> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.depict.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# AI assistants

> Connecting Claude, ChatGPT or Codex to your headless store through Depict's MCP server: the server URL, the approval screen, what an assistant can do, and disconnecting.

AI assistants such as Claude, ChatGPT and Codex can work with your store's
Depict data through Depict's MCP server (MCP, the Model Context Protocol, is
the standard these assistants use to connect to other services). A connected
assistant can answer questions about your collections, products, search,
recommendations and analytics, and, if you allow it, make changes such as
pinning products in a collection or adding a synonym.

Each assistant connects to one store. You approve every connection yourself,
choose whether it may make changes, and can disconnect it at any time.

AI assistants are in beta, for selected stores.

## Limits and behavior

* Depict turns AI assistants on per store, with two switches: **AI assistants
  (MCP)** lets assistants read, and **Assistant changes** lets them make
  changes. When **AI assistants (MCP)** is on, **AI assistants** appears in
  **Settings**.
* Every connection can read. Making changes needs two things: you ticked the
  changes box when you approved the connection, and **Assistant changes** is
  on for your store.
* Changes are attributed to the person who approved the connection.
* A connection lasts 30 days from when it was approved. After that the
  assistant has to connect again, and you approve it again.
* If Depict turns **AI assistants (MCP)** off, connected assistants stop
  working at their next request.

## Requirements

* **AI assistants (MCP)** turned on for your store. If **AI assistants** is
  missing from **Settings**, [contact us](mailto:support@depict.ai).
* A Depict account with access to the store. You sign in with it when you
  approve the connection.
* An assistant that supports remote MCP servers with OAuth sign-in. The steps
  below cover Claude, Claude Code, ChatGPT and Codex. Other assistants that
  work the same way can connect too.

## Your endpoint URL

Every store has its own endpoint URL:

```
https://app.depict.ai/mcp?store_id=<your store id>
```

You don't need to build it yourself. In the portal at app.depict.ai, open
**Settings → AI assistants**:

* **Your MCP endpoint** shows the URL with a **Copy** button, and the full
  Claude Code and Codex commands, each with its own **Copy** button.
* **Connected assistants** lists the assistants connected to the store.

Use the URL exactly as copied. The `store_id` part ties the connection to your
store; without it, the assistant can't connect.

## Connecting an assistant

Whichever assistant you use, connecting works the same way: you give it the
endpoint URL, it opens the approval screen in Depict, you sign in and approve
it, and it is connected. You don't create keys or enter a client ID or secret.

### Claude

Claude on the web and the Claude desktop app share connectors.

**1. Add a custom connector**

In Claude, go to **Customize → Connectors**, click **+ Add**, then **Add
custom connector**. On a Team or Enterprise plan, an organization owner
adds it instead, under **Organization settings → Connectors** (**Add →
Custom → Web**).

**2. Enter the endpoint**

Give the connector a name, for example `Depict`, and paste your endpoint
URL. Leave the OAuth client ID and secret empty. Then click **Add**.

**3. Connect**

Click **Connect** on the new connector. Your browser opens Depict; see
[The approval screen](#the-approval-screen).

**4. Turn it on in a chat**

In a chat, open the **+** menu, then **Connectors**, and make sure the
Depict connector is on.

The steps follow Anthropic's
[custom connector guide](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/11175166-get-started-with-custom-connectors-using-remote-mcp).

### Claude Code

**1. Add the server**

Copy the command from **Claude Code** on the AI assistants page and run it
in your terminal. It looks like this:

```bash theme={null}
claude mcp add --transport http depict "https://app.depict.ai/mcp?store_id=<your store id>"
```

Keep the quotes: without them, some shells treat the `?` in the URL as a
wildcard.

**2. Sign in**

Start Claude Code, run `/mcp`, select **depict** and choose to
authenticate. Your browser opens Depict; see
[The approval screen](#the-approval-screen).

### ChatGPT

ChatGPT connects to remote MCP servers on the web for Business, Enterprise and
Edu workspaces, and your workspace's permissions decide who can add one. Menu
names change, so follow OpenAI's
[guide to custom MCP servers](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/12584461-connecting-custom-mcp-servers-in-chatgpt).

**1. Add a custom MCP server**

In ChatGPT, add a custom MCP server from **Plugins**. Give it a name, for
example `Depict`, paste your endpoint URL, and set the authentication to
OAuth. Leave any client ID and secret empty.

**2. Connect**

Start the sign-in. Your browser opens Depict; see
[The approval screen](#the-approval-screen).

### Codex

**1. Add the server and sign in**

Copy the command from **Codex** on the AI assistants page and run it in
your terminal. It adds the server, then signs in:

```bash theme={null}
codex mcp add depict --url "https://app.depict.ai/mcp?store_id=<your store id>" && codex mcp login depict
```

Keep the quotes, as with Claude Code. Your browser opens Depict; see
[The approval screen](#the-approval-screen). To sign in again later, run
`codex mcp login depict` on its own.

