Connecting an External Service via API or MCP

Andres from Mexico City has already set up his morning briefing (Lessons 4.1–4.6): the agent collects emails, checks the calendar, and sends a daily summary every morning. But his workflow goes further — he manages his entire client database in Airtable. Now Andres wants the agent to be able to read that database and update it.

Built-in integrations cover the most common tools. But every business has its own stack: Airtable, HubSpot, Trello, Shopify, Pipedrive, or any other service. For these cases, there are two paths: connecting via MCP or via API.

Path A — via MCP (easier)

An MCP server is a ready-made plugin that the agent knows how to read on its own. You simply connect it — and the agent understands what to do.

Steps:

1. Find an MCP server for your service on Smithery.ai or GitHub
2. Copy the server configuration — it's a JSON file with a URL and settings
3. In ASCN: Brain → integrations section → paste the config
4. Write to the agent: "You now have access to [service]. Try [test action]"
5. The agent will discover the tool's capabilities on its own and confirm the connection

Path B — via API (for any service)