Connect ChatGPT to BCA Intelligence
A quick guide to configuring the connector, connecting your BCA account, and getting started.
Learn how to
Before you start
Before setting up the BCA Intelligence MCP connector in ChatGPT, make sure you have:
- An active BCA Research subscription with document search enabled. If you are unsure whether it is enabled, contact your BCA account representative.
- Access to a ChatGPT workspace that supports the BCA Intelligence connector.
- Approval from your ChatGPT workspace administrator, if required. If you do not see an option to add or access the connector, your administrator may need to enable or configure it for you.
What You'll Need
| Customer Information | Purpose |
BCA website email credential | The email address you would use to log into the BCA Research website |
BCA website password credential | The password you would use to log into the BCA Research website |
BCA MCP URL | The BCA MCP URL you need to provide to your chatbot. This tells your chatbot where it can go to search BCA Documents |
BCA MCP OAuth ID | This is a required field as part of the MCP Setup. It will be used to configure the Authentication. |
BCA Customer Support contact | Please check the support section at the end of the document so you have email and support. |
Overview
BCA Research Document Search is a connector that lets Chatbots (Claude, ChatGPT, CoPilot, etc) search directly across BCA Research's library of reports on your behalf, within your firm's existing subscription. Once connected, you can ask Claude questions like
- “What has BCA published recently on the Fed's rate path?”
- “What is BCA’s view on the UK economy?”
ChatGPT will search BCA content directly instead of relying only on general web knowledge.
The connector only returns content included in your subscription. It does not change or expand your access.
Configure the connector in ChatGPT
ChatGPT occasionally updates its navigation and menu labels. If the wording in the tutorial differs slightly from what you see, look for the nearest equivalent under your workspace settings, plugins, or connectors.
The connector only needs to be configured once for your ChatGPT workspace. If your administrator has already configured it, proceed to the next step to connect your BCA account..
Watch the step-by-step tutorial: Configure the MCP connector
Here's an interactive tutorial
Connect your BCA account
Once the connector is available in your workspace, find BCA Research Document Search and select Connect.
Sign in using the email address and password associated with your BCA subscription. After you complete the sign-in and authorization process, the connector should display a status of Connected or appear among your available connected tools.
Watch the step-by-step tutorial: Connect your BCA account
Here's an interactive tutorial
Start using BCA Intelligence
Start a new conversation and select or enable BCA Research Document Search from ChatGPT’s available tools, plugins, or connectors.
Once enabled, you can ask ChatGPT to find and analyze the BCA content included in your subscription.
Watch the step-by-step tutorial: Ask your first question
Here's an interactive tutorial
Write more effective prompts
Clear, specific prompts help ChatGPT find the most relevant BCA insight and provide a more useful response.
For better results:
- Tell ChatGPT to use the BCA connector.
- Specify the topic, market, region, or period you want to explore.
- Ask ChatGPT to cite the supporting BCA reports.
- For complex questions, identify the perspectives or implications you want ChatGPT to examine.
For example:
“Summarize BCA’s current view on US inflation, identify the key risks, and cite three supporting reports.”
Watch this video for tips on getting better answers.
How BCA Intelligence works in ChatGPT
The BCA Research MCP connector uses the following tools to find and analyze BCA content.
Report Tools
| Tool | Purpose |
reports_search | Finds and lists BCA reports on a topic — the default for “find a report on X” or “which reports discuss Y.” |
reports_analyze | Answers broader analytical questions (views, outlook, stance) by pulling and synthesizing evidence across many reports at once, not just one. |
reports_retrieve | Deep-dives into one specific report you've already identified, pulling the exact passages relevant to your question. |
Supporting Tools
| Tool | Purpose |
list_authors | Searches BCA Author’s |
list_products | Lists BCA Products |
list_publications | Lists BCA Publications |
Troubleshooting
Connection/Sign-in Issues
| What you see | What it means / what to do |
“You are not connected to BCA Research Document Search yet” | You’ve added the connector but haven’t completed sign-in (Steps 4–6), or a previous sign-in session expired. Click “Connect” again and complete the sign-in flow. |
Sign-in page loops back to itself, or a security/verification check never clears | Try again in a private/incognito browser window, or clear cookies for claude.ai and your BCA sign-in domain, then retry. If it persists, try a different browser. |
Signed in successfully, but the connector still shows “Not connected” | Refresh the Connectors settings page. If it still shows “Not connected,” remove the connector and re-add it (Steps 2–4) rather than clicking Connect repeatedly. |
“Add custom connector” | This option isn’t visible. Your Claude plan or workspace policy may not allow custom connectors. Confirm you’re on Pro/Max/Team/Enterprise, and if on a Team/Enterprise workspace, ask your admin to enable custom connectors for the workspace. |
Access and permissions errors
These errors appear once you’re connected and ask Claude a question, when your BCA Research subscription doesn’t cover what was requested. They are not connection problems — reconnecting will not fix them.
| What you see | What it means / what to do |
“Access denied: your subscription does not include report access.” | Your BCA Research subscription does not include report search. Contact your account representative to add this. |
“Access denied: your subscription does not include chart access.” | Your subscription does not include chart search, which is separate from report access. Contact your account representative to add this. |
“Access denied: this report’s product is not in your subscription.” | The specific report belongs to a BCA product/service you’re not subscribed to. Ask Claude to search only within products you do subscribe to, or contact your account representative about adding the product. |
“Access denied: this report’s product is expired.” | Your subscription to that product has lapsed. Contact your account representative to renew. |
“Access denied: this report (published YYYY-MM-DD) is outside your content window...” | Your subscription only covers a specific date range, and the report falls outside it. Contact your account representative if you need access to older or newer content. |