Connect your AI assistant to Zefort using MCP

You can connect your AI assistant to Zefort and work with your contracts directly from the assistant. For example, you can find agreements, summarize contract terms, and compare information across contracts.

The connection uses Model Context Protocol (MCP), a standard that lets AI assistants connect to other applications. You do not need to write code to use it.

This article covers Microsoft 365 Copilot, Claude, and other compatible AI assistants.

In this article

• What you can do with Zefort through MCP
• Before you start
• Connect Zefort to Microsoft 365 Copilot
• Connect Zefort to Claude
• Connect another AI assistant
• Try these example requests
• Control access and manage connections
• Troubleshooting

What you can do with Zefort through MCP

What your assistant can do depends on the actions available through the connection and your permissions. For example, you can ask it to:

• Find contracts and information in them.
• Summarize terms, answer questions, and compare agreements.
• Make changes in Zefort, where your permissions allow it.

These are examples. Zefort will add more actions over time. After connecting, ask your assistant:

What can you currently do with Zefort through this connection?

A connection can allow changes to Zefort. If you only want to search and read contracts, disable actions that make changes in the connection’s permissions. See Control access and manage connections.

Before you start

You need:

• A Zefort account with MCP enabled.
• Permission to use agent connections in Zefort.
• An AI assistant that supports remote MCP connections.

Open your personal settings in Zefort and select Agent connections. This is where you can copy your MCP server URL and manage your connections. If you cannot use this page, contact your Zefort administrator.

The company providing your AI assistant receives the contract information the assistant reads from Zefort. Use an assistant your organization has approved for working with contracts.

Connect Zefort to Microsoft 365 Copilot

For Microsoft 365 Copilot, you set up an agent in Copilot Studio. An agent is an assistant set up for a specific task, such as working with your Zefort contracts. After setup, you can use it from Microsoft 365 Copilot.

To complete the setup, you need access to a Copilot Studio environment and permission to create agents and connections. Your organization’s Microsoft licenses and rules must also allow you to publish and use the agent. Ask your Microsoft 365 administrator to check this. A Copilot Studio trial lets you test an agent, but you cannot publish it for use in Microsoft 365 Copilot.

If your organization has already set up a Zefort agent, ask for its installation link and sign in with your own Zefort account when prompted.

Create an agent

1. Open Copilot Studio and sign in with your work account.
2. Create an agent, or open an existing agent you want to connect to Zefort.
3. Give it a recognizable name, such as Zefort contract assistant.

In the agent’s instructions, describe how it should use Zefort. For example:

Use Zefort to find contracts and answer questions about their contents. Include links to the contracts used in your answer. If you cannot find the information, explain what is missing.

Add the Zefort connection

1. In Zefort, open Agent connections and click Copy URL.
2. In Copilot Studio, open your agent’s Tools page.
3. Select Add a tool > New tool > Model Context Protocol.
4. Enter Zefort as the server name and a short description, such as Find and read contracts stored in Zefort.
5. Paste the copied URL into Server URL.
6. Select OAuth 2.0 as the authentication type, then select Dynamic discovery.
7. Click Create and continue to the connection step.
8. Create a new connection. When Zefort opens, sign in, check the profile and organization shown, and click Allow access.
9. Return to Copilot Studio and select Add to agent.

Use each person’s own Zefort access

Set the Zefort tool to use User authentication, so each person signs in with their own Zefort account. If you use the agent author’s sign-in details instead, everyone using the agent’s connection gets that person’s access to Zefort.

For the agent itself, use Authenticate with Microsoft under Settings > Security > Authentication. The Microsoft sign-in identifies who is using the agent. The Zefort sign-in determines which contracts they can access.

Test the connection

1. Return to Zefort and review the new connection’s Permissions. Disable update actions if the agent should only read information.
2. Open the test chat in Copilot Studio.
3. Ask the agent to find a contract you know you can access, for example: Find our contracts with Acme and include links to them.
4. Open a link in the answer and check that it opens the correct contract.

Make the agent available in Microsoft 365 Copilot

1. Publish your agent in Copilot Studio.
2. Open Channels and select Teams and Microsoft 365 Copilot.
3. Select Make agent available in Microsoft 365 Copilot, then click Add channel.
4. Select See agent in Teams and click Add. With the Microsoft 365 option enabled, this installs the agent for both Teams and Microsoft 365 Copilot.
5. In Microsoft 365 Copilot, type @, select your agent, and ask a question.

To let colleagues use the agent, give them access and use the channel’s Availability options to get an installation link. Making it available across your organization may require administrator approval. Each person also needs their own Zefort access.

Connect Zefort to Claude

In Zefort, open your personal settings and select Agent connections > Add connection > Connect to Claude. Follow the steps to allow access, then start a conversation in Claude with the Zefort connection enabled.

