What Are Connectors in Grok xAI? Supported Apps, Setup & Privacy

Grok connectors let Grok search your email, read cloud files, check your calendar and, with the right permissions, create documents or send messages. You stop pasting context into the chat. Grok pulls it from the connected app when your question needs it.

The convenience has a price. Permissions, plan limits, and write access differ from one connector to the next. A few of those differences decide whether a connector is safe for your inbox.

Before you rely on any specific app, check the live catalog at grok.com/connectors and your plan’s limits. Both change faster than any article can.

One naming note first. SpaceX acquired xAI in February 2026. Grok’s documentation now uses the SpaceXSI name, while its terms list the legal entity as SpaceXAI LLC. Older coverage and some official pages still say xAI. This article follows the naming in the current product docs.

What changed since connectors launched

What Are Connectors in Grok?

A Grok connector is a permissioned link between Grok and an outside app. After you approve access, Grok can retrieve data from that app during a chat. Some connectors can also change data, such as drafting an email or creating a file.

Grok uses a connector automatically when your question relates to that service. You don’t need to name the app in your prompt.

The official Grok connectors documentation describes three kinds:

• Built-in connectors. SpaceXSI maintains these. They sign in through OAuth, so you approve access on Google’s or Microsoft’s own consent screen and never hand Grok a password.
• Catalog connectors. Pre-configured OAuth integrations for third-party services. Some, including GitHub, run on the vendor’s own MCP server rather than code SpaceXSI wrote.
• Custom MCP connectors. You point Grok at a Model Context Protocol server you run or choose. That server sets its own authentication.

Grok connectors are not the same as Grok Bot plugins. Grok Bot, SpaceXSI’s separate agent product, keeps its own list of connected apps. The two systems are set up separately.

Which Apps Can Grok Connect To?

Grok’s built-in connectors cover Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, and Salesforce. The catalog adds tools such as GitHub, Notion, Slack, and HubSpot.

Built-in Grok connectors

The OneDrive row trips up many readers. The docs call it “personal storage,” yet the connector only runs on Grok Business and Enterprise. “Personal” means each employee’s own drive inside a work tenant, not a consumer OneDrive account.

Grok connector catalog

The catalog changes faster than any list can track. As of October 2026, SpaceXSI’s docs and announcements name catalog services including GitHub, Notion, Linear, Slack, HubSpot, Vercel, Canva, Gamma, and S&P Global. HubSpot is the only one with a dedicated setup guide in the connector catalog docs.

The live catalog at grok.com/connectors is the only complete list.

The lineup has also shifted. The May 6 launch announcement listed seven services: SharePoint, Outlook, OneDrive, Google Workspace, Notion, GitHub, and Linear. Google Workspace was one integration then. Gmail, Calendar, and Drive now connect separately, and Teams and Salesforce arrived later.

What Can Grok Read, Change, or Send in Each App?

The answer depends on the connector and the scopes you approve. Some connectors only search and read. Others create, edit, or send once you enable write tools. A generic “read and write” label hides real differences.

Rows come from each connector’s official page, except GitHub. For GitHub, the install screen asks for read and write access to code, issues, and pull requests.

One published hands-on test showed Grok creating a repository and pushing files. Your result depends on the repos and permissions you approve.

Gmail shows how tiered permissions work. Per the Gmail and Google Calendar connector page, the base scope is read-only. Drafts and label changes add gmail.modify. Sending adds gmail.send. Each scope is requested only when its tools are enabled.

Prompts that match these capabilities:

• “Find the latest version of the Q3 deck in Drive.”
• “Summarize unread email from the last two days.”
• “Summarize the open pull requests in this repository.”
• “List the highest-priority issues in Linear.”

How Do You Add a Connector in Grok?

Open grok.com/connectors, click New Connector, choose the service, and finish the OAuth sign-in. On iOS and Android, go to Settings → Connectors.

