Configure AI Connectors for Deep Research

AI Connectors allow Benchling Deep Research to access data from external systems like Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, Slack, and other platforms that support the Model Context Protocol (MCP). This extends Deep Research's ability to provide comprehensive answers by incorporating information from multiple sources across your organization's data ecosystem. AI Connectors work by establishing secure connections between Benchling and external MCP servers, allowing Deep Research to retrieve relevant information while respecting your authentication and permissions in those systems.

Deep Research must be enabled on your tenant to use AI Connectors. To request that Benchling enable AI Connectors for your tenant, contact Benchling Support or your typical Benchling point of contact. 

Note: AI Connectors currently work with Deep Research only. Deep Research automatically determines which connected systems to query based on your prompt.

Configure AI Connectors

Before AI Connections are available for users to enable, tenant admins must first set up the AI Connector for the tenant. 

To configure an AI Connector:

1. Click the AI Connectors tab
2. Click the + icon to create a new connector
3. Complete the connector configuration:
   • Name: Enter a descriptive name for the connector (this is the name that will be visible to users)
   • Server: Enter the MCP server URL (typically ends in /mcp for HTTP connections or /sse for SSE connections)
   • Type: Select the connection type
     • [Default] Use HTTP for most connections (URLs ending in /mcp)
     • Use SSE for server-sent events connections (URLs ending in /sse)
     • If you're unsure, start with HTTP and try SSE if the connection doesn't work
4. Review the available tools from the MCP server and select which tools users can access
5. Click Save

For example, to connect to Notion you might enter https://mcp.notion.com/mcp as the server URL and select HTTP as the type. To connect Deep Research in one tenant to another tenant, you can use the Benchling MCP url format like https://<tenant>.mcp.benchling.com/mcp

See Benchling MCP for more on setting up and using Benchling's MCP Server.

Manage tenant connectors

After creating a connector, admins can adjust settings or remove access. Note, the settings for admins to adjust the behavior for their tenant and to adjust the behavior for themselves as a user are both managed through this page. These settings will be present for tenant admins only:

• Admin settings: Adjust configuration settings for the connector for the entire tenant, including which tools are available to users
• [coming soon] Uninstall: Remove the connector for all users on the tenant

Instructions for setting up AI Connections as a user can be found in the Deep Research article. 

Frequently asked questions

• What types of external systems can I connect?
  • You can connect to any system that provides an MCP server. Common examples include Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, Slack, and other collaboration or data platforms. The system must provide an MCP server URL for the connection.
• Why am I getting an authentication error?
  • If you encounter authentication errors when setting up your connection, the external system may require pre-registration of the connection on the MCP server side. Benchling will support these pre-registered connections in the near future. Contact Benchling Support for assistance with authentication issues.
• Which Benchling features work with AI Connectors?
  • AI Connectors currently work with Deep Research only. You cannot use AI Connectors with Ask or other AI features at this time.
• Do AI Connectors require additional licensing?
  • AI Connectors don't require additional licensing beyond your existing Benchling license. However, your tenant must have Deep Research enabled to use AI Connectors. Depending on the AI Connector, you may be required to have a license to the external system.