The Customize menu and app connections

Connect one app to Gemini, ask it a small question about information you can check yourself, and learn where to change that connection later. This walkthrough uses Gemini on the web with a personal Google Account.

Before you start

• A personal Google Account signed in at gemini.google.com. Work and school accounts follow separate administrator controls.
• Keep Activity turned on if you want to use Connected Apps on the web. Read the setting before deciding whether to enable it.
• Access to an app listed in your own Connectors page, plus a harmless item you can verify in that app, such as a short document.
• A specific first question, such as finding the opening date in your own project brief.

Want to do it yourself?

Difficulty

4 out of 10

Estimated completion time

20–45 minutes

Skills you’ll need: Connect one app, identify the correct source item, and compare the answer with the original before using it.

I’ll do it myselfI’d rather get help

How this helps your brand

Retrieving a known detail from the correct account helps ground project work in approved information. Checking the original source makes a connection useful for business decisions rather than merely producing a convincing answer.

1. 1

   Step 1: Choose a question you can check

   Start with a request to find information. A useful trial is asking about one detail in a document you already know, rather than asking Gemini to organize everything in your account.

   For example, use a brief with a distinctive title such as Maple Studio website brief. Write down the answer you expect before you ask. That gives you a way to distinguish a successful connection from a plausible guess.

2. 2

   Step 2: Open Customize and inspect the app

   At gemini.google.com, open the sidebar, choose Customize, then Connectors. If Customize is hidden, look under More. Open the app’s details and check its supported actions and example prompts.

   Choose an action that the details actually support. The apps shown depend on your account, location and device; a connection advertised elsewhere may be absent from your list.

   Tip: Skills save instructions for recurring work. Connectors provide access to another service. A skill does not give Gemini access to an app you have not connected.

   Illustrated exampleFind the connector details before adding an app

   Gemini · webMenu path

   1. 1Sidebar
   2. 2Customize
   3. 3Connectors

   Available to this account

   DGoogle DriveFind and reference your filesDetails

   Read supported actions before choosing Add.

   The list depends on your account, location and device. “More” may hold Customize.

3. 3

   Step 3: Connect only the app you need

   Choose Add for that app and follow the sign-in and permission screens. Check which account you are connecting, especially if your browser has both a personal and a work account signed in.

   Read what access the connection requests before continuing. You can leave the setup unfinished if it asks for more access than you want to grant; select a different trial rather than connecting every available service.

4. 4

   Step 4: Name the app and the item in your request

   Return to chat, type @ and select your connected app from the menu. Paste the prompt below and replace the brackets with your item title and question. Selecting the menu item makes the app choice explicit.

   For a Google Workspace connection that supports finding Drive documents, ask for the opening date in Maple Studio website brief and request the source. Keep the first attempt to that one item and one answer.

   Illustrated exampleMake a small request with an explicit app and item

   ✳New chat•••

   DConnected app selected with @Google Drive

   One item · one answer

   Find the opening date in Maple Studio website brief. Quote the line you used and link the source.

   Send request

   01

   Name the app
   Select it from the @ menu so the choice is explicit.

   02

   Name the item
   Use its exact title or an identifying phrase.

   03

   Ask what you can verify
   A known answer helps separate a match from a guess.

5. 5

   Step 5: Check the result against the original

   Open the referenced item in the original app. Compare the title, account and actual wording with Gemini’s answer. A confident summary is not proof that it found the right item.

   If Gemini finds the wrong document, give the exact title and an identifying phrase. If it cannot connect, return to Connectors, check the account and supported actions, and check Keep Activity. If the app is missing altogether, stop this walkthrough for that app; prompting cannot add an unavailable connection.

   Illustrated exampleVerify the source, then decide whether to disconnect

   Gemini resultOpening date: 14 May Maple Studio website brief

   Original Drive itemMaple Studio website brief

   “Opening date: 14 May”

   Check title, account and wording

   All three matchKeep or disconnect the trial.

   Wrong or missing sourceCheck account, supported actions and Keep Activity. Don’t trust a confident guess.

   Done with the trial? Customize → Connectors → app More options → Disconnect

6. 6

   Step 6: Find the disconnect control

   Return to Customize, then Connectors. The app’s More options menu includes Disconnect. Disconnect the trial app if you no longer want Gemini to use it.

   Keep a note of the question that worked and which account held the source. That is a better starting point for a second task than a vague instruction to use all your apps.

Use the app I selected to find [exact item title or identifying words]. Answer this one question: [question whose answer I can check]. Identify the item you used and include its source link if available. If you cannot access it or find several possible matches, tell me rather than guessing. Only retrieve and summarize information for this trial; do not change any items.