An AI assistant can answer general questions, but it needs a connection to answer questions about your organisation’s current information. The Model Context Protocol (MCP) provides a standard way for an AI application to make that connection.
To access Adapt data, an AI application, such as a chat app or coding assistant, connects to Adapt’s MCP server. The server describes what is available, receives requests, and returns results. This open standard allows compatible applications to connect without a separate custom integration for each one. Learn about MCP architecture.
What an MCP server can offer
MCP defines three main capabilities:
| Capability | What it means |
|---|---|
| Tools | Functions an assistant can call, such as searching articles or querying records. |
| Resources | Content an application can read and use as context. |
| Prompts | Reusable templates that guide a task. |
A server can offer any combination of these capabilities. The AI application requests information, while the server carries out the request and enforces its access rules. Explore MCP server capabilities.
How Adapt uses MCP
Adapt provides selected capabilities through read-only MCP tools. With an approved, compatible AI application, an assistant can help you:
- Find information you are permitted to see in your organisations.
- Search Adapt support articles.
- Interpret survey responses using the relevant survey question definitions.
- Gather data for supported analyses, such as culture sentiment, career valuation trends, and employees at risk.
For example, you might ask, “What does our recent engagement survey suggest about team sentiment?” A connected assistant can request relevant information from Adapt, use the survey question definitions to interpret it, and explain the results. Adapt’s server determines which information the request is allowed to return.
Your access stays under your control
To connect an AI application, you sign in with your Adapt account and review which application is requesting access. You can allow or cancel the connection, and you can revoke it later in Lumia. Open your profile, select Account security, then select Revoke access under Connected applications.
Connecting an assistant does not give it broader Adapt access than you have. Adapt checks permissions when a tool is called, including the relevant organisation, role, data, and tool restrictions. The MCP connection is read-only: it cannot create, edit, or delete Adapt records.
If your organisation uses an existing Public API token for an integration, that token follows a separate connection path and remains limited to its organisation.
What to consider when choosing an AI application
The information returned by Adapt’s tools may become part of your conversation with the connected AI application. Before connecting one, check that its data-handling terms meet your organisation’s requirements.
MCP provides the common connection method. Adapt continues to control access to its data, while the AI application uses the permitted results to help answer your questions.
Core adapt principles