AI assistants can work with Subcontext in two directions:
- Your team uses an assistant to work in Subcontext. You connect Claude, ChatGPT, Codex or another assistant to your own Subcontext account, and ask it to look up leads, change a product or check what's happening, in plain English. This is the MCP server.
- The public uses an assistant to reach your firm. People who use ChatGPT or Claude, AI assistants in their browser, or other businesses' AI agents can talk to your agent, get a quote, register interest or book a callback. These are assistant apps, WebMCP and the A2A agent card.
These are built on open standards. The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is what most AI assistants use, and Agent2Agent (A2A) is for agents talking to each other. Every call goes through Subcontext and is logged.
Which one do I want?#
| You want | Who uses it | Use | Set up in the dashboard |
|---|---|---|---|
| To work in Subcontext from Claude, ChatGPT, Codex or another assistant | You and your colleagues, signed in as yourselves | The MCP server | None. You connect from the assistant and approve it |
| People in ChatGPT or Claude to get quotes, register interest or book a callback with you | The public | An assistant app | Organisation > Agent access, ChatGPT apps or Claude apps |
| AI assistants in your visitors' browsers to use your tools on your website | Visitors to your website | WebMCP | Organisation > Agent access, WebMCP tools |
| Other businesses' AI agents to ask your agent questions, server to server | Other AI agents | An A2A agent card | Organisation > Agent access, A2A agent card |
The MCP tool reference lists every tool the MCP server offers, with its arguments. It's generated from the server, so it stays up to date.
How they differ#
The MCP server is private. An assistant connected to it acts as the person who connected it, with their permissions, in the organisations they chose. Nobody can use it without signing in to Subcontext and approving access. It has the same tools as the assistant in the Subcontext dashboard.
Assistant apps, WebMCP and A2A are public. They're how the outside world reaches your firm, so nobody signs in. Each offers a small, fixed set of tools that you choose (such as quotes, callbacks and questions for your agent), and questions are answered by your live agent, with its knowledge and compliance rules. They're part of Agent access, a plan feature that owners and managers set up. If you don't see Agent access in the dashboard, ask us.
Need help?#
Email hello@subcontext.com.
In this section
- Connect an AI assistant (MCP) Work in Subcontext from Claude, ChatGPT, Codex, Claude Code or any assistant that supports MCP, signed in as yourself.
- Your agent in ChatGPT and Claude Publish an assistant app so people can get quotes, register interest and book a callback with your firm from inside ChatGPT or Claude.
- A2A agent card Publish an agent card so other AI agents can find your agent and ask it questions directly, server to server.
- WebMCP Offer your tools to AI assistants in your visitors' browsers with one script tag, and how that fits with the MCP server, assistant apps and A2A.
- MCP tool reference Every tool an AI assistant can use through the Subcontext MCP server, by permission group.