What is a connector?
A connector is a ready-made link between an AI app and another product, such as email, a calendar, or a CRM. It uses that product's API so you do not build the link yourself.
Also called: plugin, integration
In plain English
Vendors love the word. Read the list. 'Connectors' might mean Gmail and Calendar, not your industry software. If your source of truth is not on the list, the assistant can still draft from a paste. It cannot see the record. A connector is a product someone else maintains. When that vendor changes a field name, your workflow breaks on a Tuesday and the error looks like your prompt got worse. After you connect, send one real record through and read every field that landed. Keep a note of which account it uses, so offboarding is unplug, not archaeology. When the connector fails, read its status page before you rewrite the prompt. The outage may not be yours.
How an owner would use it
Write down the three systems that hold the truth. Check each AI app's connector list against those three. Connect read access first.
Common mistakes
A connector list is marketing until you see your actual system on it. Plugins, integrations, and connectors are the same shelf. Owners enable Gmail and assume the industry software came along. It did not. Do not paste exports into a chat every day and call that a connector. Either the connector exists and you have scoped it, or you are still copying. Both are fine. Pretending is not.
A worked example
A chimney sweep
Calendar yes, the paper ledger no
This is an illustration, not a customer result. The assistant connects to the company calendar and drafts the next day's route. It does not connect to the paper-to-spreadsheet ledger. Invoice amounts still get typed from that sheet when a reminder is due.
Related terms
Prompts and guides
Questions owners ask
What is a connector?
A connector is a prebuilt integration that lets an AI or automation app use another tool's API, within the permissions you approve.
How do I use connectors?
Turn on the ones that match your real systems, start with read access, and do not assume a connector exists for every app you use.
Is a connector the same as MCP?
A connector is the ready-made link you turn on. MCP is one standard that link might use. You can have a connector that never mentions MCP, and an MCP plug that is not the connector you need.
Product guides are on AI apps for business.