• Sign in at grok.com. The Skills & Connectors item in the sidebar opens the same page, under the Connectors tab.
• Click New Connector and pick a built-in or catalog service.

• Approve the permissions on the service’s own sign-in screen.
• Start a new chat and ask a question that needs the app.

On Grok Business and Enterprise, an admin must provision each connector in the console first. Until then, members won’t see it. Admins can follow the connector management docs.

How to disconnect and revoke access

Click Disconnect on grok.com/connectors. Then revoke on the other side too:

• Google: myaccount.google.com/permissions
• Microsoft: myapps.microsoft.com
• GitHub: Settings → Applications → Installed GitHub Apps. Disconnecting inside Grok leaves the GitHub App installed.

Why Isn’t My Grok Connector Working?

Most connector problems trace back to a permission or an admin setting, not a bug.

Can you connect two Gmail accounts? SpaceXSI’s docs don’t say whether a second sign-in adds an account or replaces the first. Test it on a non-critical account before relying on it.

Is the Grok Outlook Connector the Same as the Grok for Outlook Add-In?

No. They are two products with different homes, access rules, and send behavior.

The Grok for Outlook launch post describes the add-in as a Microsoft 365 add-in from the Microsoft Marketplace. Its access predates the October 12 plan change, so check current eligibility before you install.

The split also explains a common complaint. Someone hits the add-in’s paywall and assumes every Grok connector is paid. The two follow separate rules.

How Grok Bot connectors differ

Grok Bot is a separate agent product that works from a persistent cloud computer. It has its own connector list, labeled Plugins under Settings → Plugins in the Grok Bot app.

Grok Bot plugins are account-wide, so every Bot on your account can use them. Treat Grok Bot plugins and grok.com connectors as separate setups. An app connected in one may not carry over to the other.

How Do Custom MCP Connectors Work in Grok?

Custom MCP connectors let Grok use tools from any Model Context Protocol server you add. SpaceXSI calls the feature Bring Your Own MCP.

Model Context Protocol is an open standard for connecting AI assistants to tools and data. A custom server can expose an internal API, a database, or a SaaS tool.

To add one, choose New Connector, then Custom. Enter the server URL and finish any authentication. Grok then discovers the tools the server exposes.

The server must be reachable over the public internet. A server on your laptop needs a tunnel, and the docs include a tunneling page for that.

A public endpoint makes the server’s security your job. Grok adds no protection on top of it:

• Require authentication on the endpoint.
• Expose only the tools the workflow needs.
• Use scoped credentials, never broad production keys.
• Never tunnel an unrestricted development server.

A minimal safe setup might be a ticket-search server that requires a token login, exposes one read-only search tool, and runs on a service account limited to a single project.

Grok discovering a tool doesn’t make that tool trustworthy. Before you connect someone else’s MCP server, check who runs it, how it authenticates, which tools it exposes and what data those tools can reach.

Credentials matter more than they used to. Attackers now run cheap AI agent attacks at scale, and exposed API keys rank among their first targets.

Are Grok Connectors Free?

Yes, for most people. The connector docs say connectors are available to all Grok users. A published hands-on test on July 21, 2026 also connected GitHub on a free account and completed a full repo-and-push task.

Three limits still apply:

• SharePoint and OneDrive need Grok Business or Enterprise.
• Free accounts carry message and speed limits, so heavy connector use may slow down.
• Catalog services may need their own paid account on the vendor’s side.

The plans changed on October 12, 2026. New customers now start on The X Subscription, with tiers at Free, Plus ($8 a month), Premium ($30), Super ($100), and Ultra ($200). Existing SuperGrok subscribers keep their plans unless they switch.

Many guides still quote Grok’s pre-October pricing tiers, so check the date on any plan comparison. A Free tier still exists, but confirm on SpaceXSI’s pricing page before you rely on free access for work.

Is It Safe to Connect Gmail, Drive or SharePoint to Grok?

It can be, if you keep access narrow. Connectors use scoped permissions, and several start read-only. Risk grows with every write scope you enable and every extra app you connect.

