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How to Give an AI Assistant Calendar Access Safely

Published by 3Gen Internet Corporation, maker of OpenAssistant, Skej and AGNT. Comparisons use public documentation, without hands-on testing.

A tabletop calendar behind a small protective ceramic permission gate, a key and approval stamp beside selected appointment tiles, safe controlled calendar access.

The steps below are taken from each vendor’s help pages. We have not run them.

To give an AI assistant calendar access safely, start with read-only access, set anything that creates or changes events to ask first, and know where the off switch is, both in the assistant and at Google or Microsoft.

Your calendar says where you’ll be, who you meet, and often what about. This guide walks through that for OpenAssistant, Claude and ChatGPT, then shows how to check and remove access from the Google and Microsoft side, which is where the access really lives.

Step 1: Decide read or write

If you want it to… It needs
Tell you what’s on today, prep you for meetings Read access
Find a free slot and tell you Read access
Create, move or cancel events Write access
Send invitations to other people Write access, and invitations go out from your calendar

Start with read. Add write only when you have a job for it. Writing to your calendar can also email attendees: Anthropic notes, for example, that when Claude writes an event through Microsoft 365, Microsoft automatically sends attendees an invitation or update. (Anthropic)

Step 2: Connect with the least access

OpenAssistant

Calendar permission is required during OpenAssistant’s onboarding, and it lets the assistant view, change and create events. (OpenAssistant) To approve every change first, set the Calendar Actions autonomy category to Manual. (OpenAssistant) OpenAssistant’s changelog says it regrouped these settings, so the labels in the app may differ from the help center. (OpenAssistant changelog) Learn more at OpenAssistant.

Claude

Google Calendar: Anthropic says the Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Drive connectors are available to all Claude users, and that the Calendar connector can view events, find availability, and also create, update and delete events and respond to invitations. (Anthropic)

  1. Click + in a chat, hover over Connectors, then Manage connectors, and click + next to Connectors. Or go to Customize > Connectors and click +.
  2. Click the connector, review what it can do, and click Connect.
  3. Complete Google’s sign-in.

(Anthropic)

Anthropic also describes per-tool permissions under Customize > Connectors, then the connector, then Tool permissions, where each tool can be Always allow, Needs approval or Blocked. Its doc presents this as a control for Team and Enterprise owners that applies to the whole organization, and doesn’t say whether individual Pro or Max users get it. If you have it, set tools that create, change or delete events to Needs approval, or Blocked if you only want prep and summaries. (Anthropic)

Anthropic’s separate Google Calendar connector page describes the connector as read-only and lists it for Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise, which conflicts with Anthropic’s support article. (Anthropic) By default, Anthropic says each action Claude takes for you needs your explicit approval. (Anthropic)

You can switch connectors on or off per conversation (+, Connectors, then toggle), but Anthropic says that once an app is connected, Claude can bring it into a conversation on its own when it fits your request. If you want no calendar access at all, disconnect it. (Anthropic)

Outlook: Claude’s Microsoft 365 connector needs a work account in a Microsoft Entra tenant with a Microsoft Business plan, and a Global Administrator’s one-time consent. Personal Outlook.com and Hotmail accounts can’t be used. Calendar access starts read-only; an admin has to enable write tools. (Anthropic)

ChatGPT

ChatGPT’s connections to other services now live under Settings > Plugins. (OpenAI)

Set the default permission (OpenAI says it may only appear after you install a plugin that includes an app; if Settings shows Apps instead of Plugins, look there):

  1. Open your profile menu and select Settings.
  2. Select Plugins, then Permissions.
  3. Choose Always ask or Allow read actions.

(OpenAI)

The options are Always ask, Allow read actions and Allow low-risk actions. A fourth, Allow all actions, is only offered per app or account, and OpenAI describes it as higher risk. OpenAI gives sending an invitation as an example of a higher-risk action. (OpenAI)

Connect the calendar:

  1. In Settings > Plugins, select the calendar app or the plugin that includes it.
  2. Select Install plugin if shown, then Connect.
  3. Sign in to the right Google or Microsoft account and review the permissions.

(OpenAI)

For Google, if ChatGPT says it needs all requested permissions, the doc says to select Try again and choose Select all on Google’s screen, or Select fewer apps to connect fewer Google apps. (OpenAI) OpenAI’s admin FAQ lists calendar.events and meetings.space.readonly as the Google scopes for Google Calendar actions. (OpenAI) No OpenAI article cited here lists exactly what ChatGPT does with Google Calendar.