Connect another AI assistant

Other assistants can connect using Zefort’s MCP server URL. The exact setup depends on the application.

Connect by signing in to Zefort

1. In Zefort, open Agent connections and click Copy URL.
2. In your AI assistant, add a remote MCP server or custom connector and paste the URL.
3. If asked for the connection type, select Streamable HTTP.
4. Select OAuth authentication and follow the steps to sign in to Zefort and allow access.

Connect using a manual token

If your assistant cannot connect by signing in to Zefort, it may let you connect with a token instead. A token is a secret value you copy from Zefort into the assistant’s connection settings. The assistant must support bearer tokens or custom authentication headers, as described in step 5 below.

1. In Zefort, open Agent connections > Add connection > Create manual credential.
2. Enter a descriptive name, such as the name of your AI assistant, and click Create manual credential.
3. Copy the token and the MCP server URL. The token is shown only once.
4. Add the server URL in your assistant’s MCP settings.
5. If the assistant has a bearer-token field, paste the token there. If it requires a custom header, use Authorization as the header name and Bearer YOUR_TOKEN as its value, replacing YOUR_TOKEN with your token.

Treat the token like a password. Enter it in the connection settings, not in a chat message. Create a separate token for each connection so you can disconnect one without affecting the others.

Try these example requests

Start by asking What can you currently do with Zefort through this connection? You can ask this again later to check which actions are available.

Then try a request below, replacing the example names with your own companies, contracts, or binders:

• Find our contracts with Acme and include a link to each contract.
• Summarize the termination and renewal terms in the Acme service agreement. Include the passages supporting your answer.
• Compare the payment terms in these two contracts: [contract links]. Present the differences in a table.
• Find contracts in the Supplier agreements binder that mention subcontractors. Explain the relevant terms and include contract links.

Name the company, contract, binder, or topic you want to ask about. If your question covers many contracts, start with a smaller group and narrow the question if needed.

Check important answers against the original documents. An assistant may miss information, misunderstand a clause, or show only some of the results. If a search finds nothing, the information may still be in your contracts.

Control access and manage connections

A connection uses the Zefort permissions of the person who approved it or created its token. Your organization’s restrictions and the connection’s own permissions can limit access further.

Change what a connection can access and do

1. Open Agent connections in your personal settings.
2. Find the connection and click Permissions.
3. Under Actions, choose which actions are allowed. For a connection that only reads information, disable any actions that make changes, such as changing contract fields or which binders a contract belongs to.
4. Under Content access, restrict the connection to selected binders if needed.
5. Click Save changes.

These settings cannot give access beyond your existing Zefort permissions or your organization’s restrictions. Permission changes apply to every application using that connection.

When update actions are allowed, the assistant can make those changes directly in Zefort. If you want to prevent changes, disable those actions in the connection’s permissions. Do not rely on the assistant to ask first.

Disconnect an assistant

1. Open Agent connections.
2. Find the connection and click Revoke.
3. Confirm that you want to disconnect the assistant.

The assistant can no longer use that connection to access Zefort. Disconnecting it does not remove information already in its conversations or undo changes it has made in Zefort.

Troubleshooting

I cannot use Agent connections in Zefort

MCP must be enabled for your organization, and your user profile must have permission to use it. Contact your Zefort administrator.

I cannot find the MCP option or publish my agent in Copilot Studio

Ask your Microsoft 365 administrator to check your Copilot Studio access, permissions in the environment, licenses, and your organization’s rules. A trial license lets you test an agent, but you cannot publish it.

The connection fails during sign-in

Copy the server URL again from Zefort and restart the connection process from your assistant. If the Zefort connection request has expired, start a new one. In Copilot Studio, check that you selected OAuth 2.0 and Dynamic discovery.

If sign-in still fails, record the error message and contact support. Do not include passwords or tokens.

The agent works in Copilot Studio but not in Microsoft 365 Copilot

Check that the agent has been published, the Microsoft 365 Copilot channel option is enabled, and you have installed the agent and have permission to use it. If sign-in fails after publishing, ask your administrator to check Authenticate with Microsoft for the agent and User authentication for the Zefort tool.

The assistant cannot find a contract or perform an action

First check that you can open the contract or perform the action in Zefort yourself. Then check the connection’s permissions and binder restrictions. Try a more specific request using the contract’s name or link.

I lost my manual token

You cannot view a token again after closing the window where it was shown. In Agent connections, click Revoke for the old connection. Then create a new manual token and update your assistant’s connection settings.

What happens to the contract information my assistant reads?

Zefort sends the requested information to your AI assistant. How the company providing the assistant uses that information, where it stores it, and how long it keeps it depend on your organization’s agreement with that company and the settings in use. Ask your administrator which assistants are approved for working with your contracts.