Connect OptAEO to your AI tools.

Overview

Model Context Protocol (MCP) lets an AI assistant use tools from another application. OptAEO's MCP connection gives your assistant access to your catalogue and the actions included in your plan.

Start by finding products that need attention. You can inspect a product, check its AEO scores and run a fresh scan. Enterprise also includes tools for applying existing fixes and running the agent with your saved rules.

Sample prompts once connected

Use an ID returned by the product list in place of [product ID]. The same workflow applies across retail categories, including electronics, pet products, food and beverage, home, fashion and beauty.

Plan tiers

A rescan updates product checks in OptAEO and reports whether the AEO score was refreshed. It does not apply fixes to your connected store. Enterprise write tools can change your store. Review the requested action before allowing it in your AI client.

MCP access is included in Business and Enterprise. These are monthly prices; see pricing for annual billing and the full plan comparison.

Before you start

1. Sign in to an OptAEO account with Business or Enterprise access and a connected store. Import products before checking catalogue results.
2. Install the AI client you want to connect: Claude Desktop, Cursor or VS Code with access to its AI chat tools.
3. For the bridge setup below, install the current Node.js LTS release from nodejs.org. Check that both node --version and npx --version work on your computer.

Step 1 · Generate your MCP API key

1. Open Settings → API & Integrations.
2. Find MCP Endpoint and select + Generate new key.
3. Add a label that identifies the connection, such as “Claude Desktop - work laptop”, then select Generate key.
4. Copy the new key while it is displayed. It is shown once and cannot be retrieved later.
5. If Run test is available, select it. “4 tools available” on Business or “6 tools available” on Enterprise confirms that the endpoint accepts the key and returns your plan's tools. This does not yet confirm the setup in your AI client.

Keep the key private. Put it only in your local client configuration or a password manager. If you lose it, revoke the old key under Active Connections and generate a replacement.

Step 2A · Connect Claude Desktop

1. Open Claude Desktop's Settings → Developer → Edit Config.
2. Add the OptAEO entry below. If the file already contains mcpServers, add optaeo inside that object without removing other servers.
3. Replace PASTE_YOUR_OPTAEO_MCP_KEY_HERE with your key. Keep the Bearer prefix in OPTAEO_AUTH_HEADER.
4. Save, fully quit Claude Desktop and reopen it. Check that OptAEO's tools appear, then continue to Step 3.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "optaeo": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-remote",
        "https://optaeo.ai/api/mcp",
        "--header",
        "Authorization:${OPTAEO_AUTH_HEADER}"
      ],
      "env": {
        "OPTAEO_AUTH_HEADER": "Bearer PASTE_YOUR_OPTAEO_MCP_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

The local configuration file is ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json on macOS or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json on Windows.

Step 2B · Connect Cursor

1. Open or create ~/.cursor/mcp.json for your personal configuration.
2. Add the OptAEO entry below, preserving any existing servers.
3. Replace the key placeholder, save and check that OptAEO is enabled in Cursor's MCP settings. Restart the server or client if the new configuration has not loaded.
4. Continue to Step 3.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "optaeo": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-remote",
        "https://optaeo.ai/api/mcp",
        "--header",
        "Authorization:${OPTAEO_AUTH_HEADER}"
      ],
      "env": {
        "OPTAEO_AUTH_HEADER": "Bearer PASTE_YOUR_OPTAEO_MCP_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

Cursor also supports project configuration in .cursor/mcp.json. Keep a configuration containing your real key out of shared repositories.

Step 2C · Connect VS Code

1. Open the Command Palette and run MCP: Open User Configuration for a personal setup.
2. Add the configuration below. This VS Code format uses a servers object; preserve any existing entries.
3. Replace the key placeholder and save.
4. Run MCP: List Servers, select optaeo and start or restart it as needed. Review any trust prompt and enable the tools you intend to use in chat.
5. Continue to Step 3.

{
  "servers": {
    "optaeo": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-remote",
        "https://optaeo.ai/api/mcp",
        "--header",
        "Authorization:${OPTAEO_AUTH_HEADER}"
      ],
      "env": {
        "OPTAEO_AUTH_HEADER": "Bearer PASTE_YOUR_OPTAEO_MCP_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

This format can also be used in .vscode/mcp.json for a workspace. Do not commit a configuration containing your key.

Step 3 · Verify the connection

Open a new chat in your AI client and ask:

List five products from my OptAEO catalogue.

If the client asks to use list_products, review the request. A successful connection returns product data from your OptAEO account. Compare a returned product with the Products page to confirm you are using the intended account.

An empty list does not necessarily mean the connection failed. Check that products have been imported and that your store is connected.

Once the list works, ask:

List my OptAEO products with an AEO score below 85.

This query may return no products if none match. You do not need to apply a fix or run the agent to verify the connection.

For Enterprise actions later, review the product and existing fix in OptAEO before requesting fix_product. Before requesting run_agent, review your saved settings under Settings → Agent Mode. Check the returned status and run history; a response does not always mean all queued work has finished.

Troubleshooting

Security notes

Your MCP key grants access to the connected catalogue and the MCP tools included in your plan. On Enterprise, that includes actions that can write changes to your store.

The examples keep the authorization value in a local env entry. That does not encrypt the key: the configuration still contains it. Keep the file private and remove keys from screenshots, support messages and shared code.

OptAEO stores a hash of the key rather than the original value. To stop a connection, open Settings → API & Integrations → Active Connections, select Revoke for that key and confirm Revoke key. Subsequent authenticated requests using it will be rejected. Revoking one key leaves other active keys intact.

The Last used value records key use, including connection checks. It is not a complete security audit trail.

Frequently asked questions

For related instructions, see MCP Access in Help, the AEO score guide and product-data quality.