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Connectors: what they actually read and write

A connector's capabilities are checked service by service: as recorded on 2 September 2026, the Google Workspace Gmail connector can send, reply to and forward messages directly, with approval requested by default before each send, which on a Team or Enterprise plan an organisation owner can allow members to lift, while the Microsoft 365 connector for Outlook can also send, but only once an administrator of the account has switched on that capability for the whole organisation.

A connector's capabilities should never be guessed by resemblance to another tool from the same vendor. As recorded on 2 September 2026, the Google Workspace Gmail connector can send, reply to and forward messages directly.

An approval by default, revocable under condition

By default, Cowork asks for approval before each of these three sends. On a Team or Enterprise account, it is the account's administrators who decide whether members can let these actions run without asking for confirmation each time.

Cowork : envoyer ce message a fournisseur@exemple.fr ?
Approbation requise par defaut avant chaque envoi

The word shown on screen is the same, send, but the switch that authorises it is not in the same place depending on which mail service is used.

Two switches, two different locations

The Microsoft 365 connector for Outlook can also send a message, update a calendar or create a file, but this capability depends on what an administrator of the account has switched on across the whole organisation. An account connected before these writing functions arrived stays blocked until an administrator has gone through the activation steps required.

On a Team or Enterprise plan, an organisation owner decides whether members have the right to lift this approval; outside these plans, the documentation describes no way to remove it. Outlook places the activation switch on the administrator's side of the account, off by default. Checking which of the two applies before promising an automatic send avoids announcing a capability that is not yet open. In both cases, as long as the default setting has not been changed, the proposed action stays displayed before it goes out, which leaves one last chance to reread the recipient and the content of the message.

What still needs checking before promising a send

A connector capability documented today can change tomorrow with no visible warning in the interface. Before telling a colleague or a member that a send will go out automatically, opening the documentation for the exact connector being used, not that of a neighbouring connector from the same vendor, avoids promising a capability that does not yet exist or that has just changed without anyone noticing.

The rule that does not change

This check has to be redone for each connector taken separately, a calendar, a storage space, an internal messaging tool: see what Cowork can touch for the full map of the access plans a connector sits within.