This text is republished with permission from Wonder Tools, a publication that helps you uncover probably the most helpful websites and apps.
I’ve modified how I exploit Claude and ChatGPT recently. They’ve develop into my digital dashboards, linked to most of the instruments I depend on. I can ask Claude so as to add to my calendar, question my assembly notes, replace me on my e mail, or discover a passage I highlighted in my digital pocket book.
Claude Connectors and ChatGPT plugins connect with a whole bunch of providers. These embody Superhuman Mail for e mail, Google Calendar, Granola for assembly notes, and Readwise for my on-line highlights.
Learn on for the way and why to hyperlink your favourite instruments to your AI assistant, and examples of connections and queries I’ve discovered helpful to date.
Why Connecting Instruments to Claude and ChatGPT Is So Helpful
Claude and ChatGPT know the context for my work as a result of I’ve arrange Initiatives for my major work areas. Every has detailed directions and reference paperwork. And the AI has a reminiscence of the work I do, my type, my preferences, and my targets. So I can ask my AI assistant to:
- Plan: Add 4 prep periods to open morning slots on my calendar subsequent week for the courses I’m instructing this fall. Embody in every occasion description related excerpts from my assembly abstract and reference the current planning notes I dictated.
- Analysis: Collect current hyperlinks I’ve saved to Raindrop, my bookmarking instrument, that may be related to my staff’s analysis. Then create a brand new reminder with these hyperlinks and a abstract of my current associated notes.
These multiple-part instructions require context. They gained’t work in Google Calendar, Raindrop, or Granola instantly. That’s why it’s so useful to have Claude or ChatGPT because the command middle.
MCP is the New USB
These connectors have a technical identify: MCP, or Model Context Protocol. However simply as you don’t want to consider USB particulars if you plug in a printer, or http specs if you use the Net, you should utilize MCP with out understanding its technical particulars. All it is advisable to know is that MCP is a method of linking software program instruments, websites, and apps to AI platforms like Claude and ChatGPT.
Keep in mind the world previous to USB? Printers, laborious drives, cameras, and exterior displays had their very own particular cords to connect with your pc. I simply cleaned out dozens of them from a drawer in my Manhattan residence. Now they’re out of date as a result of USB ports are all over the place. MCP is an identical unifying customary for linking instruments to AI.
5 Methods I’m Utilizing Instruments Linked to Claude
Handle E mail
I depend on Superhuman Mail to learn, set up, and reply to e mail. It’s quick, straightforward to make use of, dependable, and integrates with my calendar. I exploit it with three distinct e mail addresses. As a result of I’ve to behave on essential messages, I’ve linked it to Claude.
- Get began: The connection guide walks you thru linking your e mail to Claude or ChatGPT. You possibly can then ask your AI assistant to:
- “Assist me flip a bunch of starred emails into a day plan.”
- “Record essential messages I’ve despatched this month that the recipient hasn’t but opened.”
- “Draft concise responses to routine buyer questions for my overview.”
A few of these ways may also work with Gmail and Outlook connectors.
- Instance question: “Take a look at my 5 most up-to-date starred emails, recommend an motion checklist for this afternoon primarily based on my precedence checklist, then put an hour on my Google Calendar to behave on them.”
Do Extra with Assembly Notes
I exploit Granola as my notepad throughout conferences. It transcribes conversations, then creates a abstract primarily based on the transcript and my very own notes. (See my guide). I can already ask questions on my conferences in Granola with no need a separate AI instrument.
However the benefit of linking Granola with Claude (or ChatGPT) is that Claude has entry to insights in my notes, e mail, and Google Drive, so it will probably combine the data it pulls from Granola inside the context of a broader evaluation.
- Get began: The Granola MCP guide explains the way to hyperlink it to your AI. In contrast to many different paid providers, Granola really lets free customers question assembly notes (for the previous 30 days) utilizing your AI instrument of alternative.
- Instance question: “Give me a abstract of the analysis questions I stated I’d comply with up on in my assembly with Pat. Subsequent to every activity embody a bulleted checklist of the background particulars I already collected in my analysis spreadsheet.”
Edit Pictures and Movies
Photoshop and Premiere are highly effective however difficult. Now you possibly can edit a picture or video with out even opening a separate app. Arrange the plugin, then inform your AI assistant to make use of it in your immediate. The AI assistants are sometimes intelligent sufficient to determine which instrument to make use of even for those who don’t explicitly point out it.
- Get began: Set up the Adobe app in ChatGPT. Or add it to Claude, utilizing this guide. Your AI assistant will now have entry to the capabilities of Photoshop, Premiere, Firefly, Specific, Acrobat, and different Adobe apps. You don’t even want an Adobe account to get began, although it may be useful to get a free one if you wish to set up, enhance, and act in your creations later. (Canva’s MCP can also be helpful).
- Instance question: “Assist me change the textual content on this graphic.” Or “Reformat this horizontal video clip for YouTube Shorts or Instagram Reels.” Or “Add background blur to this headshot, repair the lighting, and crop it for a portrait.”
As a check, I modified the primary line in an illustration from “Daring” to “Type.” Discover that the primary try wasn’t excellent. The interval after “Type” was lacking. However a fast edit request fastened that. The Photoshop edit preserved the font, type, spacing, and angle.
- The profit: As a substitute of looking by way of Photoshop menus making an attempt to determine how to do that, I simply requested ChatGPT to make use of Photoshop to make a change. In the long term, with the ability to use pure language to perform duties like this will likely shift how we spend our time away from technical menu-hopping towards extra artistic work. We’ll spend extra time excited about what to do and why, slightly than the way to technically get it executed.
