This text is republished with permission from Wonder Tools, a e-newsletter that helps you uncover essentially 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 lots 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 tons of of companies. 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 thus far.
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 main work areas. Every has detailed directions and reference paperwork. And the AI has a reminiscence of the work I do, my model, my preferences, and my aims. 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 educating this fall. Embody in every occasion description related excerpts from my assembly abstract and reference the latest planning notes I dictated.
- Analysis: Collect latest hyperlinks I’ve saved to Raindrop, my bookmarking device, that could be related to my crew’s analysis. Then create a brand new reminder with these hyperlinks and a abstract of my latest associated notes.
These multiple-part instructions require context. They received’t work in Google Calendar, Raindrop, or Granola immediately. That’s why it’s so useful to have Claude or ChatGPT because the command heart.
MCP is the New USB
These connectors have a technical title: MCP, or Model Context Protocol. However simply as you don’t want to consider USB particulars whenever you plug in a printer, or http specs whenever you use the Net, you need to use MCP with out understanding its technical particulars. All that you must 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, arduous drives, cameras, and exterior screens had their very own particular cords to hook up with your pc. I simply cleaned out dozens of them from a drawer in my Manhattan condo. Now they’re out of date as a result of USB ports are in every single place. MCP is an identical unifying normal 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’ll be able to then ask your AI assistant to:
- “Assist me flip a bunch of starred emails into a day plan.”
- “Checklist essential messages I’ve despatched this month that the recipient hasn’t but opened.”
- “Draft concise responses to routine buyer questions for my evaluation.”
A few of these ways may even work with Gmail and Outlook connectors.
- Instance question: “Have a look at my 5 most up-to-date starred emails, counsel an motion listing for this afternoon primarily based on my precedence listing, 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 device.
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 could possibly combine the data it pulls from Granola inside the context of a broader evaluation.
- Get began: The Granola MCP guide explains methods to hyperlink it to your AI. In contrast to many different paid companies, Granola truly lets free customers question assembly notes (for the previous 30 days) utilizing your AI device of selection.
- 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 process embody a bulleted listing 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 device to make use of even when you 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 could 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 “Form.” Discover that the primary try wasn’t excellent. The interval after “Form” was lacking. However a fast edit request mounted that. The Photoshop edit preserved the font, model, spacing, and angle.
- The profit: As a substitute of looking by Photoshop menus attempting to determine how to do that, I simply requested ChatGPT to make use of Photoshop to make a change. In the long term, having the ability to use pure language to perform duties like this may increasingly shift how we spend our time away from technical menu-hopping towards extra artistic work. We’ll spend extra time serious about what to do and why, reasonably than methods 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 enables you to make use of the highlights you’ve made whereas engaged on different tasks 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 Instances
Court Listener from the Free Law Project is a helpful method of gathering information about courtroom circumstances. You’ll be able to ask for data associated to Elon Musk’s latest testimony with out paying for a authorized analysis service.
- Get began: Use the Court Listener MCP guide without cost with Claude or ChatGPT. First arrange a free Court docket Listener account.
- Instance question: “Evaluate the information article at XYZ hyperlink, discover the case that’s being mentioned, and provides me further particulars in regards to the case and some other associated latest circumstances.”
Different Helpful MCP Instruments
Substack has a new MCP, accessible to pick publishers as of now. It lets Claude coach me on my analytics. I not too long ago requested for an evaluation of ship occasions 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 knowledge reminiscent of dashboard metrics, site visitors knowledge, and publication settings. It can not publish posts, ship Notes, or modify your account.”
Rize is my favourite device for time-tracking. I linked it to Claude so I can study from how I’m spending my time and assess that alongside information 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 study in regards to the sorts of queries I can run from Claude. After I’m doing analysis in a undertaking, 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 device I exploit to save lots of quotes, photos and helpful pages on-line. In contrast to Raindrop and different well-designed clipping instruments like MyMind, that are absolutely personal, Elegant lets me see associated materials different individuals have saved. Now I can ask Claude to drag in related materials from Sublime.
How you can Hyperlink Instruments to Your AI Assistant
Determine what sort of connector will likely be helpful to you:
- E-mail: Gmail, Outlook, Superhuman, and different e-mail companies 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 anyplace else you retain your paperwork and information.
- Planning: Add occasions to your Google or Outlook calendar, or set up tasks 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 buddies may take pleasure in.
- Choose out of your AI device’s curated listing. Claude and ChatGPT every have a bunch of companies pre-configured to work. Perplexity now does too. Well-liked ones embody Google Drive, Gmail, Google Calendar, Canva, Figma, and Notion.
- Paste within the deal with of a customized connector. For instruments that aren’t on the default listing, you place in an MCP deal with, which is sort of a particular web site to attach an exterior service to your AI device. Discover extra to strive in a directory.
Be Cautious About Linking Personal Knowledge
Suppose twice earlier than connecting companies that host delicate information. I haven’t linked my financial institution accounts to my AI instruments, for instance. When you do this and somebody will get entry to your AI account, they’ll have the ability to discover out lots about your funds.
- It may well occur when a thief makes use of a “immediate injection” to control an AI device into releasing delicate information.
- Or it could possibly occur in case your cellphone is misplaced or stolen. New York, London, Paris, and different main cities see thousands of phones stolen annually.
- Knowledge also can leak from AI methods. It’s uncommon, however there have been circumstances 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 functions. If Claude or ChatGPT generates one thing odd due to a glitch, or as a result of I rushed a question, I wish to be the one noticing the error.
Once you begin connecting AI instruments to exterior companies, you could have 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 information. In a uncommon however alarming case, Cursor, an AI device, 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 complete 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 do away with duplicate information. It deletes a complete folder with an identical title.
- Calendar Chaos: You ask it to “discover a time for everybody” and it reschedules an current assembly within the mistaken time zone, since you have been touring whenever you wrote the request.
I haven’t encountered any of those errors. However these companies are nonetheless new, so you might encounter occasional bugs or blunders.
This text is republished with permission from Wonder Tools, a e-newsletter that helps you uncover essentially the most helpful websites and apps.
