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Powering Fin with your external tools using MCP connectors

Empower Fin with more data and actions for faster, more accurate customer resolutions with the power of MCP connectors.

Updated over a week ago

Fin can now connect directly to your other business tools, like project management (Linear), billing systems (Stripe) or ecommerce platforms (Shopify), using a new feature called MCP connectors (Model Context Protocol). This allows Fin to access real-time information and even perform actions in those external systems, leading to more complete and efficient resolutions for your customers.

Note: If you're interested in using MCP connectors, please contact our Support team to have it enabled for your workspace.

What are MCP connectors?

MCP connectors are a powerful way for Fin to interact with your external applications and data sources. Think of it as giving Fin a secure key to access specific information and capabilities from other software you use. Instead of Fin only knowing what's in your Help Center, it can now tap into data like:

  • Order statuses from Shopify

  • Ticket details from Linear

  • Subscription information from Stripe

This makes Fin much smarter and more capable of handling complex customer queries without needing to hand off to a human agent.

Key benefits of using MCP connectors

  • Access More Data: Fin gets real-time access to information from your connected systems.

  • Automate More Actions: Enable Fin to perform tasks in external tools (e.g., create a ticket, update a status) if the tool supports it.

  • Faster, More Accurate Resolutions: Customers get the answers they need more quickly, directly from Fin.

  • Reduced Agent Handoffs: Fin can handle more queries independently, freeing up your team.

  • Easy, Secure Setup: Connect your tools in a few steps using industry-standard authentication.

Setting up MCP connectors

Here's how to connect Fin to your external systems using MCP:

Accessing MCP connectors

Once enabled for your workspace, you'll find the MCP settings within your Data connectors.

  1. Navigate to Settings > Data connectors.

  2. You'll see a section titled "Add Data Connectors from popular apps — powered by Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers."

Connecting an MCP server

You can connect an MCP server in two ways:

1. Connect using a template (e.g., Linear)

For popular applications, we provide pre-built templates for a quicker setup.

  1. In the "Add Data Connectors from popular apps" section, click on the tile for the app you want to connect (e.g., Linear).

  2. Authorize access to the MCP Server

    1. If the third party MCP server supports OAuth you will be redirected to the application's website to authorize Fin to access your data. Follow the on-screen prompts (this typically involves an OAuth flow).

    2. Otherwise an access token can be created or an existing one chosen from Settings > Authentication in your Fin workspace.

  3. Once authorized, you'll be redirected back to Fin. The connected MCP server will now appear in your list of data connectors, usually with "(0)" indicating no tools have been added yet (e.g., "Linear (0)")

2. Connect a Custom MCP server

If you have your own MCP server or are connecting a third-party service that doesn't have a template yet:

  1. Click on the Custom MCP tile.

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  2. A modal will appear where you'll need to enter:

    • Name: A descriptive name for this connection (e.g., "Our Internal CRM," "Linear Dev").

    • URL: The base URL of the MCP server (e.g., https://mcp.your-service.com/sse). You'll get this URL from your MCP server provider.

  3. You can choose to provide an access token if your chosen server supports token based authentication, if none is provided we will attempt to initiate and OAuth flow with the provided MCP server

  4. Click Add MCP Server.

  5. Once authorized, the custom MCP server will be listed in your data connectors.

Adding tools from a connected MCP server

Once an MCP server is connected, you need to tell Fin which specific "tools" (functions or data points) from that server it can use.

  1. Find your newly connected MCP server in the list (e.g., "Linear (0)").

  2. Click the "+ New" button located under that server's section.

  3. A modal will appear (e.g., "Linear Connectors") listing all the available tools provided by that MCP server (e.g., "List Comments," "Create Issue," "Get Order Details").

  4. Click on the tool you want Fin to use (e.g., "List Comments").

  5. The tool will now be added as a Data connector under that MCP server's section. The count next to the server name will update (e.g., "Linear (1)").

Configuring an MCP tool (Data connector)

Each tool added from an MCP server acts like a standard Data connector and needs to be configured before Fin can use it.

  1. Click on the newly added tool (e.g., "List comments") to open its configuration page.

  2. You'll see familiar tabs: About, API Connection, Test response, Data access, and Object mapping.

    A. About tab:

    • Name & Description: These are usually pre-filled from the MCP server. You can edit them if needed.

    • "Enable Fin to use this connector directly without adding it to a workflow or task": Check this box if you want Fin to intelligently decide when to use this tool based on the conversation, using its name and description. If unchecked, you'll need to add this tool to a Fin workflow or task.

    • Audience rules: Define who this connector is available for (e.g., Users, Leads).

    B. Input parameters tab:

    • This tab shows the inputs the tool requires (e.g., an "IssueID" for a "List Comments" tool).

    • For each input, you need to specify the Data Source:

      • Let Fin decide: Fin will try to find the information from the conversation, previous actions, or ask the customer.

      • Set a custom value: Hardcode a specific value.

      • Use an attribute: Pull the value from a user, company, or conversation attribute.

      • Ignore Input: Optional parameters can be ignored and will not be included in the request

    C. Test response tab:

    • Test the tool to ensure it's working correctly.

    • Live response: Makes an actual API call to the MCP server.

    • Example response: Provide sample JSON data to simulate a response.

    D. Data access:

    • Note: We highly recommend exercising extreme caution with what tools are made available to Fin. Any data that is returned to Fin from a tool response may be shared with the customer.

    • Configure this tab just like you would for standard API-based data connectors. Here you can define how Fin interprets and uses the data returned by the tool. Refer to our general data connector documentation for details.

    E. Set live:

    • Once you've configured and tested the tool, click the Set live button at the top of the page.

    • The tool's status will change from "Draft" to "Live," and Fin will now be able to use it.
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How Fin uses MCP tools

Once an MCP tool is live:

  • If "Enable Fin to use this connector directly..." is checked: Fin will analyze customer conversations. If it determines that the tool can help resolve the query (based on the tool's name and description, and the inputs it requires), Fin will automatically try to collect the necessary inputs and use the tool.

  • If not enabled for direct use, or for more complex scenarios: You can add these MCP tools as steps within your Fin workflows and tasks, giving you precise control over when and how they are used.

Fin makes a request to the MCP server, gets a response, and uses the information (based on your object mapping) to answer the customer or perform further actions.

Supported apps and custom connections

  • Templates: We are launching with a template for Linear, Stripe and Shopify. We will continue to add more templates for popular apps.

  • Custom MCP: You can connect to any system that provides an MCP-compliant server using the "Custom MCP" option. You will need the MCP server URL from the provider of that system and authentication details depending on the supported authentication types (OAuth or Token based).

Security

Connecting Fin to external systems is done securely:

  • OAuth 2.0: Connections to third-party MCP servers are authenticated using OAuth 2.0, an industry-standard protocol for authorization.

  • Granular Permissions: During the OAuth process, you grant Fin specific permissions to access data or perform actions. You are in control of what Fin can access.

  • Token Based Access: Where supported, a third party access token can be stored securely in Fin and used to authenticate with the MCP server.

FAQs

What is Model Context Protocol (MCP)?

It's a standardized way for AI models like Fin to discover and interact with external tools and data sources.

Is connecting to MCP servers secure?

Yes, connections use either OAuth 2.0 (an industry-standard for secure authorization), or token based access.

What if the app I want to connect isn't listed as a template?

If the app or system provides an MCP server, you can connect it using the "Custom MCP" option by providing its MCP server URL and authentication details.

Where do I get the MCP Server URL for a custom connection?

You'll need to get this URL from the documentation or support team of the application or system you are trying to connect.


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