What SpaceXSI says about your data

• Gmail and Google Calendar: conversations don’t store your email or calendar data on SpaceXSI’s servers, and the data isn’t used for model training.
• Google Drive: the same two statements apply to your files.
• SharePoint: the connector indexes organizational files. When a member disconnects, only the indexed data they could access is deleted. When an admin removes the connector, all indexed data for the organization is deleted.

The SharePoint point matters. “Nothing is stored” describes the Google connectors, not every connector. Catalog connectors and custom MCP servers follow their own vendors’ policies.

Prompt injection is the bigger risk

An email or shared document can hide instructions meant to manipulate an AI assistant. Security researchers call this prompt injection.

Read-only permissions reduce the chance of unwanted changes. They don’t remove the risk. A malicious message can still shape Grok’s answers, or steer other tools active in the same chat, such as an Outlook connector that can send.

Habits that help:

• Connect only the services you use every week.
• Start read-only, and enable write or send tools for a specific task.
• Test write actions on a throwaway file or repo first.
• Limit GitHub to selected repositories, not all of them.
• Review grok.com/connectors monthly and remove stale connections.

Companies face a second issue. Employees connecting work email to an unapproved assistant is a classic form of shadow AI security risk. On Grok Business, admin provisioning gives IT control over which connectors employees can use.

What to Check Before Connecting a Work Account

Run these six checks before you connect a work inbox, drive, or repo to Grok:

1. Account scope: which account, mailbox, site, or repos the connector can reach.
2. Permission scope: read-only, write, or send. Approve the smallest set the task needs.
3. Retention: what the connector’s page says about storing or indexing your data.
4. Third-party processing: whether a catalog or MCP connector routes data through another company.
5. Admin controls: whether your company provisions connectors or forbids them.
6. Revocation: where to disconnect in Grok and where to revoke the OAuth grant.

One limit is easy to miss. Asking Grok to “stay read-only” in a prompt doesn’t remove write or send permissions you already granted. Only the connector’s settings do.

Should You Turn On Grok Connectors?

Grok connectors make sense if you already work in Google or Microsoft apps and use Grok daily. Searching your inbox or summarizing a pull request from the chat removes a lot of copy-paste work.

They fit worse if your company has strict data-handling rules or relies on tools outside the catalog. Custom MCP fills gaps, but it adds a public endpoint someone has to secure.

Start small. Connect one read-only service, run a normal week of work through it, then decide on write access. If you’re still choosing an assistant, a Grok versus ChatGPT comparison helps frame the bigger decision.

Grok Connectors FAQs

Q. What does a Grok connector do?

A Grok connector links Grok to an outside app so Grok can search, read, and sometimes edit that app’s data during a chat. Examples include searching Gmail and summarizing GitHub pull requests.

Q. Do Grok’s Outlook connectors work with personal Microsoft accounts?

SpaceXSI’s Outlook docs tell you to sign in with a work or school account. They don’t describe support for consumer Outlook.com accounts, so expect limits there.

Q. Can Grok connect to GitHub?

Yes. The GitHub connector runs on GitHub’s own MCP server. GitHub’s install screen requests write access to code, issues, and pull requests, limited to the repos you select. The connector card warns that third-party connectors aren’t built or maintained by SpaceXSI.

Q. Can Grok send emails from Gmail or Outlook?

Yes, once send tools are enabled. Gmail needs the separate send scope. The Outlook Mail connector can send directly. The Grok for Outlook add-in can archive and junk mail, but nothing sends until you hit send.

Q. Does Grok train on my Gmail or Drive data?

No, according to SpaceXSI’s Gmail and Google Drive connector pages. Check each connector’s own page for other services.

Q. Is the Grok connector in Tray the same thing?

No. Tray’s Grok connector calls the xAI API with an API key. It has nothing to do with Grok’s in-chat connectors.

Related: How Long Does Grok Ban You for Multiple Accounts? Here’s What We Know