Discover Highlights
I exploit Readwise to gather the passages I spotlight when studying on-line or on my Kindle. It additionally hosts passages I save when listening to podcasts with the Snipd app.
- Get began: The Readwise MCP allows you to make use of the highlights you’ve made whereas engaged on different initiatives with an AI assistant.
- Instance question: “Present me a bunch of my Readwise highlights that embody descriptions of desserts, particularly from European novels, then collect a listing of associated recipes I could make with my daughters earlier than our journey.”
Analysis Authorized Circumstances
Court Listener from the Free Law Project is a useful method of gathering data about court docket instances. You possibly can ask for data associated to Elon Musk’s current testimony with out paying for a authorized analysis service.
- Get began: Use the Court Listener MCP guide totally free with Claude or ChatGPT. First arrange a free Courtroom Listener account.
- Instance question: “Overview the information article at XYZ hyperlink, discover the case that’s being mentioned, and provides me further particulars in regards to the case and every other associated current instances.”
Different Helpful MCP Instruments
Substack has a new MCP, out there to pick publishers as of now. It lets Claude coach me on my analytics. I just lately requested for an evaluation of ship instances to determine how they affect open and click on charges. Substack’s assist web page notes that the MCP has “read-only entry to publication information comparable to dashboard metrics, visitors information, and publication settings. It can’t publish posts, ship Notes, or modify your account.”
Rize is my favourite instrument for time-tracking. I linked it to Claude so I can be taught from how I’m spending my time and assess that alongside data from my conferences, e mail and calendar. The Rize MCP page contains use-cases and helped me get began. Rize requires a paid subscription.
I exploit Raindrop to save lots of hyperlinks I’ll want later. I checked the Raindrop MCP web page to set it up and be taught in regards to the sorts of queries I can run from Claude. Once I’m doing analysis in a mission, for example, I can ask it to drag in related hyperlinks I’ve saved. Or I may even ask Claude to place the hyperlinks from a spreadsheet I’m engaged on into my Raindrop bookmark assortment with acceptable tags.
Sublime is one other instrument I exploit to save lots of quotes, photographs and helpful pages on-line. In contrast to Raindrop and different well-designed clipping instruments like MyMind, that are absolutely personal, Chic lets me see associated materials different folks have saved. Now I can ask Claude to drag in related materials from Sublime.
The best way to Hyperlink Instruments to Your AI Assistant
Determine what sort of connector shall be helpful to you:
- E mail: Gmail, Outlook, Superhuman, and different e mail providers now allow you to analyze and reply to your messages.
- Recordsdata: Analyze or act on information in your Google Drive, Dropbox, Field, Slack, Notion, or wherever else you retain your paperwork and information.
- Planning: Add occasions to your Google or Outlook calendar, or set up initiatives with instruments like Airtable, Monday, ClickUp, Asana, and Linear.
- Enjoyable: Create Spotify playlists primarily based in your work vibe or search StubHub or SeatGeek for tickets your loved ones or associates would possibly get pleasure from.
- Choose out of your AI instrument’s curated checklist. Claude and ChatGPT every have a bunch of providers pre-configured to work. Perplexity now does too. Standard ones embody Google Drive, Gmail, Google Calendar, Canva, Figma, and Notion.
- Paste within the tackle of a customized connector. For instruments that aren’t on the default checklist, you place in an MCP tackle, which is sort of a particular web site to attach an exterior service to your AI instrument. Discover extra to attempt in a directory.
Be Cautious About Linking Non-public Information
Assume twice earlier than connecting providers that host delicate data. I haven’t linked my financial institution accounts to my AI instruments, for instance. In the event you do this and somebody will get entry to your AI account, they’ll be capable of discover out lots about your funds.
- It may well occur when a thief makes use of a “immediate injection” to govern an AI instrument into releasing delicate data.
- Or it will probably occur in case your cellphone is misplaced or stolen. New York, London, Paris, and different main cities see thousands of phones stolen annually.
- Information may also leak from AI methods. It’s uncommon, however there have been instances like this one.
Be Cautious About Letting AI Instruments Act on Your Behalf
I’m not but letting AI instruments ship emails for me. Or submit types or purposes. If Claude or ChatGPT generates one thing odd due to a glitch, or as a result of I rushed a question, I need to be the one noticing the error.
While you begin connecting AI instruments to exterior providers, you have got the choice to provide your AI assistant energy to do issues in your behalf. That may be helpful for analysis, summarizing assembly notes, or cleansing up messy pc folders.
However you or your AI assistant might make a expensive mistake with essential data. In a uncommon however alarming case, Cursor, an AI instrument, deleted PocketOS’s company database and its backup. A associated 2025 case involved Replit.
Different Methods Linked AI Can Go Unsuitable
- Journey reserving blunder. You ask it to cancel a reservation, and it cancels your whole itinerary. Otherwise you ask it to e book a flight on 7/1/27 and it books a nonrefundable ticket on 1/7/27, assuming you have been utilizing the European date system and meant January 7, not July 1.
- Disappearing Recordsdata. You ask it to eliminate duplicate information. It deletes a whole folder with an identical identify.
- Calendar Chaos: You ask it to “discover a time for everybody” and it reschedules an current assembly within the fallacious time zone, since you have been touring if you wrote the request.
I haven’t encountered any of those errors. However these providers are nonetheless new, so chances are you’ll encounter occasional bugs or blunders.
This text is republished with permission from Wonder Tools, a publication that helps you uncover probably the most helpful websites and apps.
