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Connecting to the Grata MCP Server

Step-by-step instructions for connecting Grata's private market intelligence to your favorite LLM: Blueflame AI · Claude · ChatGPT · Microsoft Copilot · Perplexity

Written by Grace Wan

Overview

The Grata MCP server lets AI assistants search, enrich, and analyze Grata's private company database directly inside your chat. Once connected, you can ask your AI assistant to find lookalike companies, pull funding rounds, build buyer lists, search M&A transactions, and export results — all without leaving the conversation.

This guide walks through connecting the Grata MCP server in four major AI platforms. Each section is self-contained, so jump straight to the platform you use.

What you'll need:

  • A Grata platform seat

  • An account on the AI platform you want to connect, on a plan that supports custom MCP connectors (see each section for plan requirements).

  • The Grata MCP server URL:

Authentication: The Grata MCP server uses OAuth 2.0. When you add the connector, the platform will redirect you to Grata to sign in and authorize access.

Pop-up and ad blockers can prevent this login window from showing up! Check these are disabled if you're having any issues.

Platforms in this guide:

  • Blueflame AI

  • Claude

  • ChatGPT

  • Microsoft Copilot (Copilot Studio)

  • Perplexity

Blueflame AI

Plan required: Any Blueflame subscription. Available exclusively to mutual clients. You must have both an active Grata subscription and a Blueflame subscription.

Who can add it:  Any Blueflame user can connect Grata to their own account from the Integrations page.

Setup

  1. Sign in to Blueflame in your browser

  2. Click your username on the bottom-left navigation menu to open your Profile Page

  3. Click the gear icon in the top right corner of your Profile Page to access the Integrations Page

  4. Find Grata MCP in the list of available integrations and click Connect

  5. Authenticate when prompted. You will be asked for your Grata credentials to validate the connection.

  6. Approve the requested permissions

  7. You'll be returned to Blueflame's Integrations page, where Grata will now show a status of Connected. The integration is enabled immediately - there is no wait period.

Using Grata in a conversation

  1. Open or start a chat in Blueflame

  2. Use the @Grata prompt in your message or simply ask Blaze a question that requires Grata data. Blaze will call Grata's tools automatically

  3. No per-conversation toggling required - once connected, Grata is available across all your chats

Try asking:

  • "Use Grata to map the U.S. behavioral health market by ownership type and revenue band."

  • "Find PE-backed acquirers of cybersecurity MSSPs over the last 24 months via Grata."

  • "Pull executive contacts from Grata for the top 20 results in my last industrial coatings search."

Verify it's working:  When Blaze calls a Grata tool, you'll see a tool-use block in the chat showing the tool name and the parameters. If Grata isn't being used, mention it explicitly: "Use the Grata integration to…"

Claude

Plan required: Free, Pro, Max, Team, or Enterprise. (Free accounts are limited to one custom connector.)

Who can add it: Any user on Free/Pro/Max plans. On Team and Enterprise plans, only Owners can add custom connectors at the org level

Setup - Source

  1. Sign in to claude.ai in your browser

  2. Open Claude's settings. Click your profile icon in the lower-left, choose Settings, then select Connectors in the sidebar. (You can also navigate directly to claude.ai/settings/connectors.)

  3. Scroll to the bottom of the Connectors page and click “Add custom connector”

    • Team / Enterprise users: If you don't see this button, an Owner must first enable custom connectors from Organization settings → Connectors → Add custom connector. Once added at the org level, members can enable Grata individually from their own Connectors page.

  4. In the dialog, fill in:

  5. Click Add. A Grata sign-in window will pop up. Sign in with your Grata credentials and approve the requested permissions.

  6. You'll be returned to Claude's Connectors page, where Grata will now appear as a connected service.

Using Grata in a conversation

  1. Open or start a chat in Claude.

  2. Click the + button at the lower-left of the chat box, then choose Connectors.

  3. Toggle Grata on for the conversation.

  4. Ask Claude a question — it will call Grata's tools automatically.

Try asking:

  • "Find 25 founder-owned HVAC companies in the Southeast U.S. with 50–250 employees."

  • "Show me companies similar to Acme Corp and export the list to Excel."

  • "Who are the most active PE buyers in pediatric dentistry over the last 18 months?"

Verify it's working: When Claude calls a Grata tool, you'll see a tool-use block in the chat showing the tool name (e.g. Grata:search_companies) and the parameters. If Grata isn't being used, mention it explicitly: "Use the Grata connector to…"

Setup Instructions for Claude Code

Run the following in a terminal window:

claude mcp add --transport http grata https://mcp.grata.com
claude
mcp

ChatGPT

Plan required: ChatGPT Pro, Business, or Enterprise accounts on the web. Custom MCP connectors are not available on Free or Plus.

Who can add it: On Business and Enterprise workspaces, only an admin or owner can enable Developer Mode and publish a custom connector. Pro users can add custom connectors for their own account.

Setup - Source

Step 1 — Enable Developer Mode (workspace admins)

Developer mode must be activated before any custom MCP connector can be added. Only admins/owners can enable developer mode.

  1. Sign in to ChatGPT as a workspace admin or owner.

  2. Navigate to Workspace Settings → Permissions & Roles → Connected Data Developer mode / Create custom MCP connectors

  3. Toggle Developer Mode to ON.

Step 2 — Add the Grata connector

  1. From Workspace Settings navigate Apps → Create

  2. Fill in the connector details:

  3. Click “Create” to add the connector.

  4. After configuration, the app appears as a draft in Workspace Settings → Apps → Drafts

Step 3 — Publish to the workspace (Business / Enterprise)

  1. Only Admins and Owners can publish apps. Go to Workplace Settings → Apps to publish. Click on Drafts and then the Publish button.

