MCP Gateway: Let Your Bot Use Your Systems Mid-Conversation
MCP Gateway
Authava's MCP Gateway lets your bot use your own systems in the middle of a conversation. When a visitor asks something only a live system can answer, such as an order status, a current price, or an open appointment slot, the bot calls the right tool, gets the real answer, and uses it in its reply.
It's built on the Model Context Protocol (MCP), an open standard for connecting AI models to tools and data.
Which direction is this? MCP Gateway is about your bot reaching out to your systems. It's separate from letting outside AI assistants talk to your bot.
What Can The Bot Do With It?
Each tool you give the bot does one of three things:
- Call an API. Look up a customer record, check inventory, calculate a quote, or send data to your own endpoint.
- Show an embedded widget. Put a booking calendar, order tracker, or chart right inside the chat.
- Give an exact answer. Return fixed wording, like a policy statement, word for word, without the AI rephrasing it.
Why Does This Matter?
A bot that only knows its knowledge base can describe your business, but it can't check anything. MCP Gateway closes that gap.
- Live answers instead of guesses. "Where's my order?" gets the real status from your system, not a general explanation of shipping times.
- Your data stays in your systems. The bot asks your API at the moment of the question. You don't upload your customer database to Authava. The bot's answer is saved in that conversation's transcript, and tool activity may be logged for troubleshooting.
- Exact wording when it matters. For legal, pricing, or policy answers, an exact-answer tool shows your approved text as written.
How Is This Different From A Regular API Integration?
A regular integration is a fixed pipe: a form sends exact fields, in exactly the right format, to one endpoint. People don't talk that way. MCP Gateway connects how people talk to how your systems expect requests.
- Plain language becomes the right parameters. Each tool describes the inputs it needs. When a visitor says "where's the blue jacket I ordered last week," the bot picks the right tool and fills in its inputs from what the visitor meant.
- It works across several messages. If a required detail is missing, the bot can ask for it, then call the tool once it has the answer. Earlier details stay in context, so a follow-up like "and when will it arrive?" builds on the last result.
- Tools can be chained. One answer can use several tools, with one result informing the next: find the customer, then their order, then show the tracking widget.
- Identity travels with the call. For a signed-in visitor, the bot doesn't need to ask for an account number.
For example, a visitor asks, "Can I still return the boots I bought?" The bot looks up their recent orders, asks which pair they mean if there's more than one, checks the return window, and answers with the actual date, all in one conversation.
How Is A Tool Set Up?
Tools are defined in a short configuration file instead of custom code. Each tool has a name, a plain-English description that tells the bot when to use it, the inputs it needs, and what it does when called.
Tools run on Authava's hosted gateway, so there's no separate server for you to run.
Can It Look Up Data For A Logged-In User?
Yes. When a visitor is signed in to your site (for example through your AWS Cognito login or a one-click sign-in handoff), the bot knows who they are, so a tool can fetch "my orders" or "my balance" without asking them to type an account number.
Tools can also be limited to signed-in visitors. If a tool needs someone's identity and the visitor is anonymous, the tool is hidden or doesn't run. It's designed to fail closed rather than send a request with missing information.
See Full Integration for how sign-in works with the bot.
How Does It Connect To Services Like HubSpot?
A tool can use a connected account (OAuth) instead of a fixed API key. Authava keeps the connection's access token refreshed, so tools keep working without anyone re-entering credentials.
What Happens If A System Is Down?
A failed tool call doesn't crash the conversation. The bot is told the lookup failed and can tell the visitor it couldn't check right now. Embedded widgets and exact-answer tools that fail are skipped rather than shown broken.
Example Uses
| Visitor asks | What the bot does |
|---|---|
| "Where's my order?" | Calls your order system with the signed-in visitor's ID and replies with the real status |
| "Can I book a call?" | Shows your booking calendar inside the chat |
| "How much would 40 units cost?" | Calls your pricing API and replies with the calculated quote |
| "What's your refund policy?" | Returns your approved policy text, word for word |
| "Update my phone number" | Sends the change to your CRM through a connected account |
Who Sets It Up?
MCP Gateway tools aren't set up in Studio. Our team configures them with you, since each one connects to a specific system of yours. Tell us which questions need live answers, and we'll scope the tools needed.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Authava's MCP Gateway?
MCP Gateway is the part of Authava that lets a chatbot call outside systems, such as APIs, embedded widgets, and exact-wording answers, in the middle of a conversation, and use the result in its reply. It's built on the Model Context Protocol (MCP) open standard.
How is MCP Gateway different from just calling an API?
The bot fills in each tool's inputs from what the visitor said, asks follow-up questions when something is missing, keeps earlier details in context, and can chain several tools to answer one question. A regular API integration needs exact inputs in a fixed format.
Does Authava store my customer data to answer these questions?
Authava is designed not to keep a copy of your records. The bot calls your system at the moment of the question and uses the answer in that conversation. The bot's reply is saved in the conversation transcript, and tool activity may be logged for troubleshooting.
What kinds of systems can it connect to?
Systems that offer an HTTP (REST) API, such as CRMs, order and inventory systems, pricing engines, and your own internal services. Each tool is configured for a specific system, and connected accounts like HubSpot can be used without a fixed API key.
Can I set up MCP Gateway tools myself in Studio?
No. MCP Gateway tools are configured by our team with you.