ChatGPT could soon work with Slack and Google Drive to make office life a bit easier

If you've ever wanted to leave your professional life in the hands of an AI that can message your boss on your behalf, then OpenAI wants to help you out

According to a report from TechCrunch, an internal document suggests the company will soon start testing a feature called "ChatGPT Connectors" for enterprise customers to hook the popular chatbot into services including Google Drive and Slack.

Prepare for ChatGPT Connectors

According to the document, Google Drive and Slack mark the start of the process, with OpenAI planning to roll out more Connectors in future, notably for Microsoft SharePoint and Box.

“This will allow employees using ChatGPT to easily make use of internal information similar to how they can use world knowledge via web search,” the document, reportedly seen by TechCrunch, explains. It will apparently help ChatGPT compete with services like Glean which offer enterprise search platforms.

Users will therefore be able to find key files in Drive or important messages in Slack with a powerful search function, but the document suggests permissions are "fully respected" — so don't expect to see documents you're not supposed to.

Users will therefore be able to find key files in Drive or important messages in Slack with a powerful search function, but the document suggests permissions are "fully respected".

“Additional related information which [sic] the model did not directly make use of is accessible by clicking on the sources button at the bottom of each response,” the document reportedly says.

“When appropriate, the model will directly respond with a list of relevant results."

There are limitations, too. Some document types in Google Drive, including Google Slides, PowerPoint, and even plain text, are simply not supported, while Sheets and Excel files can be read but not analysed.

On Slack, DMs and group messages can't be retrieved, seemingly meaning it's primarily focused on channels.

A phone with the ChatGPT logo and a laptop with the OpenAI logo

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

The Connectors are powered by GPT-4o, and leverages an encrypted connection, which is especially important when it's handling requests for sensitive company data.

They'll reportedly be beta tested by select ChatGPT Team subscribers, which will give access to everyone in that Team workspace.

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Lloyd Coombes is a freelance tech and fitness writer. He's an expert in all things Apple as well as in computer and gaming tech, with previous works published on TechRadar, Tom's Guide, Live Science and more. You'll find him regularly testing the latest MacBook or iPhone, but he spends most of his time writing about video games as Gaming Editor for the Daily Star. He also covers board games and virtual reality, just to round out the nerdy pursuits.

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