The board meets this week. Your report is a Google Doc, and the budget is a Google Sheet.

You copy a section of the report into Claude and ask it to tighten things up. Then you paste the new version back and fix the formatting that broke.

Next you open the budget and see 3 cells with an error. You copy each formula into Claude and paste each fix back, one at a time.

That is a lot of time spent moving text between two windows.

WHAT THE CLAUDE SIDEBAR DOES

Claude for Google Workspace adds a Claude sidebar to Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Slides. Claude reads the file you have open, plus anything you have selected. Then it makes changes right in that file.

In Docs, it can draft, rewrite, and restructure long documents. In Sheets, it can build spreadsheet models, write and fix formulas, and clean up data.

In Slides, it can make new slides or tighten and restyle the ones you have. You can also ask it questions about the file, and it answers with citations.

The sidebar is its own tool, and it works inside the one file you have open. Anthropic’s Google Workspace connectors are a separate feature that lets Claude search your Drive, Gmail, and Calendar from the Claude app.

HOW TO SET IT UP

These steps come from Anthropic’s help center.

1. Install Claude from its Google Workspace Marketplace listing. One install covers Docs, Sheets, and Slides.
2. Open a Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides file. Go to Extensions, then Claude, then “Open Claude.”
3. The first time, approve the two Google permissions it asks for.
4. Sign in with your Claude account in the sidebar. You can turn on connectors here if you want them.
5. Ask a question about the file.

If the install button is grayed out, your Google Workspace admin needs to allow the app or install it for you.

The sidebar starts in “Ask before edits” mode. Claude tells you in plain language what it is about to do and waits for you to click “Allow.”

You can switch to “Accept all edits,” and Claude will make ordinary content edits without stopping. It still asks first before it adds links or outside images, or before any change to who can access the file.

If you don’t like a change, use Undo. You can also go to File, then Version history, then “See version history” to bring back an earlier version.

3 WAYS TO USE IT THIS MONTH

Start with the budget in Sheets. Open your ministry budget and ask Claude to find and fix every broken formula. It works in the sheet itself, so each fix goes right into the cell it belongs in.

Next, tighten the board report in Docs. Ask Claude to make your report shorter and clearer, and to put the key decisions at the top. Claude edits the text directly, so read through the changes before you send it.

Then sum up your results in Slides. After your fall outreach, open the deck for your next staff meeting and ask for a new slide that sums up what happened. Give Claude the numbers you want on it.

One note from the help center: charts Claude makes in Slides are pictures. They won’t update if your numbers change later.

GOOD TO KNOW BEFORE YOU START

The sidebar only works in native Google files, so convert a Word file to a Google Doc first. Claude works on the one open file and can’t reach your other Drive files.

Keep the sidebar open while Claude works, because a single job times out after 6 minutes. It works in Chrome, Edge, and Safari. Firefox is not supported during the beta.

GUARDRAILS FOR CHURCHES

Claude sees the open file, your messages, any files you attach, and any connectors you turn on. So think about what is in the file before you open the sidebar.

Anthropic says not to use the sidebar with protected health information. For a church, keep it away from pastoral care notes and prayer lists with health details. Keep donor names and giving records out too.

Take extra care with files that came from outside your church. The help center says to review what Claude plans to do in those files before you allow it.

Anthropic does not use this content for training. On Team and Enterprise plans, your data falls under commercial terms.

Two admins control this on a Team plan. Your Google Workspace super admin can install Claude for the whole staff or for certain groups. Your Claude admin controls which connectors, skills, and models your team can use.

WHICH PLANS HAVE IT

Claude for Google Workspace is in beta on Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise plans. Your Google account also needs permission to install apps from the Google Workspace Marketplace.

Open your next Google file with Claude right beside it.

If you want to learn tools like this with peers, join The Builder Collective. It’s a community of executive leaders learning how to put AI to work. You can find it at thebuildercollective.ai.