An AI agent is only useful if it can reach your tools. For many businesses, three tools cover most of the day-to-day: Gmail for exchanges with clients and suppliers, Google Sheets for tracking (quotes, orders, prospects, inventory) and Slack for internal communication.
This tutorial explains how to connect them to an agent on Future Agent, what happens when you connect, what precautions to take and how to combine all three in useful agents.
What “connecting” a tool means#
Connecting a tool means authorizing the agent to act in that tool on your behalf, within the limits you accept. For Gmail, Google Sheets and Slack, this goes through these services' standard authorization protocol (OAuth):
- you're redirected to Google's or Slack's official page;
- you see the list of requested permissions;
- you click “Allow”;
- the tool issues an access token to the platform, without your password ever being shared.
This token can be revoked at any time, from Future Agent or from your Google or Slack account.
Step 1: Describe the task#
You don't need to connect your tools in advance. Describe your task in the chat, for example:
Every time I receive an email in Gmail with the “Order” label, add a row to my “Orders 2026” Google Sheet with the client, products, amount and requested delivery date, then notify the #orders channel on Slack.
The AI architect identifies the tools needed and asks for the connections at the right moment, after asking its questions (which label, which file, which channel).
Step 2: Connect your tools in one click#
In the chat, a card appears for each tool to connect, with a “Connect” button.
- Click “Connect” next to Gmail. A window opens directly on Google's authorization page.
- Choose the Google account to use, if you have several.
- Read the requested permissions, then click “Allow.”
- The window closes by itself and the button switches to “Connected.”
Repeat for Google Sheets and Slack. For Slack, you pick the workspace; depending on its settings, an admin may need to approve the app.
When several connections are needed, a “Connect all” button runs through them in sequence. If you've already authorized a tool, the connection is reused and the authorization step is usually skipped.
All your connections are listed on the Connectors page, which covers more than 1,600 apps: CRMs, invoicing, file storage, social media, project management tools.
Step 3: Check with a sample#
Before launch, the architect shows you a sample of what the agent will produce: the row it would add to your spreadsheet, the message it would post on Slack. Check:
- that it's the right file and the right tab;
- that the columns are in the right order and format (dates, amounts);
- that the Slack channel is correct and the message is readable;
- that the targeted emails are the right ones (label, sender, period).
Step 4: Launch and monitor#
Once the agent is live, each run appears in the dashboard with its log: emails read, rows added, messages sent. If there's an access problem (expired authorization, changed password), the tool's button switches to “Reconnect”: one click restores access.
Best practices by tool#
Gmail#
- Use labels to target the emails to process. “Emails with the Invoices label” is more reliable than “emails that look like invoices,” even though the agent can also read the content.
- Start with drafts for anything going outside the company. The agent prepares the reply in Gmail; you send it.
- Consider a shared address (contact@, quotes@) for team tasks rather than your personal inbox.
- Spell out what must never be touched: “don't delete any emails,” “don't archive anything from the bank.”
Google Sheets#
- A clear header row: explicit column names (“Sent date,” “Status,” “Amount excl. tax”) help the agent find its way.
- A status column: it tells the agent what's pending, in progress or done.
- Consistent formats: dates in the same format, amounts with no text around them.
- A dedicated tab for the agent if several people use the file, so it doesn't write in the middle of a shared table.
- No merged cells in the agent's working area.
Slack#
- A dedicated channel (#sales-alerts, #quote-agent) keeps the team from drowning in automated messages.
- Short messages: ask for a three-line summary with a link to the details rather than a wall of text.
- Targeted mentions: the agent can mention the person an alert concerns rather than the whole channel.
Four scenarios ready to copy#
1. Sales announced on Slack#
For every payment received on Stripe, post a message in #sales with the client, product and amount. Every evening at 7 p.m., post the day's total and a comparison with the previous day.
Template: Sales alerts.
2. Form submissions in Google Sheets#
For every contact form submission, add a row to the “Requests” tab of my Google Sheet with the name, email, phone number in international format and the need summarized in one sentence. Remove duplicates. Send the requester an acknowledgment from Gmail and notify #sales on Slack.
Template: Forms to spreadsheet.
3. Follow-ups from a Google Sheet#
Every morning at 9 a.m., read the “Quotes” tab of my “Sales tracking” file. For each quote sent more than 5 business days ago, with no reply and no follow-up, prepare a follow-up draft in Gmail, in a professional tone. Log the date in the “Follow-up” column. Post the list of prepared drafts in #sales.
Template: Quote follow-up.
4. Spreadsheet and CRM in sync#
Every evening, compare my “Prospects” Google Sheet with my CRM. Add to the CRM any contacts that exist only in the spreadsheet, update statuses that have changed, and post on Slack the list of differences you couldn't resolve.
Template: CRM and spreadsheet sync.
Permissions at a glance#
| Tool | What the agent typically does | Recommended precaution |
|---|---|---|
| Gmail | Read targeted emails, prepare drafts, send, label | Drafts first, labels to target, no deletion |
| Google Sheets | Read rows, add rows, update columns | Dedicated tab, status column, consistent formats |
| Slack | Post in a channel, mention someone, read a channel | Dedicated channel, short messages |
The exact permissions are shown by Google and Slack when you connect. Take the time to read them: they define what the agent will be able to do.
Disconnecting a tool#
You can remove a connection at any time:
- from Future Agent, on the Connectors page, with the “Disconnect” button;
- from your Google account, in the security settings, under third-party apps with access to your account;
- from Slack, in your workspace's app management.
Once access is removed, the agents that depend on it can no longer act in that tool: pause them or reconnect the tool so they can resume.
Common problems and fixes#
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| The connection window doesn't open | Browser blocking pop-ups | Allow pop-ups for the site, or let the full-page redirect happen |
| The button says “Reconnect” | Authorization expired or revoked | Click it and authorize again |
| Slack asks for approval | Workspace that controls apps | Ask the workspace admin to approve it |
| The agent writes in the wrong place | Ambiguous file or tab | Name the file and tab precisely in the instruction |
| Badly filled rows | Inconsistent headers or formats | Clarify the headers and standardize formats |
Prepare your tools before connecting#
Ten minutes of prep saves most later adjustments:
- In Gmail, create the labels the agent will need (“Quotes,” “Invoices,” “Orders”) and, if possible, a filter that applies them automatically to the right senders.
- In Google Sheets, clean up the first row of your file: one name per column, no duplicates or empty cells, and add a “Status” column if there isn't one.
- In Slack, create the channel that will receive the agent's messages and invite the right people.
- Write down the exact names of the file, tab, labels and channel: you'll give them as-is in the instruction.
Going further#
Once these three tools are connected, most office tasks become automatable. For ideas, see 25 tasks to hand off to an AI agent. To understand what the agent can see and what it keeps, read our article on security and privacy. And to chain several agents around the same spreadsheet, see multi-agent workflows.
In short#
- Connecting goes through Google's or Slack's official page: you authorize, and no password is shared.
- No need to connect in advance: the architect asks for tools when they're needed.
- Target with Gmail labels, structure your Google Sheets, dedicate a Slack channel.
- Check the sample before launch, then follow the first logs.
- Disconnect at any time from the Connectors page or from the tool itself.