Connecting a Coworker to one of your systems

A connector lets a Coworker reach one of your organization's own systems, such as a customer database or an internal API. You build one in conversation: ask the Coworker to work with the system, and it does the setup with you. The finished connector belongs to your whole organization, so other Coworkers can use it once it is enabled for them.

Who can build a connector#

A connector is built with a Coworker's Supervisor in the conversation. If you are the Coworker's Supervisor, the Coworker offers to build one when you ask for a system it cannot reach.

Anyone else who asks gets a plain answer instead: if a connector for that system exists but is not enabled for this Coworker, the Coworker names it and tells you that its Supervisor must enable it. If none exists, it tells you that its Supervisor can set one up with it.

Work a Coworker does on its own from a trigger never builds a connector, because nobody who can approve one is in the conversation.

What happens when you ask#

Start by telling the Coworker what you want, for example "Look up last week's leads in our CRM database." The Coworker then works through these steps with you.

1. It checks for an existing connector. If your organization already has one for the system and it is enabled for this Coworker, the Coworker uses it. If it exists but is not enabled, the Coworker shows you an Enable card instead of building another one. See Connectors for a Coworker.
2. It asks about purpose and scope. Expect questions about which system you mean, what you call it, what you want to do with it, and whether it should only read or also make changes. Reading only is the starting point unless you agree otherwise. Your answer sets whether the connector is a Read or a Write. Your administrator sees this in Settings > Connectors. Be accurate: a connector marked Read runs without any check, while one that makes changes is checked before risky actions run (see Connectors for a Coworker).
3. It asks for credentials through a secure card. The Coworker never asks you to paste a password or connection string into the chat. A card appears that reads the Coworker's name, "is asking for", and the name of the credential. Type the value into the Value field, choose Where to store it when you are offered a choice, and select Save. The value is stored encrypted and cannot be viewed again, only replaced. If a value already exists, the card shows Current value with Keep using the current value and Replace value. Dismiss declines the request. See Secrets.
4. It tests the connection and explores with you. Once the credential is saved, the Coworker carries on by itself. It connects, maps what the system holds (for a database, its tables, columns and a few sample rows) and summarizes what it found. Confirm which parts matter and what the names mean.
5. It saves the connector. The Coworker names the connector for its business purpose, in your words, for example "Internal CRM database", and writes usage notes from what it saw: the real tables or endpoints, value formats and example requests that worked. Other Coworkers read these notes before they use the connector.

The connector is enabled for the Coworker that built it straight away. The Coworker's last message tells you the connector's name, that it is listed under Settings > Connectors, and that another Coworker can use it once its Supervisor enables it on that Coworker's details page.

Changing a connector later#

Ask the Coworker that uses the connector to fix or extend it, for example to rename it, add a table to its notes or let it make changes as well as read. The Coworker updates the existing connector rather than building a second one. A Coworker can mark a connector as making changes but cannot mark it as read-only afterward; ask your administrator to do that in Settings > Connectors. Only the person who built the connector can have it changed; for anyone else the Coworker says so.

When a connector is renamed, scripts and workflows that call it by its old name need updating. The Coworker tells you when that applies.

Answering cards in a conversation#

After you answer a card, such as saving a credential or enabling a connector, the Coworker continues on its own. Its follow-up work appears as a new reply with its own Show work button.