---
title: "Connect your AI assistant (MCP)"
description: "Ask Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or another MCP assistant about your site’s SEO, using your own account."
url: "https://tryindexplane.com/docs/mcp/connect/"
markdown: "https://tryindexplane.com/docs/mcp/connect.md"
---

# Connect your AI assistant (MCP)

Ask Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or another MCP assistant about your site’s SEO, using your own account.

AI agents & MCP · Free, Pro · IndexPlane 0.4+ · WP 6.9+ · Updated 2026-11-01

You can ask Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or another MCP-compatible assistant about your site’s SEO: what changed, which incidents are open, what a URL serves. Your assistant uses your own account; IndexPlane only supplies the data and the safe operations.

## Before you start

- WordPress 6.9 or later, served over HTTPS.
- The **MCP Adapter** plugin installed and active.
- In IndexPlane: **Settings → Integrations → AI agents (MCP)** → turn on **Read**. (Prepare and Operate need Pro.)

## Create a dedicated user

1. Go to **Users → Add New**.
2. Create a user called `seo-agent`.
3. Give it the **SEO Viewer** role. IndexPlane adds this role; it has `indexplane_view_console` and nothing else.

Important

Don’t use an administrator account for your assistant.

## Create an application password

1. Edit the `seo-agent` user and scroll to **Application Passwords**.
2. Name it after the device, for example “Claude on Maria’s laptop”.
3. Click **Add New Application Password** and copy the password. It’s shown only once.

## Connect your assistant

Add this to `claude_desktop_config.json`:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "my-site-seo": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@automattic/mcp-wordpress-remote@latest"],
      "env": {
        "WP_API_URL": "https://example.com/wp-json/mcp/mcp-adapter-default-server",
        "WP_API_USERNAME": "seo-agent",
        "WP_API_PASSWORD": "xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

```bash
claude mcp add --transport http my-site-seo https://example.com/wp-json/mcp/mcp-adapter-default-server --header "Authorization: Basic <base64 of seo-agent:password>"
```

Add a server to `.cursor/mcp.json` with the same URL and an `Authorization: Basic …` header.

No password needed:

```bash
wp mcp-adapter serve --user=seo-agent --server=mcp-adapter-default-server
```

## Check it works

1. Ask: *“List the IndexPlane abilities you can use, and say which of them can change anything.”*
2. With **Read** on, the answer should list only read abilities.
3. Try a real question: *“What changed on my site since the last restore point, and which WordPress events happened around then?”*

Important

Text from your pages (titles, HTML) reaches the assistant marked as untrusted site data. If a page contains instructions aimed at AI, IndexPlane labels them as content, not commands.

Pro feature

With **Prepare** on, the assistant can draft a fix as a change set and show the blast radius. With **Operate**, it can apply a change set you’ve reviewed. It must quote the change-set ID and precondition hash, and changes over 50 URLs need your typed confirmation. Every call is logged under **Diagnostics → Events**.

[Compare plans →](https://tryindexplane.com/pricing/)

Learn more about how IndexPlane talks to your assistant

IndexPlane’s operations are WordPress Abilities. The official WordPress MCP Adapter makes them available to your own AI assistant through three tools: discover abilities, get ability info and execute ability. IndexPlane doesn’t run an MCP server of its own, doesn’t bundle the adapter and doesn’t pay for tokens.

Can’t connect? Try the MCP troubleshooter.