Connecting Claude to Microsoft 365
Claude's Microsoft 365 connector lets your people ask Claude about their own email, calendar, files and Teams conversations. We set it up with your IT provider, limit it to the people taking part and show them how to use it on their work.
We reply to arrange a short call. You don't need to know which plan or setup you want before you get in touch.
What does the connector do?
It lets Claude search and read the Microsoft 365 content a person can already open: Outlook mail and calendar, files in SharePoint and OneDrive, and Teams chats, channels and meeting information.
In practice, someone can ask Claude to find the latest version of a report in SharePoint, summarise an email thread with a client, or pull together what was said about a project in Teams, and get an answer that draws on those sources.
By default the connector reads and searches. If your administrators turn on write actions, Claude can also draft and send email, manage calendar events, create and update files in SharePoint and send Teams messages on the person's behalf. We usually start with read access and add write actions once people are comfortable.
Can Claude see everything in our tenant?
Claude works with each person's own permissions, so it reaches only what that person could already open in Microsoft 365.
Anthropic describes these as delegated permissions. SharePoint sharing settings and folder permissions still apply, and so do your data loss prevention policies.
One point is worth checking before you start. Claude's SharePoint search covers every site a person has access to, and Anthropic notes that limiting search to particular sites is not supported. If some folders are shared more widely than they should be, Claude will find them just as search would. We review this with you and your IT provider before the first users connect.
For what leaves your tenant, where Anthropic processes it and how that compares with Copilot, read is it safe to connect Claude to Microsoft 365?
What does our IT provider approve?
A Global Administrator in your Microsoft tenant approves the connector once for the whole organisation. After that, each person connects their own account with their normal Microsoft sign-in.
The connector appears in Microsoft Entra as two enterprise applications, M365 MCP Server for Claude and M365 MCP Client for Claude. Your IT provider can set both to require assignment and add only the people or groups in your pilot. Anthropic states that Conditional Access, group-based assignment and MFA policies are supported, and that it has completed Microsoft's publisher verification.
We send your IT provider the steps in writing. You can read the same steps yourself in what your IT provider needs to do. If your IT provider has said it cannot help with Claude, the questions behind it goes through the usual concerns and what the documentation says on each.
What you need before you start
A work Microsoft 365 account with an active licence for each person, a Claude plan, and your IT provider's approval.
- Work or school Microsoft accounts in a Microsoft Entra tenant. Personal Outlook.com, Hotmail and Live accounts cannot connect.
- An active Microsoft 365 licence for each person who will connect.
- A Claude plan. The connector is available on every plan. For a business we recommend Team or Enterprise, where a Claude organisation owner switches the connector on centrally.
- A Global Administrator in your tenant, usually at your IT provider, to grant the one-time consent.
How we set it up
Five steps. Your IT provider is involved in one of them, and we prepare everything they need for it.
Confirm the plan and the first users
We agree who will connect first and check each person has a work Microsoft 365 account with an active licence.
Why this step: Anthropic's connector needs a work or school account in a Microsoft Entra tenant and an active Microsoft 365 licence, so we check this before anyone tries to connect.
Add the connector in Claude
On a Team or Enterprise plan, the Claude organisation owner adds Microsoft 365 under Organisation settings, Connectors.
Why this step: On business plans the connector is switched on centrally, which lets you decide when it becomes available to members.
Your IT provider grants consent
A Global Administrator approves the connector once for the tenant and, if you want a pilot, limits it to a named group.
Why this step: This is Microsoft's control over which applications can reach your data. Keeping it with your IT provider means nothing changes in who administers your tenant.
Each person connects
Users open Customise, Connectors in Claude, choose Microsoft 365 and sign in with their usual work account.
Why this step: Each connection uses that person's own permissions, so Claude can only reach what they could already open themselves.
First tasks and training
We show the group how to ask Claude about their own email, files and meetings, and what to check in the answers.
Why this step: People get value from the connector when they know which questions it answers well. A short, practical session gets them there quickly.
