Connect External Tools via MCP#

Overview#

This guide shows how to connect an external service to Roboto’s AI via the Model Context Protocol, so the AI can use that service’s tools in your conversations. For the underlying concepts, see MCP Connections.

Prerequisites#

  • An MCP server available to your organization. Roboto registers these; if the server you want isn’t listed in your settings, contact support@roboto.ai.

  • An account on the external service — connections are per user, and the AI acts with your access.

Connect a server#

  1. In the Roboto web app, go to Settings → AI.

  2. Find the Personal MCP Connections section (expanded by default). Each server available to your organization appears as a card showing its connection status.

  3. Click Connect on the server you want. A popup opens with the external service’s sign-in page.

  4. Sign in and authorize access. When authorization completes, the popup closes and the card shows Connected.

If your browser blocks the popup, the sign-in page opens in the current tab instead. After you authorize, a confirmation page appears; navigate back to Settings → AI to see the updated connection status.

Org admins: the Connect button stays disabled until you add AI context for the server — see the next section.

Add organization context (org admins)#

Org admins see an AI Context section on each server card with an edit (pencil) control. The context is a short plaintext note (up to 4,000 characters) describing how your organization uses the service (for example, “Our firmware issues live in the firmware repo; ignore the archived legacy-fw repo”). Roboto includes the context in the AI’s instructions for every conversation in your organization — even for users who haven’t connected the server yet, in which case the AI may suggest connecting it.

If you’re an org admin, add the context first: the Connect button on a server stays disabled until the server has context. Non-admin members see the saved context on the card (read-only) and can connect regardless.

Use external tools in a conversation#

No further setup is needed after connecting. The AI knows which servers you’ve connected and fetches their tools when a conversation calls for them. Example prompts:

  • “Check GitHub for open issues mentioning this error message.”

  • “Search our knowledge base for the calibration procedure for this sensor.”

  • “Is there a ticket tracking this failure already?”

External tool calls and their results appear in the conversation just like built-in tools.

Disconnect#

Return to Settings → AI → Personal MCP Connections and click Disconnect on the server’s card. This removes your authorization, so the AI can no longer call that server’s tools on your behalf. You can reconnect at any time.

Troubleshooting#

  • The Connect button is disabled — org admins must add AI context for the server first; the card shows a warning and the button’s tooltip says “Add AI context before connecting”. Add the context, then connect.

  • A server is missing — it may not be available to your organization yet. Contact support@roboto.ai.

  • Authorization expired — external services expire tokens; the card shows an Expired chip and a warning. Click Reconnect to re-authorize.

  • The AI doesn’t use a tool you expected — each server has a tool allowlist. If a server marks any of its tools read-only, only its read-only tools are enabled by default. Contact support@roboto.ai if a tool you need is blocked.

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