Documentation
Connecting your systems (MCP)
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MCP (the Model Context Protocol) is an open standard for giving an AI assistant tools. AI Assistant lets your mate use your tools through your own MCP server, on behalf of your customers, under rules you set. Each tool gets an access level — open to anyone, signed-in customers, or on the customer's behalf — and every change you mark waits for a confirmation card. Your server learns who the customer is from a signed token it verifies, and returns only that customer's data.
If your systems already speak MCP, your mate connects to them the same way it connects to anyone's — no platform-specific glue.
How your mate acts on your customers' data
When your assistant needs to do something, it calls a tool on your MCP server. Two things make that safe:
- Your mate tells your server who the customer is — as a short-lived, cryptographically signed token your server verifies. It can't be faked or replayed, so your server always knows exactly which of your customers a request is for.
- Your server enforces the scope. Because your MCP server knows the customer, it returns and changes only that customer's data. Your mate never sees more than your server hands it.
Access levels
Every tool you expose gets an access level, so the assistant can only reach what's appropriate for who's asking:
| Access level | Who it's for | What it allows |
|---|---|---|
| Open to anyone | Anyone, including visitors | Safe, non-personal look-ups — product info, general help. |
| Signed-in customers | A signed-in customer | Look-ups and actions on their own data only. |
| On the customer's behalf | A signed-in customer, for actions that need their say-so | The same, for actions you want the customer to authorize. |
| Confirmation step | Any change you mark | The customer must confirm before it runs — the full action is shown first. |
Changes that matter are held behind a confirmation step: Your mate shows exactly what it's about to do and waits for a yes. Nothing changes silently.
Questions
Does my server have to speak MCP?
Yes — standard MCP over HTTPS, JSON-RPC 2.0, with schemas on
tools/list. No platform-specific glue.How does my server know which customer is asking?
From the verified token your mate sends: a short-lived signed proof, or a per-customer OAuth token. Never from an account id in a tool's arguments.
Automatic proof or per-customer OAuth?
The signed proof when your product already verified the visitor and you want no second consent. OAuth when a separate consent screen is intentional.
Where do I set it up?