'I would rather use my own head than to let Claude reply': Google Workspace users divided on news Claude can now write and send emails in Gmail for you — without asking for permission
Claude will draft, and send, your emails for you
by https://www.techradar.com/uk/author/mike-moore · TechRadarNews By Mike Moore Published 19 August 2026
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- Claude can now draft and send messages on your behalf in Gmail
- However it can do so without asking for permission, potentially leading to awkward responses
- Claude also gets stronger Google Drive access, but says it won't train its AI on your files
Anthropic has revealed that Claude's integration with Gmail has taken a major step forward - with the AI now able to draft and send emails on a user's behalf.
"Ask Claude to reply to a thread, and it drafts and sends the response. You control when it needs your approval," the company wrote in an update on X.
However the news immediately prompted a flood of replies and comments from users worried about the potential implications of having an AI send emails unseen by them.
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Ask for forgiveness, not permission?
Although a Claude connector has been available in Google Workspace for a while, actually sending an email on the user's behalf is a significant step forward, and a potentially troubling one at that.
Ultimately, the user will still have to ask Claude to perform the action first, but how it drafts the message, and the content within, has the potential to lead to some serious embarrassment for some users.
The tool, which is live now, will only be available to users on paid Claude plans, , and Anthropic later clarified the process in a support page, noting that asking for approval is the default setting, and on Team and Enterprise plans, admins will be able to decide "whether members can allow these actions to run without asking each time".
The update will also mean Claude can forward emails, and manage files in Google Drive, helping users track down the information they need with a single command, as well as uploading files, creating folders and add Google Docs directly to chats and projects.
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