What is an MCP server, and why check before you sign up

Short answer: an MCP server is a published doorway that lets AI log in to an app and do things inside it, instead of you clicking around. Before you pay for any new tool, search its docs for "MCP". If it has one, Claude can run the tool for you. If it does not, you will be the one doing the clicking for as long as you own it.

Before you sign up to any new app or platform, there is one thing worth checking. Does it have an MCP server?

It decides whether Claude can actually work inside the tool, or whether you will be the one clicking around in it forever.

What an MCP server is, in plain terms

MCP stands for Model Context Protocol. Forget the name. What it means in practice is that the app has published a way for AI to log in and do things in it: read your data, create records, run the jobs you would otherwise do by hand.

Say you are choosing a social media scheduler. If it has an MCP server, Claude can schedule your posts, check what went out and pull the numbers. If it does not, you are still opening the app and doing it yourself.

Same app category, completely different amount of your time.

Step 1: Check Claude's connector list

Open Claude, go to Connectors, and look through the list. If the app is there, you are done: turn it on, approve the permissions, and Claude can work in it.

That takes about thirty seconds and answers most cases.

Step 2: If it is not listed, search properly

Not being in the list does not mean it cannot connect. Plenty of tools have published an MCP server that is not in Claude's default list yet.

Search for the app name plus "MCP server". Check the company's own developer docs, not a directory site, because directories go stale.

Step 3: Set up a custom connection

If the app publishes one, you can add it yourself. In Claude, add a custom connector and give it the server address from the app's documentation. It will ask you to sign in to that app, the same as any other integration.

After that it behaves like any built in connector, and Claude can drive the whole app.

The habit worth building

Add it to how you choose software. Price, does it do the job, and can AI operate it. The third one is new, and in a year it will decide which tools are worth paying for.

Frequently asked questions

Is an MCP server the same as an API?

Related but not the same. An API is for developers to build against. An MCP server is a standard way for AI assistants to use the app directly, without anyone building an integration first.

What if the app has an API but no MCP server?

Then it is a build, not a setup. Possible, but it is work. For most small businesses that is a reason to pick a different tool.

Is it safe to connect my accounts?

You approve the permissions, and you can see them before you agree. Start with tools where the worst case is small, and read what access it asks for.

What if I already pay for something that cannot connect?

Check whether Claude can work in it through the browser instead. If you can log in and use it in Chrome, that is often enough to get the job done.

If you want help auditing your current tools for this, that is part of what we do in a workshop.

Related reading

For a worked example of an app that is worth connecting this way, see building your own CRM in Notion. For what becomes possible once your tools are reachable, read how to run your inbox with Claude.

If you want help auditing the tools you already pay for, have a look at how I work.