Connect Claude or ChatGPT to your store (MCP connector)

What this is and who can connect

AI connectors let the AI assistant you already use, such as Claude or ChatGPT, answer questions about your store straight from the chat, for example how much you sold yesterday or what is running low. Only the store owner's account can connect and manage apps; managers and staff cannot. The external AI app does not use BoxBak credits; its AI usage is covered by that app's own plan.

Good to know

• The data you allow is sent to the AI provider you chose and is handled under that provider's privacy policy.

Connect Claude or ChatGPT step by step

The connector URL is https://boxbak.app/api/mcp, which you can copy from Settings › AI connectors. Add it as a custom connector in your AI app, then sign in to BoxBak to allow it. After you press Allow, go back to the AI app and ask away.

Steps

1. Open Settings › AI connectors and press Copy next to the Connector URL (MCP)
2. In Claude or ChatGPT, open the connector settings and add a custom connectorPaste the URL and connect. Menu names differ between apps and versions.
3. Sign in to BoxBak with the owner accountCheck that Data will be sent to names the app you meant to use; if you did not start this connection yourself, press Deny.
4. Tick the kinds of data the app may read
5. Enter the owner account password again and press AllowUse the password you sign in with by email, not a PIN. It is required every time you allow a new app.

Good to know

• A connection request lasts 10 minutes; if it expires, start again from the AI app.
• Connecting the same app again replaces the older connection.

Choose what the app may read

On the consent page you tick what the app may read: Sales and menu, Finance and costs, Inventory, Staff (includes names) and Members (includes names). The last two contain people's names, so they are never pre-ticked and must be ticked every time. Two more options are not reading: Create drafts for approval and Change store data immediately (no approval); neither is pre-ticked.

Good to know

• Customer phone numbers are never sent to the app, even with Members allowed.
• Besides the reports, each kind also covers: Sales and menu, which tables are free or occupied and B2B sales orders; Finance and costs, the full tax invoice and credit note register (never buyer names, addresses or tax ids); Inventory, production runs and stock count results; Staff, payroll totals per pay run (never anyone's own pay, bank details or national id); Members, table reservations and the walk-in queue with guest names (never phone numbers, emails or notes).
• The app can draft or change only what it may also read, for example menu work needs Sales and menu, and shifts need Staff.
• If the app says it may not read some data, that kind was not ticked: disconnect and connect again with it ticked.

Let the AI app create drafts for approval

With Create drafts for approval ticked, the AI app can draft menu price changes, switching menu items on or off, new menu items, purchase orders from low stock, new suppliers, shifts, store settings (store profile, opening hours, menu categories, item details, option groups), new stock items, menu recipes (BOM) and promotions. Nothing changes in the store until someone allowed to do that job approves it on AI drafts to approve. Approving carries it out in the approver's name.

Good to know

• Drafts expire after 7 days. Disconnecting the app, or connecting it again, expires its pending drafts at once.

Changes apply immediately (no approval)

If you tick Change store data immediately, the consent page shows a red warning and you must also tick that you understand the risks before the permission is granted. The app can then edit menu item names, descriptions and categories, switch items on or off, change selling prices, add new suppliers and add draft shifts immediately, without approval.

Good to know

• A selling price may move at most 50% up or down from the price 24 hours earlier, across all changes and apps. A price a person sets in BoxBak becomes the new starting price. The app must state the current price correctly; if it is off or the limit is exceeded, nothing changes.
• One app can make at most 60 direct changes per hour.
• The app can never change stock, cash, refunds, tax, payroll, purchase orders, employees or user permissions.
• Remove this permission in Settings › AI connectors with Remove direct changes; the app stays connected and can still read.

Check and revert what the AI changed

Every direct change is recorded in the audit log and the app's activity history, but nothing is undone automatically. If the AI got it wrong, open Changes made by AI (an app with direct changes has a See changes made by AI and revert them button) and select the changes to revert. The previous value is restored only where nobody has changed it since.

Ask how to use BoxBak through the AI app

A connected AI app can also ask how to use BoxBak, for example how to void a bill. It gets up to 3 matching guides, showing only the parts the connected account may use, with direct links to the right screens, and is told which features are switched off for the store. Searching the guide is free, uses no store credits, and has no daily answer allowance like the in-app assistant.

Disconnect and see the activity history

Settings › AI connectors lists connected apps, what each may read, when it was last used, recently disconnected apps with the reason, and recent activity (reading data, creating drafts or direct changes). Press Disconnect and the app can no longer read anything, immediately.

Good to know

• Apps are disconnected automatically when the owner's password is reset through Forgot password, when the approver is no longer the owner, or when a reused credential suggests a leak.
• An app not used for more than 30 days must be connected again.
• One connection may make at most 60 requests per minute and 3,000 per day.

Cannot connect: what to check

If you see Only the store owner can connect an AI app, sign out, sign in with the owner account, and start again from the AI app. If the request expired, connect again from the AI app. After too many wrong passwords the page locks for a while; wait about 15 minutes and try again.

Good to know

• AI connectors are not enabled for this store means the BoxBak team has switched them off for the store; contact the BoxBak team.
• If the app says a feature is off, that kind of data comes from a feature the store has not switched on.