The connector and the Claude for Microsoft 365 add-ins
Anthropic offers two ways to use Claude with Microsoft 365. The connector lets Claude find and read material across Microsoft 365 from Claude itself. The add-ins, which Anthropic calls Claude for Microsoft 365, put Claude inside Excel, PowerPoint, Word and Outlook to work on the file or email you have open.
| Feature | Microsoft 365 connector | Claude for Microsoft 365 add-ins |
|---|---|---|
| What it does | Searches and reads Outlook mail, SharePoint and OneDrive files and Teams conversations, with each person's own access | Works on the open workbook, deck, document or email |
| Where you use it | In Claude on the web, desktop or mobile | In a sidebar inside Excel, PowerPoint, Word and Outlook |
| Claude plans | All plans, including Free | Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise. Outlook is in beta |
| Administrator step | A Global Administrator approves it once in Microsoft Entra | An administrator deploys them from the Microsoft 365 admin centre, or people install them from Microsoft AppSource. Outlook needs its own one-time consent |
Where the add-ins suit the work, we include them in the setup and add their steps to your IT provider's instructions. Most teams start with the connector, because it answers the commonest request: finding and using what is already in email and SharePoint.
What does Claude cost?
Anthropic bills Claude directly to your business, monthly or annually. It lists a Claude Team standard seat at US$25 a month on monthly billing or US$20 a month on annual billing, before VAT, with a minimum of two seats.
- Team premium seats, for people who use Claude heavily, are listed at US$125 a month on monthly billing or US$100 a month on annual billing. You can mix seat types, and a Team plan holds up to 150 seats.
- Anthropic prices in US dollars and notes that pricing, currency and tax handling vary by region, so the price shown at checkout in Ireland may differ.
- The Microsoft 365 connector and the add-ins are included in the plan rather than sold separately. You do not need Copilot licences.
- We usually suggest monthly billing for the first few months, then moving to annual once you know who uses Claude and how much.
Our fees for setup and training are separate from the Claude subscription and are agreed after a short scoping call. We take no margin on Claude licences. Check Anthropic's current prices before you buy, as they can change.
Claude Enterprise is priced differently, with a seat fee that includes no usage and all usage billed at API rates. Claude Team or Claude Enterprise compares the two plans. Skills you turn on in Claude also work in the Excel, PowerPoint, Word and Outlook add-ins; see Claude skills for business teams.
Can't connect? Common causes
Most connection problems come from the account type, a missing administrator approval or an access setting in Microsoft Entra. Each has a recognisable message.
- A personal Microsoft account. Outlook.com, Hotmail and Live accounts are not supported. Sign in with your work or school account.
- “An administrator must grant app permissions”. Admin consent has not been given yet. A Global Administrator approves the connector once for the tenant.
- AADSTS50105, “the signed in user is not assigned to a role for the application”. Assignment required is switched on and the person is not assigned. They need adding to both M365 MCP Server for Claude and M365 MCP Client for Claude. Microsoft notes that Global Administrators skip this check, so test with the affected user.
- No active Microsoft 365 licence. Each person who connects needs one.
- Conditional Access errors. Anthropic lists AADSTS53003 (often a location policy), AADSTS70043 (sign-in frequency), AADSTS50076 (MFA on a server-side request) and AADSTS53000 (compliant device required). Location and sign-in frequency policies are not supported for the connector, and Anthropic describes the exclusion an administrator can make.
- “Failed to call tool” or a missing scope error. A permission was revoked, or Anthropic added one after your tenant approved the connector. Reconnecting does not fix this. An administrator opens the admin consent link again.
- Add-ins not appearing after deployment. Rollout can take up to 24 hours. Admin-deployed add-ins may not show if “Let users access the Office Store” is turned off, in which case Anthropic provides manifest files. Deployment from Integrated apps fails if the administrator's role was activated through Privileged Identity Management, a known Microsoft issue.
- “Need admin approval” in Outlook. The Claude for Outlook add-in needs its own Microsoft Graph consent, separate from the connector.
Questions we are often asked
Can Claude be integrated into Microsoft 365?
Yes, in two ways. The Microsoft 365 connector lets Claude search and read your Outlook mail and calendar, SharePoint and OneDrive files and Teams conversations, using your own access. Anthropic's add-ins put Claude inside Excel, PowerPoint, Word and Outlook to work on the file or email you have open. A Global Administrator in your tenant approves the connector once.
What is Claude for Microsoft 365?
Anthropic uses the name for its add-ins for Excel, PowerPoint, Word and Outlook. They work on the document or email you have open. The Excel, PowerPoint and Word add-ins are generally available and the Outlook add-in is in beta, all on the paid Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise plans. They are separate from the Microsoft 365 connector, which works from Claude itself and is available on every plan, including Free.
Which Claude plans include the Microsoft 365 connector?
