Guide
How to connect a business app to Claude or ChatGPT
There are four ways to connect a business app such as an ERP, CRM or core banking system to Claude or ChatGPT: the vendor's own MCP server, a data connector platform, an MCP server you build, or a governed MCP gateway. They differ in who signs in, what the assistant may change, and what your auditors can see afterwards.
The four options compared
| Vendor MCP server | Data connector platform | Build your own | Governed MCP gateway | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | The app vendor publishes its own server | A platform that exposes many apps as data sources | Your developers write a server for your app | A hosted server per app, with governance built in |
| Availability | Only some vendors offer one | Many apps; check which can be changed | Any app you have the skills for | The apps in the gateway's catalog |
| Who is acting | Varies by vendor | Check: a named person or a shared account | Whatever you build | A named person, signed in by work email |
| Changes | Varies by vendor | Varies by platform | Whatever you build | Previewed, confirmed and approved by your rules |
| Audit trail | The app's own logs | Platform logs | Whatever you build | One log across every app and assistant |
| Upkeep | The vendor's | The platform's | Yours, for every app and every release | The gateway's |
Step by step: connecting an app through mcpbizapps
- Pick the app and the questions. Find it among the 294 apps and agree the first questions your team asks every week.
- Connect the app. Our team connects it with your admin during onboarding, using a dedicated integration user that sees only what it needs.
- Set roles and approval rules. Decide who may read, who may prepare changes, and which changes need a second person.
- Add the connector to the assistant. In Claude, ChatGPT or Copilot Studio, add one connector address. Each person signs in with their work email.
- Ask. People ask in a sentence. Answers come live from the app, and every request is recorded under the name of the person who made it.
Questions to ask any option before it touches a system of record
- Does every request belong to a named person, or to a shared account?
- Can you limit each role to the tools it needs, or even to view only?
- Is every change shown before it is saved, and can larger ones require an approver?
- Is the data read live, or copied and stored somewhere else?
- Can you see who asked what, through which assistant, with which result?
- When someone leaves, do their assistants lose access on the next request?
New to the protocol? Start with what an MCP server is. For how mcpbizapps handles each point, see security and data handling.
Last updated
Questions people ask
What is the fastest way to connect an ERP to ChatGPT?
Add a remote MCP server as a connector in ChatGPT or Claude. If your vendor offers one, start there. If not, a hosted MCP server such as mcpbizapps avoids building and running your own, and adds roles, previews, approvals and an audit log.
Can Claude or ChatGPT change records in our business app?
Only if the MCP server offers tools that write. A governed server shows a preview first, asks the person to confirm, and sends larger changes to an approver. A read-only server cannot change anything.
Does the AI provider see our business data?
The answers the assistant reads pass through it, under the terms of your Claude or ChatGPT plan, so check the data terms of your plan. The MCP server itself should read live and keep no copy.
Which apps does mcpbizapps connect?
294 business apps across ERP, CRM, HR, IT, finance and industry systems. Every app is available, and our team connects the ones you choose during onboarding.
See it with your own questions
In 30 minutes we show an AI assistant looking up and preparing work in a business app, with the approval and the audit trail. Bring the questions your team asks every week.