How to Connect Apps to ChatGPT: Setup, Permissions and Troubleshooting

Apps, plugins and connections are related—but not interchangeable

OpenAI uses app for an integration that connects ChatGPT to an external service or provides an interactive in-chat experience. A plugin packages capabilities into a workflow and can include one or more apps, skills or both. Some plugins do not connect to an external account at all. [OpenAI: Connected apps in ChatGPT] [OpenAI: Plugins — Connect tools and apps to ChatGPT and Codex]

That distinction matters during setup. Installing a plugin does not bypass the app's account authorization, provider permissions or workspace approval. A listing can appear installed while its underlying app still needs to be connected. [OpenAI: Connecting and managing app accounts in ChatGPT] [OpenAI: Admin controls, security, and compliance for plugins and apps]

If you are still deciding which connection to use, start with the ChatGPT connector directory or compare the best ChatGPT connectors and plugins for work.

How to connect an app to ChatGPT

The labels can vary by account because OpenAI is using both Apps and Plugins interfaces. The underlying sequence is the same. [OpenAI: Connected apps in ChatGPT] [OpenAI: Connecting and managing app accounts in ChatGPT]

1. Open Apps or Plugins. Use the option available in your ChatGPT account.
2. Find the app or its plugin. Open the listing and review its current requirements and capabilities.
3. Install the plugin if prompted. Installation may begin the setup flow, but it does not replace account authorization.
4. Select Connect. Some apps use an administrator-managed connection and will not ask every user to sign in.
5. Choose the right provider account. Connect the account that already has permission to the files, channels, messages or records you want ChatGPT to use.
6. Review the requested services and permissions. Do not assume read access and write access are bundled together.
7. Finish the provider's authorization flow. A provider administrator may have to approve the app or its OAuth scopes.
8. Test one specific item. Ask ChatGPT to find a file, message or record you can open directly in the source service.

Connecting a personal Google or Microsoft account will not expose information that only your work account can access. Connecting an account also does not expand that account's underlying permissions. [OpenAI: Connecting and managing app accounts in ChatGPT] [OpenAI: Google Drive app and setup in ChatGPT]

How to use a connected app in a conversation

Once connected, open a supported text conversation and describe the result you need. You can mention an app or plugin with @ or select it from the tools menu. Interface controls can vary by account. [OpenAI: Connected apps in ChatGPT]

• “Find the latest project brief in Google Drive and summarize the next steps.”
• “Find the Slack thread where the launch date changed and list the decision and owner.”
• “Review my recent Gmail messages from Acme and tell me what they are waiting on.”
• “Find the open GitHub issues labeled release-blocker and group them by owner.”

The first test should use an item with an exact name that you can open yourself. That separates a connection problem from an ordinary search or wording problem.

Which account should you connect?

Use the provider account that already holds the access you need. For a work connection, that is usually your managed Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Slack, GitHub or CRM account—not a personal account with a similar email address.

Some apps support multiple connected accounts. Review them under Settings → Apps or Plugins and select the relevant app or plugin. When the interface supports it, you can connect another account or specify which account ChatGPT should use in your request. [OpenAI: Connecting and managing app accounts in ChatGPT] [OpenAI: Connected apps in ChatGPT]

1. Source-system permissions determine what your connected account can open or change.
2. Provider authorization determines which services and scopes the app receives.
3. ChatGPT workspace controls determine whether the app is available and whether reading or taking an action requires approval.

What ChatGPT can do after an app is connected

Capabilities vary by app. A connection may support search and reference, deep research, an administrator-managed synced index, an interactive in-chat interface, or documented actions such as creating or updating information. An approval step may still be required. [OpenAI: Connected apps in ChatGPT] [OpenAI: Admin controls, security, and compliance for plugins and apps]

Do not infer write access from the presence of a connection. Check the documentation-verified relationship record for the exact app and capability. Connector Scout labels unsupported, unavailable and not-yet-confirmed capabilities separately.

