Add Tools via MCP
Your employees can connect to any external MCP (Model Context Protocol) server and use its tools. This lets you extend what your employees can do without waiting for built-in integrations. If a tool exists as an MCP server, your employees can use it.
TL;DR
Add an MCP server URL in any employee's Tools tab and the platform automatically discovers what tools the server offers. All employees get access. Each tool works just like a built-in one. This is for advanced users who want to extend their employees' capabilities beyond what's available out of the box.
How It Works
MCP servers expose tools over HTTP. When you add one, the platform:
- Connects to the server and asks "what tools do you have?"
- Stores the tool list (names, descriptions, input schemas)
- Creates a tool record and assigns it to all employees (enabled for the current employee, disabled for others)
- At runtime, injects those tools directly into the employee's toolset, same as built-in tools
- When the employee calls a tool, the platform connects to the MCP server and executes it
Each MCP server's tools appear as individual tools the employee can call by name. If a server has 5 tools, the employee sees 5 tools, each with its own description and parameters.
When to Use This
| Scenario | Example |
|---|---|
| Internal knowledge | Your support employee searches your Zendesk knowledge base via MCP before answering tickets |
| Custom data sources | Your sales employee pulls real-time pricing from your internal catalog server |
| Developer tools | Your engineering employee creates GitHub issues and PRs directly from conversations |
| Content systems | Your content employee queries your CMS to check existing articles before writing new ones |
| Business intelligence | Your ops employee runs SQL queries against your reporting database |
MCP vs A2A vs Webhooks
| MCP | A2A | Webhooks | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Connects to | Tools | Other AI agents | External URLs |
| Best for | Structured operations with clear inputs and outputs | Complex tasks that require reasoning and multi-step planning | Triggering automations or pushing data out |
| Direction | Two-way (send request, get response) | Two-way (delegate task, get result) | One-way (fire and forget) |
| Example | "Search our docs" | "Ask the analytics agent to analyze this data" | "Notify Zapier when a task completes" |
This page covers connecting your employees TO external MCP servers. To expose your employees AS an MCP server for external tools, see Integrate via MCP in the Channels and APIs section.
Adding an MCP Server
- Open any employee's Tools tab
- Scroll to the Integrations section
- Find the MCP Servers group card and click the "Add MCP Server" pill button
- A drawer slides open with the connection form
- Choose the transport:
- HTTP (active): for cloud-hosted MCP servers
- Command (coming soon): for local/Docker MCP servers via the Desktop Companion app
- Fill in:
- Name: a label you'll recognize (e.g., "GitHub MCP", "Internal Docs")
- Server URL: the MCP server endpoint (e.g.,
https://mcp.example.com/) - Auth Header: optional, if the server requires authentication (e.g.,
Bearer sk-...)
- Click Connect
- The platform discovers available tools and shows you what it found
What You See After Connecting
Once added, the MCP server appears as a card inside the MCP Servers group in the Integrations section. Each card shows:
- Transport badge: HTTP or Command, indicating which transport the server uses
- Discovered tools: expandable list showing every tool the server offers, with full descriptions
- Tool Rules: a text field where you can add custom instructions that get appended to every tool's description at runtime
- Enable/disable toggle: per-employee control
Auto-Assignment
MCP servers are configured once per organization, not per employee. When you add a server:
- It gets assigned to all employees automatically
- The employee you're configuring has it enabled by default
- All other employees have it disabled by default (they can enable it themselves or you can enable it for them)
This is the same pattern as other integration tools.
Managing MCP Servers
Enable/Disable
Toggle the switch on the MCP server card to enable or disable it for a specific employee. Disabled servers won't be loaded at runtime.
Refresh Tools
If the MCP server adds new tools or updates existing ones, click the Refresh icon on the card. The platform re-connects and updates the discovered tools list.
Remove
Delete the card to archive the MCP server. It will be removed from all employees.
Tool Rules
Add custom instructions in the Tool Rules field. These get appended to every discovered tool's description at runtime, so the employee follows your guidance when using those tools.
Requirements
- The MCP server must support Streamable HTTP transport (the modern MCP standard)
- The server must be reachable from the internet (not just your local network)
- If the server requires auth, provide the full Authorization header value
Examples of MCP Servers You Can Connect
- GitHub MCP: create issues, search repos, manage PRs
- Slack MCP: post messages, search channels, manage threads
- Database MCP: query SQL databases, run reports
- Internal tools: any custom MCP server your team builds
- Community servers: browse the growing MCP ecosystem for pre-built servers
Good to Know
- Stateless connections. The platform connects to the MCP server per tool call. No persistent sessions
- Cached schemas. Tool descriptions and schemas are cached from discovery. The server only needs to be reachable when executing tools, not when the employee starts working
- Same billing. MCP tool calls are part of the employee's normal workflow. Credits are consumed for the LLM reasoning, not for the tool call itself
- Error handling. If the MCP server is down during a tool call, the employee sees an error and can retry or work around it
- Command transport (coming soon). Local MCP servers (Docker, npx) will be supported through the Desktop Companion app, which proxies tool discovery and execution back to the backend
Troubleshooting
- Connection refused. The MCP server must be reachable from the internet, not just your local network. If it's behind a firewall, expose it via a tunnel or deploy it publicly
- Auth errors. Double-check the Auth Header value. It should be the full header value (e.g.,
Bearer sk-...), not just the token - Tools not appearing after adding. Click the Refresh icon on the MCP server card. If still empty, verify the server implements Streamable HTTP transport (not SSE or stdio)
- Tool calls failing at runtime. The server was reachable during discovery but may be down now. Check the server's health and logs. The employee will see an error and can retry
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Do I need to be technical to use MCP? A: You need a working MCP server URL. If your team or a third party provides one, connecting it is as simple as pasting the URL. Building your own MCP server requires development skills.
Q: Does every employee get access to the MCP server I add? A: Every employee gets the tools assigned, but only the employee you're configuring has them enabled by default. You control who can use them via the toggle on each employee's Tools tab.
Q: What happens if the MCP server goes down? A: The employee will see an error when trying to use the tool and can retry or work around it. Previously discovered tools remain visible in the configuration. Nothing breaks permanently.
Q: Can I connect MCP servers running on my local machine? A: Not yet. HTTP-based cloud servers are supported now. Support for local servers (via Docker or npx) through the Desktop Companion app is coming soon.
Q: How are MCP tool calls billed? A: You pay standard credits for the employee's thinking time. The MCP tool call itself (the HTTP request to the server) has no additional cost from our side. Your MCP server provider may have their own pricing.