The Outlook Calendar app can read events and availability, and create, update, RSVP to, cancel or delete events on supported shared calendars when your Microsoft permissions and actions allow it (in a business workspace, an admin decides). OpenAI notes that ChatGPT doesn’t grant anyone Microsoft sharing or delegate permissions. (OpenAI)

When ChatGPT wants to act, it shows an approval card. Choose Allow once rather than Always allow until you trust the task. (OpenAI)

Step 3: If an assistant needs its own access, share instead of signing in

Some assistants work from their own account and ask you to share your calendar with them, the way you would with a human assistant. Calendar sharing has finer levels than an app connection, so use the lowest one that works.

Google Calendar (on a computer):

  1. Open Google Calendar. On the left, click My calendars.
  2. Next to your calendar, click More, then Settings and sharing.
  3. Click Shared with, then Add people and groups, and add the address.
  4. Pick a level: See only free/busy (hide details), See event details, Make changes (see private events as free/busy), Make changes and see event details, or Make changes and manage sharing.
  5. Click Send.

Avoid Make changes and manage sharing: it lets the other account share your calendar onward. (Google) If you use a work account, your admin decides whether you can share. (Google)

Outlook (new Outlook and Outlook on the web):

  1. Select Calendar, then Share Calendar on the Home tab.
  2. Type the person’s name or address.
  3. Pick a level: Can view when I’m busy, Can view titles and locations, Can view all details, Can edit, or Delegate.
  4. Select Share.

Delegate also sends them meeting requests and lets them respond for you. It needs a work or school account, and you can’t give edit or delegate access to anyone outside your organization. Microsoft also warns not to rely on marking events Private to hide them from people with access. (Microsoft)

Step 4: Know how to take it back

Disconnecting inside the assistant isn’t the whole job. Remove access on the calendar provider’s side too.

In Claude: Customize > Connectors, click the connector, click Disconnect, then Disconnect again to confirm. (Anthropic)

In ChatGPT: Settings > Plugins, select the app, open the account’s ••• menu (or Connection), and select Disconnect. Disconnecting doesn’t delete existing chats or memories. (OpenAI) Changing a permission setting doesn’t disconnect the app or revoke access already granted. (OpenAI)

In your Google Account:

  1. Go to your Google Account’s linked apps page (myaccount.google.com/linkedapps).
  2. Select Access to your Google Account, then the app.
  3. Select See details to see what it can do.
  4. Select Remove access, then Confirm.

Google’s page also has an Agent access filter for Gemini and AI agents. (Google) Removing access doesn’t delete data the app already copied; ask the developer for that. Some apps let you limit access to 30 or 180 days when you grant it. (Google)

In a Microsoft work or school account: in the My Apps portal, hover over the app, select …, then Manage your application, and use Revoke Permissions for what you consented to. Permissions your admin granted can’t be revoked by you. (Microsoft)

To stop calendar sharing: in Google Calendar, Settings and sharing, Shared with, then Remove. In Outlook, Share Calendar, then Remove next to the person. (Google, Microsoft)

A safe-setup checklist

Check it yourself

This section is advice for you. We have not run these checks.

After connecting, check that your settings do what you think:

  1. Ask the assistant “What’s on my calendar tomorrow?” With read allowed (ChatGPT: Allow read actions), it should answer without asking for approval.
  2. Ask it to “Move my 3pm to 4pm.” It should stop and ask, or refuse.
  3. Revoke access at Google or Microsoft, then ask question 1 again. It should fail.

FAQ

Should I give an AI assistant read or write access to my calendar?

Start with read. It is enough to tell you what is on today, prep you for meetings and find a free slot. Add write only when you have a job for it, because writing to your calendar can also email attendees.

How do I make an assistant ask before it changes my calendar?

In OpenAssistant, set Calendar Actions to Manual. In ChatGPT, choose Always ask or Allow read actions. In Claude, set tools that create, change or delete events to Needs approval, where Tool permissions are available to you.

Is disconnecting inside the assistant enough?

No. Remove access on the calendar provider’s side too: Google’s linked apps page, or the My Apps portal for a Microsoft work or school account. Removing access does not delete data an app already copied.

What is the safest way to share my calendar with an assistant that has its own account?

Use the lowest sharing level that works. In Google Calendar that can be free/busy only; avoid Make changes and manage sharing, because it lets the other account share your calendar onward.

Can Claude connect to Outlook?

Claude’s Microsoft 365 connector needs a work account in a Microsoft Entra tenant with a Business plan and a Global Administrator’s one-time consent. Calendar access starts read-only.

Try OpenAssistant

If you want an assistant that asks before it changes your calendar, Try OpenAssistant and set Calendar Actions to Manual. Plans are on the pricing page.

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