plans, owners can allow reads while blocking writes for the whole organisation.
| Job | Use | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Current prices, news, release notes | Web search | Cites public pages |
| "What did we decide in the Q3 plan?" | Drive | Your own documents, your permissions |
| Reply, schedule, follow up | Gmail and Calendar | The only one that changes things |
| Public question needing a long report | Research mode | Built for many searches |