Personal connections and administrator-managed sync are different

A normal connected account gives ChatGPT live access through that user's authorization. An administrator-managed sync connection creates an indexed knowledge source for an eligible workspace. [OpenAI: Google Drive app and setup in ChatGPT]

Google Drive illustrates the difference clearly. A personal or individually authorized Google Drive connection can provide live access to files the connected account can already open. It does not create a personal synced index. Administrator-managed Google Drive sync is a separate workspace capability configured by eligible administrators. [OpenAI: Google Drive app and setup in ChatGPT]

Sync can improve retrieval across a managed knowledge source, but it introduces separate setup, source-selection, account-matching and indexing controls. If both live access and sync are enabled, review them independently. [OpenAI: Google Drive app and setup in ChatGPT]

Permissions and privacy checks before connecting

1. Which account am I connecting?
2. Which services and permissions is the provider requesting?
3. Can the app only read, or can it also create, update, move, share or delete information?
4. Will ChatGPT ask before reading or taking an action?
5. Who can disable the app and revoke the provider authorization?

For managed workspaces, the ChatGPT administrator and the provider administrator may be different people. Microsoft actions may require organization-wide Microsoft Graph consent from an Entra administrator. Google Workspace may separately require the ChatGPT/OpenAI app and its OAuth scopes to be trusted. [OpenAI: Admin controls, security, and compliance for plugins and apps] [OpenAI: Google Drive app and setup in ChatGPT]

Use the connector permissions review guide before enabling write-capable actions across a team.

Why an app may be missing, disabled or unable to find data

The app does not appear

Confirm that the app is available for your plan, region, model and ChatGPT interface. Then check whether a workspace administrator has disabled the app or its plugin. [OpenAI: Connected apps in ChatGPT] [OpenAI: Admin controls, security, and compliance for plugins and apps]

The app says “Disabled by admin”

Your ChatGPT workspace administrator must review workspace access. Provider approval may still be required afterward. [OpenAI: Admin controls, security, and compliance for plugins and apps]

Authorization fails

Check that you selected the intended provider account and approved every required permission for the services you chose. If a managed Google or Microsoft account blocks the request, contact the appropriate provider administrator. [OpenAI: Connecting and managing app accounts in ChatGPT] [OpenAI: Google Drive app and setup in ChatGPT]

The connection succeeds but returns nothing

Confirm that the connected account can open the exact item in the source system. Check the item name, location, sharing settings and any source-selection limits. Test one unambiguous file, message or record before testing a broad query.

ChatGPT finds a filename but cannot use the contents

Metadata visibility does not prove that the app retrieved the full content in a supported format. Check the relationship record, file type and current app limitations.

The wrong account is being used

Open Settings → Apps or Plugins, inspect the connected accounts and reconnect the intended one. Some apps let you keep multiple accounts connected. [OpenAI: Connecting and managing app accounts in ChatGPT]

For a platform-neutral diagnostic sequence, use Why an AI connector may not appear or work.

How to disconnect an app

Open Settings → Apps or Plugins, select the relevant app or plugin, open the connected account or connection menu and choose Disconnect. [OpenAI: Connecting and managing app accounts in ChatGPT]

Disconnecting stops future access through that account. It does not automatically remove existing conversations, archived chats, saved files, Memory summaries or other saved memories. Other connected accounts and administrator-managed workspace connections may remain active. Uninstalling a plugin can also disconnect accounts associated with that plugin, so review the warning before confirming it. [OpenAI: Connecting and managing app accounts in ChatGPT] [OpenAI: Admin controls, security, and compliance for plugins and apps]

Next step: start work from a supported event

After Gmail, Slack or GitHub is connected and tested, eligible Work users can use a supported message or pull-request event to start a task. The ChatGPT event-triggered tasks guide covers setup, filters, prompts, limits and approvals. [OpenAI: ChatGPT Work and Codex] [ChatGPT Learn: Scheduled tasks]

A safe rollout sequence for a team

1. Choose one read-only workflow with a clear owner.
2. Connect a test account with the minimum access the workflow needs.
3. Test specific known items and document expected results.
4. Review logs, approval behavior and failure cases.
5. Expand to a small user group.
6. Enable write actions only when the read workflow is reliable and reversible.
7. Re-check the app when its permissions or documented capabilities change.

The goal is not to enable every available app. It is to connect one system to one useful workflow with an access model you understand.