Connect your AI assistant to Willow

This guide explains how to connect an AI assistant, such as Claude, ChatGPT, or another tool that supports the Model Context Protocol (MCP), to your Willow instance. Once connected, you can ask the assistant about your buildings, sites, tickets and insights in plain English, and it will only ever see the data your existing Willow permissions already allow.

Before you start

• Your Willow MCP URL. See the next section.
• Your Willow sign-in. You’ll sign in with the same Microsoft account you use for the Willow app. The assistant never sees your password.
• An eligible plan on your assistant. Connecting a custom MCP server is a paid/admin-controlled feature on most assistants — details per platform are below.

Find your Willow MCP URL

Your MCP endpoint follows this pattern:

https://<your-instance>.app.willowinc.com/mcp

Replace <your-instance> with your own Willow instance — it’s the same subdomain you use to sign in to the Willow app (the part before .app.willowinc.com in your Willow web address). For example, if you reach Willow at https://example.app.willowinc.com, your MCP URL is https://example.app.willowinc.com/mcp.

If you’re not sure which instance to use, ask your Willow administrator or contact Willow support.

Add Willow to Claude

Custom connectors are available on Claude’s Free, Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise plans (Free is limited to one custom connector). On Team and Enterprise plans, an Owner usually needs to add the connector for the organisation first; members then connect individually.

1. In Claude, open Settings → Connectors (also shown as Customize → Connectors).
2. Click the + next to Connectors and choose Add custom connector.
3. Enter a name (for example, Willow) and paste your Willow MCP URL.
4. Click Add.
5. Click Connect, then sign in with your Willow (Microsoft) account when prompted and approve the requested access.
6. To use it in a chat, click the + in the lower-left of the message box, open Connectors, and toggle Willow on.

For full details, see Anthropic’s help article, Get started with custom connectors using remote MCP.

Add Willow to ChatGPT

Connecting a custom MCP server in ChatGPT requires a paid plan with Developer Mode (custom apps) available and enabled. On Business and Enterprise/Edu workspaces, an admin must turn Developer Mode on before members can add custom connectors. (OpenAI renamed “connectors” to “apps” in December 2025; you may see either term.)

1. Confirm Developer Mode / custom apps is enabled for your account (on a workspace, ask your admin to enable it).
2. Open Settings → Connectors (Apps) and choose Create / Add.
3. Enter a name (for example, Willow) and paste your Willow MCP URL. It must use https://.
4. Complete the sign-in prompt with your Willow (Microsoft) account and approve the requested access.
5. Start a new chat, enable the Willow app/connector, and ask your question. Any action that changes data will ask you to confirm first.

Because availability and menu labels vary by plan, check OpenAI’s current help: Apps (connectors) in ChatGPT and Developer mode and MCP apps in ChatGPT.

Add Willow to another assistant

MCP is an open standard, so most MCP-compatible assistants (for example Perplexity, Microsoft Copilot Studio, Cursor and others) follow the same three steps, even if the menus differ:

1. Find the assistant’s setting for adding a custom or remote MCP server (often under Connectors, Integrations, or Tools).
2. Paste your Willow MCP URL: https://<your-instance>.app.willowinc.com/mcp
3. Sign in with your Willow (Microsoft) account when prompted and approve access.

Check your assistant’s own documentation for whether custom MCP servers are supported on your plan and where the setting lives.

What happens when you connect

When you add the connector, you’re taken through a standard sign-in (OAuth) flow against your organisation’s Microsoft identity. The assistant receives a temporary, scoped token (never your password), and from then on:

• It sees only what you can see. Results are limited to the sites and data your Willow permissions already allow.
• Changes need your say-so. Read requests run freely; any write (such as creating or updating a ticket) prompts you to confirm first.
• You can disconnect anytime. Remove the connector in your assistant’s settings to revoke its access.

Troubleshooting

• You don’t see the option to add a custom connector. Your plan may not include it, or, on a Team/Enterprise/Business workspace, an admin needs to enable it first.
• It says Willow is disconnected, or asks you to sign in again. This is normal. For security, your sign-in lasts about 14 days; once it expires, just reconnect and sign in with your Willow account to pick up where you left off.
• Sign-in fails or nothing comes back. Re-check the URL: it should be https://, your correct instance subdomain, and end in /mcp. Confirm you can sign in to the Willow app with the same account.
• You can’t see data you expected. The assistant only returns what your Willow permissions allow. If something’s missing, check your access in the Willow app or with your administrator.

Still stuck? Contact Willow support and include the assistant you’re using and the exact error message.