ChatGPT Connectors: How to Set Them Up, Step by Step

A connector links an AI assistant to another service, such as file storage, so the assistant can read its information and, where allowed, act for you. In ChatGPT you set one up under Settings > Plugins; in Claude you use Customize > Connectors (vendor help pages, October 2026). Before you connect anything, run six checks.

Updated October 2026. Sources: OpenAI Help Center (Connected apps, Connecting app accounts, Plugins, Developer mode, Release notes) and developer documentation (Connect and test your plugin); Anthropic’s Claude Help Center (Use connectors, Custom connectors), all viewed on 13 October 2026.

What are ChatGPT connectors?

A connector is a link between ChatGPT and another service, such as file storage: ChatGPT can search it for information and, where allowed, create or change things there. In OpenAI’s help pages (13 October 2026) the current name is “app”: a plugin bundles apps and instructions (skills) for one task, and “connectors” is the earlier name, still visible in some labels. According to OpenAI and Anthropic, connecting adds no permissions: only what your account can already do in the service applies. ChatGPT also uses installed plugins on its own when they are relevant.

How do you turn on a connector, step by step?

As of 13 October 2026, according to OpenAI; depending on your account or app version, the menu may show “Apps” instead of “Plugins”.

1. Open Settings > Plugins. The plugin directory is also in the sidebar.
2. Pick the app, or the plugin that includes it, and select “Install plugin” if the option appears.
3. If prompted, select “Connect” and sign in to the account of the service that holds the information you need.
4. Check the permissions requested and complete the approval on the provider’s page.
5. Use it in a chat: type @ and the app’s name, or select + and choose the app. ChatGPT may ask you to confirm before it reads data or acts: read the request.

A generic example: with a notes service connected, you can ask “Find my note with the grocery list and sort the items by aisle”.

Custom connectors (MCP): what you need

And in Claude?

In Claude, connectors are under Customize > Connectors (Anthropic, 13 October 2026).

1. Open Customize > Connectors, browse the directory with the + button and follow the sign-in.
2. In a chat, open + at the lower left, hover over “Connectors” and switch on the services for that conversation.
3. Custom connector (Free, one connector only, Pro and Max): “+ Add”, “Add custom connector”, then the name and address of the remote MCP server. On Team and Enterprise the owners add it.

Before you connect a service: 6 checks

1. Who runs the service? Connect only services you know and trust: the vendors say they do not verify custom connectors.
2. Which account? The one with the information you need, and nothing more: according to OpenAI, a personal account does not open the files of your work account.
3. Which permissions? Read the authorization screen and refuse the ones you do not need, as Anthropic advises.
4. Who approves actions? Keep confirmations on: OpenAI flags the option that allows all actions as elevated risk, Anthropic warns that malicious servers can slip in hidden instructions. See also the guide to AI shopping agents.
5. What does it see and keep? According to OpenAI, ChatGPT can pass the app the chat context and, with Memory on, memories. On Free, Plus, Go and Pro, OpenAI says it may use information reached through apps to train its models if “Improve the model for everyone” is on (guide to personal data).
6. How do you get out? As of October 2026, ChatGPT: Settings > Plugins (or Apps), the app, the three-dot menu, “Disconnect”; Claude: Customize > Connectors, the connector, then “Disconnect” to sign Claude out or “Remove” in the three-dot menu. Saved chats and memories stay (OpenAI): check them separately.

Groceries and connectors: what is coming

For everyday shopping you often need no connector: you can paste a short list into the chat yourself. This week’s promotions are not in a notes service: how an assistant handles them is explained in the guide to ChatGPT and grocery deals. To see them today there is Rappn, a free Swiss app (iOS and Android) that compares the current promotions of seven Swiss retailers and turns receipts into a spending overview: the promotions are updated daily as the chains publish them, and you can get an alert when a product you follow goes on offer. Rappn covers groceries only, not rent, insurance or taxes. Rappn is building an AI assistant for groceries: you can join the waitlist. A Rappn connector for AI assistants is in development.