  2. Review the safety prompts and confirm. The connector now appears in members' Apps & Connectors list, labeled custom.

  3. Members of your organization with a current Grata seat can connect their Grata account and start querying in chat

Using Grata in a chat

  1. Start a new conversation.

  2. Click the + button in the left side of the message box, or open the model selector and choose Developer mode.

  3. Select Grata from the apps/connectors list.

  4. Type your prompt. ChatGPT will request approval before running any write actions (e.g., exporting a search).

Note on memory: ChatGPT automatically disables conversation memory when Developer Mode is active for a chat. This is OpenAI's safeguard, not a Grata limitation.

Try asking:

  • "Use Grata to find specialty chemical distributors in Texas with $20–100M revenue."

  • "Pull the funding history for Grata's top 10 lookalikes to OpenAI."

  • "Search Grata for live deals in the industrial services space and summarize them."

Setup Instructions for Codex

Run the following in a terminal window:

/path/to/app mcp add grata --url https://mcp.grata.com
/path/to/app mcp login grata

Please ensure that /path/to/app is replaced with your installation path for Codex.

Microsoft Copilot (Copilot Studio)

Microsoft Copilot connects to third-party MCP servers through Copilot Studio agents. Once an agent is built around the Grata MCP server, you (and anyone you share the agent with) can use Grata from Microsoft 365 Copilot, Microsoft Teams, or any channel where the agent is published.

Plan required: A Microsoft Copilot Studio license, plus an environment with permission to add custom connectors. To publish to Microsoft 365 Copilot, end users need a Microsoft 365 Copilot license.

Who can add it: Makers, developers, or admins with permissions in your Copilot Studio environment.

Setup - Source

Step 1 — Open or create an agent

  1. Sign in to copilotstudio.microsoft.com.

  2. Select the environment where you want to host the connector.

  3. Open an existing agent, or click Create → New agent and walk through the brief setup.

Step 2 — Add Grata as a tool via the MCP wizard

  1. In your agent, open the Tools tab and click New Tool

  2. In the onboarding wizard, select Model Context Protocol as the tool type

  3. Fill in the required fields:

  4. For Authentication, choose OAuth 2.0 → Dynamic discovery.

  5. Select Create, then hit Next. The Add tool dialog appears.

  6. On Add tool, select “Create a new connection” for your MCP server

  7. Select “Add to agent” to finish

Using Grata in Microsoft 365 Copilot

  1. Sign in to Microsoft 365 Copilot.

  2. Open the agent from the left-hand menu and start asking questions. The first time, you'll be prompted to establish a connection — sign in with your Grata account when prompted.

Try asking:

  • "Use Grata to map the U.S. plumbing services market by revenue band."

  • "Find acquirers of orthopedic device companies in the last three years."

  • "Pull the executive contacts at the top 10 results from my last Grata search."

Perplexity

Plan required: Accessible with Enterprise accounts

Who can add it: Admins can either share Grata across the entire organization or let members add it themselves, depending on org settings.

Setup - Source

  1. Sign in to Perplexity in your browser.

  2. Open Account Settings → Connectors.

  3. Click “+ Custom connector” in the top-right corner.

  4. In the pop-up modal, select Remote.

  5. Fill in the fields:

    • Name: Grata

    • MCP Server URL:

    • Description: Private company intelligence and M&A search

    • Authentication: OAuth

    • Transport: Streamable HTTP

    • Icon: Optional. PNG or JPG up to 128 KB.

  6. Check the acknowledgement box confirming you understand the risks of custom connectors.

  7. Click Add. The Grata card now appears on your Connectors screen in Account settings.

  8. Click the new Grata card to start the OAuth flow. Sign in with your Grata account and approve the permissions.

Sharing Grata with your organization (Enterprise admins)

Organization-wide connectors in enterprise accounts may not appear right away. The connector creator must share the connector with the organization before others can access it

  1. After adding the connector as above, open Enterprise Settings → Permissions.

  2. Find the Grata connector and choose to share it with the entire organization.

Using Grata in a Perplexity conversation

  1. Start a new thread.

  2. Open the connectors menu in the composer and enable Grata.

  3. Ask your question. Perplexity will call the relevant Grata tools and cite the responses.

Try asking:

  • "Use Grata to map the U.S. medspa market and identify roll-up candidates with 5–20 locations."

  • "Find investment bankers active in lower middle-market consumer brands."

  • "Search Grata's deal network for live mandates in industrial automation."

Troubleshooting

The connector won't authenticate

  • Confirm pop-ups aren't blocked for the AI platform's domain — OAuth flows open in a new window.

  • Try in an incognito / private window. Browser extensions (ad blockers, privacy tools) can interrupt OAuth callbacks.

The AI assistant ignores the Grata connector

  • Check the connector is toggled on for this conversation, not just installed. Most platforms require per-chat enablement.

  • Be explicit in your prompt: "Use the Grata connector to…" or "Search Grata for…"

  • If a built-in web search runs instead, tell the model to disallow it: "Do not use built-in web search; only use the Grata connector."

You're on a plan that doesn't support custom MCP

  • Reference the Plan required row in each platform's section above. Today, custom MCP connectors are typically a paid-tier feature on every platform except Claude (which includes one free custom connector on the Free plan).

You're receiving an error that says, "Authorization with the MCP server failed. You can check your credentials and permissions."

  • Log out of search.grata.com

  • Ensure all other browser instances of search.grata.com are closed

  • Attempt to reconnect to the Grata MCP

If issues persist or you’re struggling with set up, reach out to your Grata contact for support.

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