Skip to main content

Getting Started with Synthesis MCP Server

Greg Moore
  • Updated

The Synthesis MCP Server lets an external AI platform - such as Claude, Microsoft Copilot, or ChatGPT - search and retrieve content from your Synthesis intranet. This article walks you through everything you need to do inside Synthesis before you connect it to the AI platform your firm uses.

What is Synthesis MCP Server?

MCP stands for Model Context Protocol, the standard that AI platforms use to connect to outside data sources. 

When you connect Synthesis through MCP, your AI platform can:

  • Search Synthesis content - pages, posts, documents, and video transcripts, with the same reach as Synthesis Search
  • Query your Employee and Project Directories - for example, "fin healthcare projects in New Jersey completed since 2020 on [Intranet Name]"
  • Return links back to Synthesis so you can click through and verify the source

A few things are helpful to know up front:

  • It's read-only. The connection only searches and retrieves. It can't create, edit, or delete anything in Synthesis.
  • It respects Synthesis permissions. Draft and unpublished pages aren't returned.
  • Your AI platform writes the answer, not Synthesis. Synthesis sends back search results and content, and your AI platform decides how to use and present them. That means the same question can produce different answers in Claude, Copilot, and ChatGPT.

Staging + Production Mode

The MCP Server has two modes, Staging and Production Mode

MCP Server starts out in Staging Mode. In Staging Mode, only Global Administrators and the people you add to the access list can connect. This gives you time to test the connection with a small group, try out prompts and workflows, and get comfortable with how your AI platform uses Synthesis content before anyone else at your firm sees it.

Adding Users to Staging Mode

To add users while in Staging Mode:

  1. In Synthesis, click the Settings cog, then select Settings under Configuration.
  2. Go to Integrations > Synthesis MCP Server.
  3. Confirm that MCP Access Mode is set to Staging Mode.
  4. In the list of users who can access the MCP Server in Staging Mode, click Add users.
  5. Search for and select the people you want to add.
  6. Confirm they now appear in the list, with their Name and Title.
  7. Click Save.

Make sure you add the same account each person will use to sign in. 

Global Administrators don't need to be added - they always have access.

Switching to Production Mode

Switch to Production Mode when you're ready for everyone at your firm to connect. 

To switch modes:

  1. In Synthesis, click the Settings cog, then select Settings under Configuration.
  2. Go to Integrations > Synthesis MCP Server.
  3. Under MCP Access Mode, select Production Mode from the dropdown.
  4. Click Save.

Once you're in Production Mode, everyone at your firm can connect, and you no longer need to manage the access list. 

Note:

  • Global admins always have access and do not need to be added to the staging list.
  • In Staging Mode, add non-admin testers by clicking Add users on the Synthesis MCP Server page, then click Save. Make sure you add the same account they'll use to sign in.

Connect your AI platform

Connecting is a two-part process:

  1. An admin adds Synthesis as a connector in your firm's AI platform.
  2. Each user connects and signs in individually. Adding the connector at the organization level doesn't connect anyone automatically.

Follow the steps for your firm's AI platform:

Questions or feedback

Setup and connection steps differ a bit from one AI platform to another. If you run into trouble, contact support@knowledge-architecture.com.

We'd also love to hear what you're building - prompts and workflows you're using, examples of what's working, or short videos of friction points all help us improve the MCP Server.