How to Connect an AI Assistant to EasySignage?

Learn how to connect Claude, ChatGPT, or Gemini to EasySignage with the MCP server and manage screens by asking in plain language.

What does connecting an AI assistant let me do?

Once connected, you can manage screens, playlists, media, and schedules by asking for it in plain language, and ask questions about how the platform works. The connection uses the EasySignage MCP server. MCP, the Model Context Protocol, is an open standard that lets an AI application talk to an external service.

You decide, area by area, what the assistant is allowed to see and change.

Questions like “Which screens have been offline for more than a day?” or “Create a playlist called Reception Loop and add the images from the Lobby folder” read and change your real account. Questions like “What is the difference between a playlist and a channel?” are answered from the product documentation without touching your data.

 

What do I need before I start?

  • API access on your account, which is included with the Premium plan
  • To be signed in to the account you want to connect, since the connection binds to the account you are currently managing
  • The AI application installed

Then get the server URL: go to Help > AI Assistant and copy the Server URL. On easysignage.com that is https://mcp.easysignage.com/mcp. Copy it from the page rather than typing it, because white-label brands use a different address. If there is no AI Assistant tab, the brand you signed in to has no MCP server.

 

How do I connect Claude?

  • In Claude, open Customize > Connectors
  • Select +, then Add custom connector
  • Paste the server URL and select Add
  • Sign in when Claude asks, then choose what the assistant may access
  • In a chat, select + > Connectors and switch the connector on

On Claude Team and Enterprise plans, an owner adds the connector first under Organization settings > Connectors > Add > Custom > Web.

 

How do I connect ChatGPT?

  • Open Settings > Connectors > Advanced settings and turn on Developer mode
  • Return to Connectors and select Create
  • Enter a name, paste the server URL, and choose OAuth as the authentication method
  • Sign in when ChatGPT asks, then choose what the assistant may access
  • In a chat, select + > More > Developer mode to use the connector

On ChatGPT Business and Enterprise workspaces, an admin must allow custom connectors first under Workspace settings > Permissions & Roles.

 

How do I connect Gemini?

Install Gemini CLI, then run:

gemini mcp add --transport http signage https://mcp.easysignage.com/mcp

Start Gemini CLI, run /mcp auth signage, sign in from the browser window that opens, then choose what the assistant may access.

The Gemini web and mobile apps do not accept custom servers yet. In Gemini Enterprise, an administrator adds EasySignage as a custom MCP server connection instead.

 

What can the assistant access?

After you sign in, a consent screen names the AI application asking and the account it will connect. Set each area to No access, Read only, or Full access: Screens, Groups, Video Wall, Playlists, Channels, Zones, Sync groups, Schedules, Folders, and Media Assets.

Every area starts at the highest level the AI application asked for, so narrow it down before you continue. You must grant at least one area.

With Full access the assistant can create and update content. It cannot delete a screen, playlist, or media file.

 

How do I disconnect an assistant?

Each connection is stored as an API key on your account, named with an MCP: prefix along with the application name and the email of the person who approved it.

  • Go to Settings > API Keys
  • Select the key for the AI application
  • Delete it

Access stops straight away. Key permissions cannot be edited after creation, so to change what an assistant can reach, disconnect it and connect again with different permissions.

 

Why does the connection keep failing?

  • “This connection request has expired or was already used”: a consent link works once. Start again from the AI application rather than reopening the link
  • “This connection request does not match your account”: you are signed in to a different account from the one the request was made for. Switch accounts and start again
  • “This link points to an unrecognised server”: always start the connection from the AI application, never from a consent link someone sent you
  • The AI Assistant tab cannot be selected: the account has no API access. If the tab is missing entirely, the brand has no MCP server