The steps follow OpenAI's
[Codex MCP guide](https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/extend/mcp?surface=cli).

## The approval screen

When an assistant connects, your browser opens a Depict page titled **Connect
an AI assistant to Depict**. If you are not signed in, sign in first. The
request waits for 10 minutes.

The page names the assistant and your store, and says where approving sends
you: an app on your computer, or a website. **The name is what the assistant
calls itself, and any program can register under any name.** Approve only if
you just started connecting from that assistant. If you didn't, click
**Decline**.

**Choose what it may do:**

* **Read the store's data in Depict** is always part of the connection.
* **Also let it make changes the store allows assistants to make** is a box
  you can tick. It appears only when the assistant asked for changes and
  **Assistant changes** is on for your store. If the store has changes off,
  the page says the assistant will only read.

Then click **Approve** to connect, or **Decline** to refuse. After you approve,
you can close the tab.

## What an assistant can do

A connected assistant gets these tools:

* **overview**: a one-page explanation of how Depict models a headless store.
  The assistant reads it before its first search.
* **search**: finds the Depict operation that answers a question.
* **execute**: reads your store's data. It never makes changes.
* **execute\_write**: also makes changes. Only a connection you allowed to make
  changes gets this tool, and its changes are refused while **Assistant
  changes** is off.

So an assistant can, for example, answer:

* "Which collections have the most hidden products?"
* "Compare last week's revenue per collection with the week before."

With changes allowed, it can also act on requests like:

* "Pin these three products at the top of the SUMMER SALE collection."
* "Add *jumper* as a synonym for *sweater*."

Changes cover pinning and hiding products in collections, hand-picked
collection products, Boost & Bury rules, the search start view, products and
tags search never returns, synonyms, search content, query rules, auto-hide
exemptions and custom recommendation rules. Anything else is changed in the
portal. On some stores Depict keeps the settings itself: both the assistant
and the portal refuse the change there, and only
[Depict support](mailto:support@depict.ai) can make it.

Changes are safe:

* Every change starts from the latest data. If someone else changed the same
  thing since the assistant last read it, the change is refused. The assistant
  reads again and retries.
* Changes sent right after each other can be refused with a message that a
  save is already running. Nothing is saved; retrying a moment later fixes it.

Some limits to know about:

* An answer over 1 MB is refused with a message to narrow the request. Ask
  for fewer rows, a shorter period, or leave out extra metrics.
* Ask for only a few rows of product metrics at a time: at most 40 products
  over 30 days, 15 over 90 days or 5 over a year.
* Metrics reads can take 10 to 30 seconds. Ask for a shorter period if one
  fails.

> [!WARNING]
>
> Whether an assistant asks you before it runs a tool is decided by the
> assistant and its settings, not by Depict. Changes only go through
> **execute\_write**, so you can let **execute** run without asking and still
> review every change. Don't choose "always allow" for **execute\_write** if you
> want to see each change first, or connect with read access only.

## Disconnecting access

**Connected assistants** on **Settings → AI assistants** lists every
connection with its name, where it signs in, its access and the date it was
connected. **Access** is what you approved: **Read**, or **Read and write**
if you ticked the changes box. A new connection can take a minute to appear;
reload the page if you don't see it yet.

Click **Disconnect** on a row and confirm. The assistant loses access to the
store, its old sign-in stops working, and it has to connect again, with a new
approval, to get access back. Disconnecting one assistant doesn't affect the
others.

The same assistant may appear more than once, for example on two computers.
If the portal says it could not disconnect the assistant, click
**Disconnect** again.

## Troubleshooting

**The AI assistants page is missing from Settings, or the assistant says *AI
assistants are not enabled for this store*.** AI assistants are off for your
store. A direct link to the page shows a page headed "This page got buried".
[Contact us](mailto:support@depict.ai) to turn them on. Connected assistants
stop working while they are off.

**The assistant says it is not authorised.** Its connection has ended: it was
disconnected, it expired after 30 days, or the sign-in was refused. Remove the
connector, add it again, and approve it again.

**I connected an assistant but the page says none are connected.** A new
connection can take a minute to appear. Wait a minute, then reload the page.

**There is no changes box on the approval page, or the assistant can't make a
change.** Either **Assistant changes** is off for your store, the assistant
didn't ask for changes, or you connected it without ticking the box. Check
with [us](mailto:support@depict.ai) that changes are on, then disconnect the
assistant, connect it again and tick the box.

***This connection request has expired or was already used; connect again from
your assistant.*** A request is valid for 10 minutes and can be answered once.
Start connecting again from the assistant.

***You cannot answer this connection request.*** Your Depict account has no
access to this store. Sign in with one that does.

**The assistant says an answer was too large, or a change was refused because
the data changed.** See the limits above. For a refused change, ask the
assistant to read again and retry.


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