Directories.ai is built to be run from your own AI. We've already covered connecting Claude Desktop, but Claude is only one option. If ChatGPT is where you already work, you can point it at the same MCP server and manage your directory from a chat there.
Before you start: check your ChatGPT plan
ChatGPT connects to custom MCP servers through a feature OpenAI calls developer mode. According to OpenAI's help article, full MCP support (tools that can change data as well as read it) is in beta for ChatGPT Business, Enterprise and Edu plans. Pro users can connect MCP servers in developer mode with read and fetch permissions only. OpenAI also notes that these apps work on the web, not on mobile, and that agent mode won't use custom apps.
That matters, because most of what makes Directories.ai useful from an AI is writing: adding listings, creating categories, drafting articles. With read-only access the assistant can answer questions about your directory but can't change it.
The one thing you need from us
There's no API key to copy and nothing to install. The server URL is:
https://directories.ai/mcp
ChatGPT signs in with OAuth, the same way Claude does, so you'll approve the connection on a Directories.ai page. Your account needs to belong to an organization; if you haven't created a directory yet, do that first.
Step 1: Turn on developer mode in ChatGPT
How you get there depends on your plan. On Business, a workspace admin or owner enables developer mode under the workspace's permission settings. On Enterprise and Edu, admins can enable it, and then you'll find the toggle under Settings → Apps → Advanced settings. If you don't see the option at all, it hasn't been enabled for your account yet.
Step 2: Create the app
Still in ChatGPT's settings, go to Apps and choose Create. Then:
https://directories.ai/mcp as the MCP server URL, and give it a name you'll recognise, such as "Directories.ai".On a Business workspace, OpenAI says the new app starts as a draft that an admin publishes for the workspace.
Step 3: Sign in and pick an organization
ChatGPT then opens a Directories.ai page saying the app "wants to manage your directories", with the account you're signed in as.
Pick the organization the connection should manage. If you belong to more than one, there's also an All my organizations box, which covers ones you create or join later too. Then click Allow.
The page spells out what the connection can do. It can read and change listings, categories, content, claims, tasks and imports, and propose code changes as pull requests. It can't touch billing, domains, members or credentials, and every change is logged.
Step 4: Use it in a chat
In ChatGPT, you select apps per message. Pick Directories.ai for the message where you want it, and pick it again on a follow-up that needs fresh data or another action.
Good first prompts:
list_directories and get_directory_health, whose readiness check lists what's missing (domain, mailing address, tracking and so on) and where you fix each item.list_playbooks and get_playbook). Every workflow is still there; you just ask for it.score_listings to rate listings for completeness, which is a good way to find thin descriptions before you publish.Changes go in carefully by default. Imports create drafts, and changes to your live site only ever arrive as a pull request for a person to review.
If something doesn't work
Disconnecting
Every app you've approved is listed in your dashboard under Settings → API Keys → Connected AI apps. Click Disconnect and it loses access immediately.
Not using ChatGPT?
The same URL works in any client that supports remote MCP, including Gemini CLI, Cursor and VS Code. Local-model setups that can't do OAuth can use an API key from Dashboard → Settings → API Keys instead. The MCP integration guide has the config for each.