The Microsoft 365 connector is available for users on Team and Enterprise plans.
This article explains how to connect Claude to Microsoft 365 using our pre-built MCP connector, allowing Claude to search, analyze, and access information across SharePoint, OneDrive, Outlook, and Teams.
With Microsoft 365 connected, Claude can:
Search and analyze documents across SharePoint sites and OneDrive libraries
Access email threads and analyze communications from Outlook
Review meeting information from Teams Calendar
Pull insights from Teams Chat discussions
Enabling the Microsoft 365 connector
Enabling the Microsoft 365 connector for your organization requires two separate setup phases with specific steps that must be completed by either a Microsoft Entra Admin, or a Team or Enterprise plan Owner.
Prerequisites for enablement:
A user with an Owner or Primary Owner role on Team or Enterprise organization
Someone with administrator access to your organization's Microsoft Entra instance (doesn’t need to be the Owner). They’ll need:
Access to Microsoft Graph Explorer / Microsoft Graph API permissions
Your organization's tenant ID
Users must have Microsoft 365 accounts to install the connector and start using it with Claude.
Phase 1: Initial Microsoft Admin Setup
The Microsoft Entra Admin must complete a one-time setup process before Team and Enterprise plan users can access the Microsoft 365 connector. This process adds two service principals to Graph Explorer; each principal establishes a service-level identity for one of the two M365 MCP for Claude app registrations in your tenant, allowing them to access and interact with your organization's data and resources via the Microsoft Graph API.
Steps:
1. Add the service principals
Using Microsoft Graph Explorer, add both required service principals:
M365 MCP Client for Claude
{"appId":"08ad6f98-a4f8-4635-bb8d-f1a3044760f0"}
M365 MCP Server for Claude
{"appId":"07c030f6-5743-41b7-ba00-0a6e85f37c17"}
2. Grant admin pre-consent
Construct and visit the following URLs in your browser, replacing {your-tenant-id} with your organization's tenant ID:
M365 MCP Client for Claude
M365 MCP Server for Claude
When you visit each URL, you'll be prompted to consent to the delegated user permissions required by the integration on behalf of your organization.
3. Enable in Claude Admin Settings
After the Microsoft Entra Admin completes the admin consent process, an organization Owner needs to:
Sign in to Claude.
Navigate to Admin Settings > Connectors.
Click the “Browse connectors” button at the bottom of the page.
Find "Microsoft 365" and click "Add to your team."
“Microsoft 365” will now appear in the list of Connectors at Settings > Connectors.
4. Enable in individual Claude Settings
After completing the previous step on behalf of the organization, the Microsoft Entra Admin needs to connect to Microsoft 365 in their individual Claude user settings:
Navigate to Settings > Connectors.
Find "Microsoft 365" in the list and click "Connect."
Authenticate with your Microsoft 365 credentials.
You can then review and accept the requested permissions, checking the box to grant access on behalf of the whole organization. Note that you’ll see two separate authentication screens: one for the MCP client and another for the MCP server.
You must complete this step before any team members can connect to Microsoft 365 individually.
5. Test the connector
After you connect successfully, run a quick test to ensure the connector is working as expected. Start a new chat with Claude and try making a simple request (e.g., “List all of my SharePoint docs”). If Claude can access the requested data using the MCP connection, this confirms the connector is working, so individual users can start authenticating and using the Microsoft 365 connector.
Phase 2: Enablement steps for Team and Enterprise users
Once enabled by an Owner, individual members can choose to connect Claude to Microsoft 365 in their settings.
Steps:
Navigate to Settings > Connectors.
Find "Microsoft 365" in the list and click "Connect."
Authenticate with your Microsoft 365 credentials to start using the Microsoft 365 connector with Claude.
Note: Once you've added the Microsoft connector to your Claude account, you can authenticate with the tool and use it on Claude for iOS or Android.
How to use the Microsoft 365 connector
Simply ask Claude a question that requires accessing your Microsoft 365 data. Claude will automatically detect which tools it needs and retrieve the relevant information.