All of them. Anthropic lists the connector on Free, Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise. On Team and Enterprise, the Claude owner adds it for the organisation before members connect. On every plan, a Global Administrator approves it once in your Microsoft tenant.
How much does Claude for Microsoft 365 cost?
The connector and the add-ins come with the Claude plan rather than being sold separately. Anthropic lists Claude Team standard seats at US$25 a month each on monthly billing, or US$20 a month each on annual billing, before VAT, with a minimum of two seats and a maximum of 150. Anthropic bills your business directly, and the price shown at checkout in Ireland may differ. Our fees are separate.
I can't connect Claude to Microsoft 365. What can I do?
Check five things. Sign in with a work Microsoft account, not an Outlook.com, Hotmail or Live address. Confirm a Global Administrator has granted consent, since until then people see a message that an administrator must grant permission. If your IT provider set Assignment required, make sure you are assigned to both Claude enterprise applications. Check your Microsoft 365 licence is active. Ask whether a location, sign-in frequency or device Conditional Access policy is blocking the connection.
Is it safe to connect Claude to M365?
It can be, on a Claude Team or Enterprise plan with your IT provider's controls in place. Claude reaches only what each person can already open, files stay in your tenant, and the extracts Claude reads for an answer are processed by Anthropic under its commercial terms and Data Processing Addendum, which may happen outside the EU. The main risk to manage is over-shared SharePoint content.
Can I connect my OneDrive to Claude?
Yes, a work OneDrive. The Microsoft 365 connector covers OneDrive and SharePoint together, so your OneDrive files are searchable once you connect with your work account. A personal OneDrive on an Outlook.com or Hotmail account cannot connect.
Can Claude read my Outlook calendar?
Yes. Through the connector, Claude can answer questions about your meetings and find meeting times using your own access, and with write actions turned on it can create and update events. The Claude for Outlook add-in can also read your calendar once an administrator has given its separate one-time consent.
Is our data used to train Claude when it reads our Microsoft 365 content?
On the Team and Enterprise plans, Anthropic states that it does not use your data to train its models by default, and that under these commercial plans your organisation is the data controller and Anthropic acts as processor. That arrangement matters for GDPR, and we recommend a business plan for that reason.
Does Claude keep copies of our files?
Anthropic's security guide says the connector retrieves content on demand during a request and does not cache file content. Results that Claude uses in a conversation are kept as part of that chat, in line with your plan's retention settings.
Can we start with a small group?
Yes. Your IT provider can set the connector's enterprise applications in Microsoft Entra to require assignment, then assign only the people or groups in the pilot. Other staff cannot connect until they are added.
Can Claude send emails or change files?
Only if your administrators turn on write actions. By default the connector reads and searches. With write actions approved in Microsoft Entra and enabled in Claude's organisation settings, Claude can draft and send email, manage calendar events, create and update SharePoint files and send Teams messages on a user's behalf.
Do we need Copilot licences?
No. Anthropic's requirements are a work or school Microsoft account and an active Microsoft 365 licence for each user. Copilot is not among them.
Will it work with personal Outlook.com or Hotmail accounts?
No. The connector needs a work or school account in a Microsoft Entra tenant. Personal Microsoft accounts are not supported.
What if we also use Google Workspace or Slack?
Anthropic documents connectors for Google Drive, Gmail and Google Calendar, and a Slack connector on Team and Enterprise plans, which needs a Slack administrator to approve the Claude app first. Each works with the person's own sign-in, like the Microsoft 365 connector. On business plans the Claude owner adds each connector for the organisation before staff can use it, and we set these up alongside Microsoft 365 where you need them.
Sources
Product details checked against Anthropic's documentation on 14 October 2026. Features change, so check the current pages before you rely on a detail.
- Anthropic: Microsoft 365 connector documentation
- Anthropic: Set up the Microsoft 365 connector
- Anthropic: Microsoft 365 connector security guide
- Anthropic: Claude for Excel, PowerPoint, Word and Outlook
- Anthropic: Claude for Excel (deployment)
- Anthropic: Claude for Outlook (deployment and consent)
- Anthropic: Claude plans
- Anthropic: what is the Team plan?
- Microsoft: AADSTS50105, user not assigned to the application
- Anthropic: data use under commercial products
- Anthropic: Google Drive connector
- Anthropic: Gmail connector
- Anthropic: Google Calendar connector
- Anthropic: Slack integration
Talk to us about connecting Claude
Tell us how your Microsoft 365 is run and who would use Claude first. See ways to start for what a first engagement includes.