ChatGPT, Claude, Microsoft 365 Copilot, and other AI tools can connect to much of the software people use at work, such as Google Drive, Gmail, Slack, and Microsoft 365, and use what's there to answer questions and get work done. In Claude, for example, they're listed under Connectors.
Spider Impact can be one of those connections. Any AI tool that supports MCP (Model Context Protocol) can connect to Spider Impact. Once connected, people can ask about their scorecards, initiatives, datasets, briefings, and more in their own words, and the AI tool looks up the answers in Spider Impact as it goes, so they're always current.
Each person connects with their own Spider Impact account. The AI tool sees exactly what that person can see in Spider Impact and nothing more, because every request goes through the same permission checks as the browser.
Turning On MCP Connections
MCP connections are off until an administrator turns them on. In Application Administration, find the “AI” panel and set “Allow MCP Connections From ChatGPT, Claude, Etc.” to “Yes”. This setting is separate from “Enable Impact Assistant”, so you can use either one without the other.
While MCP connections are on, a second setting, “Allow AI Connections To Make Changes”, decides whether people may also let their AI tools make changes for them. It stays “No” unless you change it.
ChatGPT, Claude, and Copilot connect to Spider Impact from their own cloud services, so your Spider Impact server must be reachable from the internet over HTTPS. AI tools that run on your own computer, such as Claude Code, can also connect. If another AI tool can't connect, contact Spider Strategies support.
Connecting an AI Tool
The “API Access” page under Administration shows your installation's MCP server URL, which looks like https://yourserver.example.com/api/v1/mcp.
- In ChatGPT, Claude, or Copilot, add a connection to other software using that URL. In Claude, for example, these are called custom connectors.
- The AI tool sends you to Spider Impact. Log in as you normally do.
- Spider Impact shows what the AI tool will be able to do. Click “Allow Access” to connect, or “Cancel” if you didn't start connecting.
A connection that goes unused for 30 days ends on its own, and you can reconnect from the AI tool at any time. The built-in admin account and the shared public read-only account can't connect AI tools, so connect with your own Spider Impact account.
What AI Tools Can Do
A connected AI tool can read the scorecards, KPIs, initiatives, datasets, dashboards, reports, briefings, and other items the person can view. Ask questions like “How is the Finance scorecard doing this month?” or “Which initiatives are behind schedule?”
If an administrator allows changes, the consent page also shows an “Also allow … to make changes for me” checkbox, with the AI tool's name. When the person checks it, the AI tool can also:
- Enter KPI values
- Add KPI notes
- Record initiative progress, including percent complete and spending to date
- Create KPIs
The AI tool can only make a change the person could make in Spider Impact themselves, and AI tools usually ask before each change. Every change is recorded under the person's name, and a KPI value entered this way shows “AI Connection” as its source in audit history. If the person leaves the checkbox unchecked, the connection stays read-only. To change that later, reconnect from the AI tool.
Seeing and Ending Connections
The “API Access” page, formerly “API Tokens”, lists every AI tool you've connected, with when it connected and when it was last used. Click a connection's delete icon to disconnect it, and the AI tool loses access immediately. Application administrators see everyone's connections and can disconnect any of them.
Turning off “Allow MCP Connections From ChatGPT, Claude, Etc.” stops every AI tool's access immediately, and turning off “Allow AI Connections To Make Changes” stops all changes immediately, even for AI tools that are already connected.
Security and Privacy
A connected AI tool reads Spider Impact data on a person's behalf, and the data it reads goes to the company that provides the AI tool, under your organization's agreement with that company. See the Impact Intelligence Security and Privacy article for how this differs from Spider Impact's own AI features.