Example queries
"Find the Q4 strategic planning document in SharePoint."
"Summarize email conversations about the product launch."
"What discussions happened in the Teams channel about the marketing campaign?"
"Review meeting notes from last week's leadership sync."
Claude will provide a response based on information retrieved from your Microsoft 365 environment, including relevant context and citations when applicable.
SharePoint and OneDrive document access
Search documents across SharePoint sites and libraries to locate project specifications, strategic plans, and other business documents.
Access files stored in your OneDrive and have Claude analyze content without manually uploading.
Consolidate information from distributed file locations and analyze trends across multiple documents.
Outlook email analysis
Search email threads and conversations to track project status, client feedback, and team alignment.
Access message content and metadata, filtering by date, sender, subject, and other criteria.
Analyze communication patterns and find specific information from past correspondences.
Outlook Calendar meeting analysis and summarization
Review meeting summaries, attendee information, and content to prepare for upcoming meetings or understand discussions you missed.
Analyze scheduling patterns and track project decisions.
Teams chat capabilities
Access Teams chat messages and channel discussions where you're a participant.
Review team collaboration patterns and find decisions made across conversations.
What permissions does the Microsoft 365 connector require?
When you connect the Microsoft 365 integration, you'll be asked to grant several permissions that allow Claude to access your Microsoft 365 data on your behalf.
Important to understand:
All permissions are delegated permissions, which means Claude acts on your behalf and can only access data you already have permission to view in Microsoft 365.
Claude can only access Microsoft 365 data for the account you've connected.
Claude cannot access anything beyond your existing permissions.
These permissions enable read-only access—Claude cannot modify, delete, or create content in your Microsoft 365 environment.
Permission categories
During authentication, the Microsoft 365 connector requests the following permissions:
Basic access
User.Read: Sign in and read your user profile
Email (Outlook)
Mail.Read: Read your email messages
Mail.ReadBasic: Read email metadata (sender, subject, date)
Mail.Read.Shared: Read emails in mailboxes you have access to
MailboxFolder.Read: Read your mailbox folder structure
MailboxItem.Read: Read items in your mailbox
Calendar
Calendars.Read: Read your calendar events
Calendars.Read.Shared: Read calendars shared with you
Teams Chat
Chat.Read: Read your Teams chat messages
Chat.ReadBasic: Read Teams chat metadata
ChatMember.Read: Read information about chat participants
ChatMessage.Read: Read your Teams chat messages
Teams Channels
Channel.ReadBasic.All: Read channel names and descriptions
ChannelMessage.Read.All: Read channel messages
Meetings
OnlineMeetings.Read: Read your online meetings
OnlineMeetingTranscript.Read.All: Read meeting transcripts
OnlineMeetingAiInsight.Read: Read AI-generated meeting insights
OnlineMeetingArtifact.Read.All: Read meeting recordings and artifacts
OnlineMeetingRecording.Read.All: Read meeting recordings
Files (OneDrive and SharePoint)
Files.Read: Read your files
Files.Read.All: Read all files you can access
Sites.Read.All: Read items in SharePoint sites
User Directory
User.ReadBasic.All: Read basic profile information for all users in your organization (used for finding meeting availability)
Why are these permissions needed?
These permissions allow Claude to do the following when prompted:
Search your emails, documents, and calendar to answer your questions.
Access meeting information and Teams discussions.
Find and analyze content across your Microsoft 365 environment.
Provide accurate, contextual responses based on your work data.
You can revoke these permissions at any time by disconnecting the connector in your Claude settings.
Selectively revoking permissions
To limit which types of resources the connector is able to access, you can selectively revoke permissions from the default set of authorized scopes the connector uses to access the Microsoft Graph API.
As a Microsoft Entra Admin, go to: entra.admin.com
Select “Enterprise Applications.”
Next to the search box, remove the application type filter.
Search for and click "M365 MCP Server for Claude."
Go to Permissions.
