Anthropic launched Claude for Google Workspace in public beta on October 6, 2026. The add-on puts a Claude sidebar beside an open Google Doc, Sheet or Slide deck, where it can read selected content and make changes in the file. The default mode asks for approval before editing. Anthropic's announcement.

This guide follows the documentation checked on October 7. BIG CHANGE has not installed or tested the add-on. The task covered here is a bounded edit to an already-open Google file, followed by review and approval.

The big change

  • What changed: Claude can act inside Google's document editors. For users who want to keep their work in those files, the sidebar provides a direct editing path alongside the existing editor.
  • Why it matters: The approval decision now sits next to the content being changed. Asking for a proposed change and allowing it are separate actions in the default mode, giving users a chance to inspect the action before it affects their file.
  • What to watch: Choose the editing mode deliberately. Switching to automatic acceptance changes when review happens, while beta restrictions still determine which tasks the sidebar can complete.

Access and installation

Anthropic's setup guide lists Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise eligibility. Use Chrome, Edge or Safari; Firefox is unsupported. It does not specify minimum browser versions.

  1. Open the Claude Marketplace listing, published by Anthropic. Select Install, choose your Google account, then Continue. Review the permissions and select Allow.
  2. Reload the open file, then choose Extensions > Claude > Open Claude. Sign in with your Claude account in the sidebar.
  3. Keep Ask before edits selected. Identify the text, cells or slide to change, and send a specific request.
  4. Inspect the proposed action before selecting Allow. In Docs, request proposal cards if you want to accept or reject text changes individually. Keep the sidebar open until the task finishes.

A Workspace administrator must permit installation or deploy the app. One installation covers all three editors. A paid Claude plan does not override Google's app policy.

The Marketplace permissions panel lists access to manage files where the app is installed, display sidebar content and read Google account identity information. Read the actual consent screen for your account.

Inputs, outputs and review

The input is the open file, any selection and your prompt. Anthropic's launch description says Docs supports sentence edits and restyling, Sheets supports formulas, pivot tables and native charts, and Slides can add slides using a deck's layouts and themes. Claude can also answer questions without editing. An approved edit changes the same file.

The sidebar accepts reference attachments: up to 20 files per message, with limits of 30 MB per document and 10 MB per image. Other Drive content is outside its default view; enabling a connector can bring additional content into the conversation. Input scope and attachments.

Ask before edits pauses for permission. Accept all edits applies ordinary content changes automatically. Links, external images and removal of someone's access still require a Security review; the add-on cannot grant access, share the file or change its owner. Approval controls.

Applied changes carry your name in version history. Docs proposal cards are a review interface; applied changes are direct edits, not Google's suggestion mode. Check the result in the file and use Undo or version history when necessary.

Limits that affect the task

These are the beta's documented limits as checked October 7:

  • The sidebar cannot open, create or copy other Drive files, export a PDF or download the file. Closing the sidebar stops work; Google stops a single operation after six minutes.
  • Docs comments and existing suggestions are unavailable to the add-on. It can edit document-tab content, but cannot create, rename or reorder those tabs.
  • Connected Sheets tabs backed by BigQuery cannot be read or edited. Extract the rows into a regular tab first.
  • New Slides charts arrive as images. They do not update with changed numbers; existing linked charts need manual updating.

The documented scope is files open in Docs, Sheets and Slides. Compatibility with every imported Office format is not established in these sources.

Cost and adjacent Claude products

The Marketplace labels pricing Paid. The announcement requires a paid Claude plan, but neither it nor the setup page specifies a separate add-on fee or an add-on usage allowance. Those pricing details remain unresolved.

The same launch includes separate Google Docs, Sheets and Slides connectors that start from Claude and can create Google files. Their capabilities do not establish what this open-file add-on can do. The launch's connector explanation.

Anthropic's own Claude Docs also has a different home: documents saved inside Claude. BIG CHANGE's Claude Docs coverage addresses that product. This guide concerns Anthropic's add-on for Google's editors.

Sources & further reading

  • Anthropic's launch announcement, October 6, 2026; checked October 7. Establishes the public beta, editing capabilities and separate connectors. It is a vendor account, not a productivity test.
  • Claude setup and limitations, checked October 7; displayed Updated today. Documents the task and restrictions. No numeric add-on version or browser-version floor is supplied.
  • Google Workspace Marketplace: Claude, listing updated October 5; checked October 7. Confirms the publisher, installation destination, permissions and Paid label, without an itemized fee.
  • KAKERU Designing's account, October 7. Offers secondary context on approval and installation, drawing on Anthropic's sources. It does not independently test the product.