Perplexity's Google Drive connector enables Enterprise Pro and Enterprise Max users to search their organization's Google Drive files directly through AI-powered natural language queries.
We have recently introduced a hybrid search architecture that addresses both data security concerns and scalability limitations through two distinct search modes: High-Precision Search (indexing-based) and Standard Search (API-based).
Queries Google Drive directly via Google's Search API at query time
No file copies stored in Perplexity infrastructure, aside from results found from queries (can be mitigated by data retention policy settings)
Searches across the user's entire Google Drive without file count limitations
Available to all Enterprise Pro and Enterprise Max users immediately upon connector activation
Zero Data Retention: Files are not copied or stored in Perplexity systems, aside from results found from queries (can be mitigated by data retention policy settings)
Real-time Permissions: Respects Google Drive's native access controls dynamically
Minimal Data Copying: Only citation snippets included in answers are retained
No Model Training: Synced files are never used to train AI models
Immediate Access Revocation: When Google Drive permissions change, access is immediately reflected in Perplexity
Use Case: Organizations requiring maximum data privacy and minimal data footprint, especially for searching across millions of files at enterprise scale.
Users select specific files/folders to sync for local indexing in Perplexity
Files are downloaded, parsed, and stored in dedicated AWS S3 buckets with vector embeddings in Vespa
Enables deeper semantic analysis and more comprehensive answers
File Limits: 500 files per project (Enterprise Pro), 5,000 files per Project (Enterprise Max)
Total User Limits: 15,000 files (Enterprise Pro), 50,000 files (Enterprise Max)
Dedicated Storage: Each organization's files stored in isolated AWS S3 "folders" with unique namespaces in Vespa vector storage
Encryption: AES-256 encryption at rest, TLS encryption in transit
Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): Minimum privilege access enforced across all systems (Note: Perplexity adheres to Google Drive's file permissions)
No Model Training: Synced files are never used to train AI models
Automatic Sync: File changes/deletions in Google Drive are automatically reflected in Perplexity
Use Case: Teams requiring maximum answer accuracy for frequently accessed documents, project-specific file collections, or collaborative projects with curated content.
Admin Enablement: Organization admins enable Google Drive connector in Permissions settings
User Authentication: Users authenticate via OAuth 2.0 through Google
Drive Selection: Users select their Google Drive to connect
Admin Consent: Google Workspace admins may need to grant organization-wide consent for Perplexity app in Google Admin Console
Perplexity queries both the local index and Google Drive API concurrently
Results are re-ranked to prioritize the most relevant sources
Citations link directly back to Google Drive for full file access
File Selection: User selects files/folders through Perplexity UI
Download: Files downloaded from Google Drive via Google Drive API
Storage: Raw files stored in AWS S3 with dedicated organizational namespaces
Parsing: Text extraction from supported formats (PDF, DOCX, XLSX, PPTX, CSV, TXT, MD, JSON)
Vectorization: Content converted to embeddings and stored in Vespa vector database
Metadata Indexing: File metadata (name, path, permissions) indexed for search retrieval
Removal: When a user disconnects Google Drive from Perplexity, they can choose to remove any indexed files
If a user loses access to a file in Google Drive, that file is immediately removed from Perplexity
File deletions in Google Drive trigger immediate removal from Perplexity index
Users can only search files they have explicit Google Drive permissions to access
Admins control which users can access connectors via Organization settings
Files synced to projects are searchable by Project members, but accessing the files requires the appropriate Google Drive permissions
Session sharing respects organizational sharing policies set by organization admins
Project-specific file collections in projects
Frequently accessed knowledge base documents
Files requiring deep semantic analysis
Collaborative team environments with curated content
Searching across vast file repositories (millions of files)
Strict data residency and minimal data copying requirements
Exploratory searches across infrequently accessed files
Organizations with heightened security/compliance constraints