Connect Claude & ChatGPT to your business — with MCP
MCP — the Model Context Protocol — is the open standard that lets AI assistants connect to external tools and data. Zylx Studio runs an MCP server, so any assistant you authorize can query your Business Brain: your real products, customers, analytics, search performance, and revenue. Reads by default. Changes go through human approval.
The architecture
Shopify · Search Console · GA4 · Ads · Stripe · more
Business Brain + tools + approval queue
Authorization
Claude and generic clients use scoped access tokens generated in Studio; ChatGPT connects via OAuth with your explicit consent. Every connection is workspace-scoped.
Reads by default
Assistants query the Business Brain and connected data. Answers carry provenance — where a number came from and how fresh it is.
Writes are proposals
Supported actions become proposals in Studio's approval queue. A human approves; high-risk actions require an extra confirmation. Executions are verified and logged.
Revocation
Revoke a token or disconnect OAuth and access ends immediately. Remove a data connection and its context stops flowing into the Brain.
Pick your assistant
Setup is a short guided flow in Zylx Studio's Servers page: choose a scope, generate a connection, add the server in your assistant, and run a test call before you rely on it. The steps differ by product, so each has its own guide.
Connect Claude
Custom connectors, the desktop config file, and Claude Code — plus what Claude can read and what it cannot change.
Read the guideConnect ChatGPT
Developer-mode custom connectors, what the OAuth approval actually grants, and how the flow differs from Claude's.
Read the guideMCP explained for operators
What an MCP server does to a business, the five questions to ask before connecting one, and how to tell whether you need one.
Read the guideUnderstand the protocol
Written from running one in production, not from summarising the specification.
MCP security
Authorization, scopes, tenant isolation and prompt injection — plus a 10-point checklist for auditing a server.
MCP clients
What an AI app must support to connect to a remote server, which ones do, and what differs between them.
MCP vs API
MCP runs on top of ordinary APIs. What it adds — and when a plain API is still the right call.
Evaluating a server
Five questions that decide whether connecting an MCP server is safe, with our own answers as a worked example.
MCP FAQ
What is MCP (Model Context Protocol)?
MCP is an open protocol, introduced by Anthropic in 2024, that lets AI assistants connect to external tools and data sources in a standard way. Instead of building one-off integrations per assistant, a system exposes an MCP server, and any compatible client — Claude, ChatGPT, and a growing list of others — can connect to it.
What is the Zylx MCP server?
Zylx Studio runs an MCP server that exposes your workspace's Business Brain and tools — business context, analytics, search performance, store data, diagnostics, and approval-gated actions — to AI assistants you explicitly authorize.
Does Zylx work with Claude?
Yes. Claude adds the Zylx MCP server as a custom connector. Because Zylx publishes OAuth discovery metadata, Claude can run the sign-in flow itself; alternatively you can supply a scoped token generated on Zylx Studio's Servers page as a request header. See the Claude setup guide for the full walkthrough.
Does Zylx work with ChatGPT?
Yes. ChatGPT connects as a custom MCP connector using OAuth — you sign in and approve the connection from your Zylx account. Custom connectors sit behind ChatGPT's developer-mode setting and availability varies by plan and rollout. See the ChatGPT setup guide.
What can a connected AI assistant do?
It can read your Business Brain and query connected data — ask business questions, investigate performance, review diagnostics. It can also propose supported changes (for example Shopify fixes or ad campaign actions), which enter an approval queue. Nothing consequential executes without a human approving it.
What can a connected assistant NOT do?
It cannot act outside your workspace, cannot approve its own proposals, cannot bypass the approval queue for consequential changes, and cannot keep access after you revoke the connection. Write-class tools additionally require a write-scoped token.
Which plans include MCP access?
MCP access is included on Pro ($49 CAD/mo) and above. The free plan includes the Business Brain and Ask your Brain inside Zylx Studio.
Is my business data used to train AI models?
No. Zylx does not train models on your data. AI providers (Anthropic, OpenAI) process content via their APIs to generate outputs; connections are yours and revocable at any time. See the privacy policy for details.
Reference: the official Model Context Protocol documentation. Related: What is a Business Brain? · Security & control