How to Connect Gmail, Google Drive and Outlook to Grok

The short version

Connectors let Grok look things up in your own email, files and calendar, so you stop copying and pasting. You connect once with a normal sign-in. After that, Grok uses the connector when your question is about that service: “What did the landlord say about the lease last month?”

Step by step

1. Open Connectors

• Web: in a chat, click +, choose Connectors, then + Add connector. Or go to grok.com/connectors and click New Connector.
• iPhone or Android: go to Settings, Connectors.

2. Pick a service and sign in

Choose the service and complete its sign-in screen. xAI says built-in connectors use OAuth (the standard “Sign in with Google” or Microsoft screen) and that Grok requests only the permissions it needs. Read the permission screen before you accept.

3. Ask a question that needs it

Grok uses the connector’s tools automatically when your question relates to that service. Name the source to be sure: “In my Gmail…”, “In my Google Drive…”.

4. Review what Grok proposes to change

Some connectors can write as well as read, for example drafting emails or editing documents. Ask Grok to show you the change before it’s made.

5. Remove what you don’t use

Go back to grok.com/connectors and disconnect anything you no longer need.

Prompts to copy

Find something in your email:

In my Gmail, find the most recent emails from [name or company] about [topic].
Summarize what was agreed, with dates, and list anything I still need to reply to.

Plan your week:

Look at my Google Calendar for next week. List any conflicts, any day with more than
5 hours of meetings, and suggest two blocks of focus time.

Pull from your files:

In my Google Drive, find our latest price list and our refund policy.
Then draft a reply to this customer question using only those two documents: [paste question]

Draft, don’t send:

Draft a reply to the latest email from [name] in my Outlook. Show me the draft here.
Don't send anything.

Example

You: run a small design studio and a client asks, “What did we agree on the logo revisions?”

You ask Grok: “In my Gmail, find the thread with [client] about logo revisions in the last two months. What did we agree on number of revisions and price? Quote the email lines.”

A good result: a short summary with the quoted lines and dates. You open the emails to confirm, then reply.

Mistakes to avoid

• Connecting everything at once. Connect only what you’ll use.
• Letting it send without checking. Always ask for the draft first.
• Connecting a work account without permission. Check your employer’s rules first; business plans have admin-managed connectors.
• Forgetting it’s connected. Grok can read that data whenever a question touches it. Review your connectors now and then.

When not to use it

Don’t connect inboxes or drives that hold other people’s sensitive data (patients, legal clients, payroll) unless your organization has approved it. For those, a business plan with admin controls is the right setup.

Related: set up Grok automations and keep your data private in Grok.