Connect Conversation AI to Apps With MCP Servers

Conversation AI agents can now use connected apps during customer conversations. Available in Labs, MCP servers let agents check calendar availability, look up spreadsheet data, retrieve document details, or find files before answering.

This extends SMBcrm’s AI features with access to information in the apps your business already uses.

Connect Apps and Control Access

The agent builder includes an MCP Servers section. Choose from more than 40 servers in the Marketplace, including Google Calendar, Google Drive, Google Sheets, Google Docs, Canva, Zapier, and Apify, or add a custom server using its HTTPS URL.

For each agent, you can:

• Connect up to 5 MCP servers, with one connection per server.
• Specify when each server should be used with a required instruction of up to 500 characters.
• Optionally provide instructions for what to say after using the server, up to 300 characters.
• Disable individual tools. All tools are enabled by default, so review permissions before saving.

For example, you can allow an agent to check calendar availability without allowing it to delete events.

How Conversations Work

Agents use returned data to answer questions about available appointments, policies, prices, inventory, or files. Custom MCP servers can also connect agents to your own systems for order or booking lookups.

• Follow-up context: Agents remember lookups for each contact for 2 hours in real conversations.
• Automatic retries: If a server rejects a call because a value is wrong or missing, the agent can correct it and retry up to twice per turn.
• Source visibility: Contacts do not see tool or server names unless you instruct the agent to name the source.
• Account boundaries: Connected app accounts must belong to the same SMBcrm account as the agent. Connections are checked again when an agent is duplicated.

MCP servers work on every channel where Conversation AI replies. Calls to slower servers may add a few seconds to response time.

Set Up an MCP Server

1. Enable MCP support for Conversation AI under Settings → Labs.
2. Go to AI Agents → Conversation AI, open an agent, and expand MCP Servers.
3. Select Connect MCP Server, then choose a server or select Add custom MCP.
4. Under Accounts, connect the app with Add account or select an existing connection.
5. Complete When should this MCP be used? and optionally What to say after using this MCP server.
6. Disable tools the agent should not use, then select Save.
7. Send a test message and review the AI response details or Agent Logs.

Each call appears as MCP - (tool name) in response details, with its result in Agent Logs. The dashboard’s MCP Calls card is included in Total Actions.

The builder’s test chat does not retain earlier lookups between messages. Real conversations retain that context for 2 hours.

Release Images

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