What MCP is, in plain words
On its own, an AI assistant only knows what you type and what it learned in training. MCP, the Model Context Protocol, is a shared standard that lets it reach other services. Anthropic published it in November 2024, and Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, VS Code and many other apps now use it.
A service that speaks MCP is called an MCP server. It offers the assistant a few tools, such as “search my documents” or “find a prompt for this task”, and the assistant decides when to use them, the way a colleague decides when to look something up. In Claude these are called connectors; in ChatGPT, apps or plugins. They are the same idea.
Two ways to add one
- From the app’s own directory. Claude and ChatGPT each list ready-made connectors for well-known services. You pick one, sign in to that service, and it is ready. This is the easy and usually the safer route.
- By address. Any other MCP server has a web address, such as
https://thinkhard.si/mcp. You paste it into the app as a custom connector. Some ask you to sign in; some need nothing.
Adding one in Claude and ChatGPT
In Claude, on the web or the desktop app, open Customize, then Connectors. Browse the directory, or choose Add custom connector and paste an address. Then turn it on for a chat from the + menu. Custom connectors work on every plan, though the free plan allows only one, and on Team and Enterprise an owner adds them for everyone.
In ChatGPT, on the web, go to chatgpt.com/plugins. Directory apps can be added from there; for a custom server, press +, choose Add custom MCP server and paste the address. OpenAI offers custom servers on Business, Enterprise and Edu plans, and on Pro for tools that only read. On a work account, your admin may need to add it.
Either way, you can then ask in plain words: “Use the drive connector to find last quarter’s budget and summarize it.” Naming the connector in your message helps the assistant reach for it.
What to check first
A connector acts with your permissions, so treat adding one like installing an app on a work laptop.
- Who runs it. A connector from the app’s directory, or from the company whose service it connects to, is the safe default. For anything else, look for a real website, a privacy policy and a contact address.
- What it can do. Reading your files is one thing; sending email, deleting files or posting in team chat is another. Both apps label or ask before actions that change things. Leave those confirmations on.
- What it sees. Whatever the assistant sends to a tool reaches the people who run it. Read their privacy page, especially for servers you add by address.
- What your company allows. Many employers approve specific connectors. If yours has an AI policy, check it before you connect work accounts.
- What it brings back. Content from an email or a web page can contain instructions aimed at the assistant, a trick called prompt injection. It is one more reason to keep confirmations on for anything that sends or deletes.
The kinds that help most at work
Claude’s directory lists hundreds of connectors, including Google Drive, Gmail, Google Calendar, Microsoft 365, Notion, Slack, Canva and Asana. The ones that save the most time for people who do not code tend to fall into a few groups:
| Kind | What you can ask |
|---|---|
| Documents and files | “Find the latest version of the client proposal and list what changed since September.” |
| Email and calendar | “Which meetings next week have no agenda? Draft one for each.” |
| Team chat and projects | “Summarize what the launch channel decided this week, with who owns each next step.” |
| Design | “Turn these three bullet points into a slide in our brand template.” |
| Prompts and checks | “Find a tested prompt for a performance self-assessment and fill it in from my notes.” |
Start with one, use it for a week, and add the next only when you find yourself copying and pasting between the same two places.
One to try first
If you want to see how a connector feels before connecting anything personal, try one that needs no sign-in and can only read. The thinkhard.si server is one: it gives your assistant 319 tested prompts for work, a prompt grader and current AI prices, and it never sees your files or accounts.
- In Claude, open Customize, then Connectors, then Add custom connector.
- Name it thinkhard.si, paste
https://thinkhard.si/mcp, and choose No sign in. - In a chat, turn it on and ask: “Find a thinkhard prompt for a difficult conversation with my manager.”
Setup for ChatGPT and other apps is on the MCP server page, which despite its address is written for everyone.
Key takeaways
- An MCP server, or connector, lets your AI assistant use another service mid-chat. No code is needed.
- Add connectors from the app’s directory where you can; add others by address when you trust who runs them.
- Check what each one can see and do, and keep confirmations on for anything that sends, posts or deletes.
- Follow your company’s rules on which tools may connect to work accounts.
- Start with one connector that saves you real copying and pasting, then add more.