Under the Admin consent tab and in the Microsoft Graph list of permissions, select the permission you would like to revoke and click the breadcrumbs button (“...”).
Select “Revoke permission,” and confirm with the “Yes, revoke” button.
Claude will now be unable to access resources via that API. Attempts to access a resource with a revoked permission will show a "Failed to call tool <name of tool>".
As a convenience, users can also individually toggle off which tools the connector will use in the Microsoft 365 connector settings to prevent Claude from trying to access a tool for which the permission is revoked.
To restore a revoked permission, follow the steps to grant admin pre-consent described in Phase 1: Initial Microsoft Admin Setup. This will revert the permissions to the default state.
Privacy and security
Permission inheritance: Claude mirrors your existing Microsoft 365 permissions.
On-demand access: Claude only accesses your data when you explicitly ask questions requiring it.
Revocable access: You can disconnect the integration at any time through Settings > Connectors.
Troubleshooting
Authentication is failing. What should I check?
Verify your credentials: Ensure you're using the correct Microsoft 365 account.
Check subscription status: Confirm your Microsoft 365 license is active.
Review organizational policies: Your IT team may need to approve third-party app access.
Try a different browser: Some browsers may block authentication popups.
Disable browser extensions: Ad blockers or privacy extensions may interfere.
Clear cookies and cache: Try a fresh browser session.
Claude says it can't find documents I know exist
Check the following:
Permissions: Verify you have access to the document in Microsoft 365 directly.
Location: Ensure the document is in SharePoint or OneDrive, not local storage.
Indexing delay: Recently uploaded documents may take time to become searchable.
Specific location: Try specifying the exact SharePoint site or library name.
File name: Try searching by exact file name or unique keywords from the document.
Search results are incomplete or irrelevant
Tips to improve your search queries:
Be more specific about what you're looking for.
Specify locations (site names, date ranges, document types).
Use exact phrases for better matching.
Try breaking up complex queries into simpler, more focused questions.
Verify spelling of names, projects, or terms.
FAQ
Can Claude modify my Microsoft 365 data?
No. The current Microsoft 365 integration provides read-only access. Claude can search and analyze your data but cannot:
Create, edit, or delete documents
Send emails or calendar invites
Modify SharePoint sites or OneDrive files
Change Teams settings or permissions
Can I use the Microsoft 365 connector with Enterprise Search?
Yes, the Microsoft 365 connector works well with Enterprise Search. When enabled:
Enterprise Search can query Microsoft 365 alongside other connected tools.
You get unified search across Slack, Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, and more.
Enterprise Search's optimized prompts help Claude search more effectively.
Can Claude search archived emails?
Yes, Claude can search all emails you have access to in Outlook, including archived messages, as long as they're accessible through your account.
Does Claude search shared drives and team sites?
Yes, Claude can search any SharePoint sites and shared drives you have permission to access. This includes:
Team sites
Communication sites
SharePoint document libraries
Shared OneDrive folders
Can Claude access private Teams channels?
Claude can only access Teams content that you have permission to view in Microsoft 365. If you're a member of a private channel, Claude can search for that content. If you're not a member, Claude cannot access it.
How do I ask Claude to search specific locations?
Be specific in your queries:
For specific SharePoint sites: "Search the Engineering team site in SharePoint for architecture documents."
For specific date ranges: "Find emails from the last week about the Q4 budget."
For specific senders or topics: "Show me Teams discussions with Sarah about the product roadmap."
For specific file types: "Find PowerPoint presentations in SharePoint about sales strategy."
Can Claude summarize long email threads?
Yes. One of Claude's strengths is analyzing and summarizing complex communications. Try: "Summarize the email thread about the vendor selection process." Claude will read the thread and provide a concise summary with key points and decisions.
What happens if a Microsoft 365 user tries to enable the connector before an Entra Admin grants org-wide permission?
If a user without admin permissions attempts to connect their Microsoft 365 account, they will receive an error message indicating that a 365 Administrator must grant app permissions before they can use the connector. The connection attempt will fail until an admin approves the necessary permissions through Entra AD.