Connect a client - Cognizo Docs

The server is at https://mcp.cognizo.ai/mcp, transport Streamable HTTP — you need that URL for the API-key clients below. Claude finds it for you. How you authenticate depends on the client:

Your client	How it connects
Claude — web, desktop, mobile, Cowork	Sign in. Connect from the directory, then pick your organization.
Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf	API key in the `X-API-KEY` header.
ChatGPT	API key in a custom header. Requires developer mode.

All of them reach the same tools with the same permissions. The difference is only where the credential comes from — a browser sign-in, or a key you created.

Claude (web, desktop, mobile, Cowork)

Cognizo is an official Claude connector. Nothing to create beforehand, no URL to paste and no key.

Add the connector

Open claude.ai/directory/cognizo and click Connect — or find it yourself under Settings → Connectors → Browse connectors.

You’ll be sent to Cognizo to sign in, then shown a consent screen asking to share your organization membership.

Pick your organization

The consent screen has an organization selector. The one you choose is the one the connector reads — Claude sees that organization’s brands and no others.

Connected to the wrong organization? Disconnect the connector and connect it again — the selector appears each time you authorize, so switching organizations is the same three clicks.

Added Cognizo as a custom connector before? Disconnect and remove it, then add the official one. Same tools, same sign-in — but nothing to keep pasting.

Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf

These send a header themselves, so they use an API key. Create one at app.cognizo.ai/api-keys. One key per client makes it easy to revoke a single machine later — see Authentication for expiry, rotation and scope.

Claude Code
Cursor
VS Code
Windsurf

claude mcp add cognizo --transport http https://mcp.cognizo.ai/mcp \
  --header "X-API-KEY: YOUR_API_KEY"

Check it registered with claude mcp list.

Settings → Tools & Integrations → MCP → Add custom MCP, then:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cognizo": {
      "url": "https://mcp.cognizo.ai/mcp",
      "headers": { "X-API-KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY" }
    }
  }
}

Add to .vscode/mcp.json (workspace) or your user mcp.json:

{
  "servers": {
    "cognizo": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.cognizo.ai/mcp",
      "headers": { "X-API-KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY" }
    }
  }
}

Don’t commit a real key — use an input variable or an env var reference if the file is checked in.

Settings → MCP → Add Server. Set the URL to https://mcp.cognizo.ai/mcp and add a header X-API-KEY: YOUR_API_KEY.

Any MCP client that speaks Streamable HTTP works — either sign-in or a custom header. Those are the ones we test.

ChatGPT

ChatGPT connects with an API key in a custom header rather than a browser sign-in, and custom MCP servers require developer mode. Create the key first at app.cognizo.ai/api-keys. OpenAI’s developer mode guide is the authoritative reference for enabling developer mode and for how ChatGPT handles third-party tools. The settings below are the Cognizo-specific part.

Turn on developer mode

Follow OpenAI’s developer mode guide. It’s off by default, and custom MCP servers don’t appear until it’s on.

Add the app

Go to Settings → Apps (workspace settings, if you’re on a Business or Enterprise plan — an admin may need to do this) and add a new app for a remote MCP server, with:

Field	Value
Name	`Cognizo`
Description	`An MCP for Cognizo.`
URL	`https://mcp.cognizo.ai/mcp`
Authentication	Access token / API key
Header scheme	Custom header
Header name	`X-API-KEY`

Paste your key

The token value is your Cognizo API key. Paste it raw — no Bearer prefix, no quotes.

Pick the app in a chat

Select the Cognizo app from the developer-mode menu before asking a question, or ChatGPT won’t have the tools in that conversation.

ChatGPT asks you to confirm write actions and shows the input it is about to send. Review that input before approving: the same key that lists your brands can also create, update and delete them. See Writes.

Verify

Ask your assistant:

List my Cognizo brands.

You should get your brands back. If the client shows a tool call, it’ll be list_brands. Nothing? Head to Security & troubleshooting.

First things to try

Once it’s connected, these are the questions the tools are shaped for:

How is Acme doing in AI search this week?

Which of our tracked prompts have zero visibility?

Which domains get cited for our space, and are we on them?

What content should we create next, and why?

Who’s advertising on our prompts, and what are they saying?

Review our ad opportunities and sort them into strategy lists.

The model picks the tools; you can watch which ones it calls in the client’s tool log. The full list is in Tools.

​Claude (web, desktop, mobile, Cowork)

​Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf

​ChatGPT

​Verify

​First things to try

Claude (web, desktop, mobile, Cowork)

Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf

ChatGPT

Verify

First things to try