ChatGPT Connectors
A ChatGPT connector is a link between ChatGPT and a third-party account (typically a data source). Connectors and apps overlap: many connectors are surfaced as apps with their own UI, while others operate silently in the background to provide context to whatever you ask.
Connector vs app: the fuzzy distinction
An app is something you interact with explicitly — "use Canva to make this design," "use Zapier to fire that workflow." A connector is more passive — it grants ChatGPT access to a data source (Google Drive, Microsoft 365, an enterprise wiki) so the model can reference your real content during a conversation. The line is fuzzy because most connectors surface as apps with a name in the picker, and most apps that read data are technically connectors underneath.
When you'll see the word "connector"
OpenAI uses the term most often in enterprise contexts and around data-source integrations like Google Drive, OneDrive, Box, SharePoint, and similar. In team and enterprise plans, administrators can install or restrict connectors at the organization level. For end users on personal plans, the distinction between "app" and "connector" usually doesn't matter — both end up as something you can call from chat.
Why this matters for privacy
Connectors typically grant ChatGPT ongoing read (and sometimes write) access to a third-party account. That's stronger access than a one-time file upload. Before authorizing a connector, review the scopes it requests, decide whether to scope it to specific folders or pages rather than your entire account, and remember to revoke when the project ends. Both the source service and OpenAI have their own data-handling policies — read both.
Are connectors ranked on this site?
We rank apps. When a connector is surfaced with its own app-like UI inside ChatGPT — Google Drive, Notion, OneDrive — it appears in the rankings as the app it is. Pure background connectors that have no user-facing app surface aren't ranked, because there's nothing to compare editorially: they're plumbing, not products.