What you can ask
Here are a few examples of what you can do once Ocean.io is connected:
Task | Example prompt |
Find companies | "Find B2B SaaS companies in London with 50–200 employees" |
Lookalikes | "Find companies similar to salesforce.com in Germany" |
Find people | "Find VPs of Sales at fintech companies in New York" |
Check timing and fit | "Why is acme.com a good fit right now?" |
Recommendations | "Show me new accounts that look like my best customers" |
Reveal contacts | "Get emails for these five people" |
Export | "Export these companies to CSV" or "Push these to HubSpot" |
Workflows | "Run my weekly new-accounts workflow" |
You can also research accounts, check signals, explore your customer segments, and work with connected CRM data.
What is Ocean.io MCP?
MCP (Model Context Protocol) is a standard that lets AI assistants connect to external data sources in real time.
With Ocean.io MCP enabled, you can ask your AI assistant to find companies, search for people, check an account's timing and fit, or export a prospect list, and it pulls straight from Ocean's own data to respond.
Example: Type "Find Chicago-based SaaS companies similar to pandadoc.com and export them to CSV" directly in Claude or Cursor, and your assistant runs the search and hands you a download link, done in one turn.
Is MCP included in my plan?
Ocean.io MCP is available on plans under our unified credit offering (V3).
If you're not sure whether your plan includes MCP access, contact our support team through chat and we'll help you check eligibility or upgrade.
Before you begin
There are two ways to connect. You can sign in with your Ocean.io account, so you do not need an API key. In any other tool, use an Ocean.io API key. You can use a key in Claude too. Only managers can see API keys. You can find your API key in your API settings.
Note on credits: All searches and exports through MCP use the same credits pool as regular Ocean.io usage.
How to connect
Claude
Open Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector.
Paste this URL:
https://api.ocean.io/mcp/Click Add, then Connect.
Sign in to Ocean.io and click Allow access.
You're connected! You can now start using Ocean.io inside Claude.
To use an API key instead, paste:
https://api.ocean.io/mcp/?api-token=YOUR_API_TOKEN
No JSON editing or Node.js required.
Claude Code
From your terminal:
claude mcp add --transport http ocean_data_api https://api.ocean.io/mcp/?api-token=YOUR_API_TOKEN
Restart Claude Code (or refresh the MCP tools) to pick it up.
ChatGPT
ChatGPT supports custom MCP connections on eligible plans and workspaces. You may need permission from your workspace administrator.
Go to Settings → Apps → Advanced settings and enable Developer mode, if available.
Return to Apps and select Create app.
Name it Ocean.io and enter
https://api.ocean.io/mcp/as the server URL.Choose OAuth, scan the available tools if prompted, and create the connection.
Sign in to Ocean.io and click Allow access.
Open a new chat and select Ocean.io from your available apps or tools.
Claude Desktop (older versions)
If your build doesn't have the Connectors UI, edit claude_desktop_config.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"ocean_data_api": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"mcp-remote",
"https://api.ocean.io/mcp/?api-token=YOUR_API_TOKEN"
]
}
}
}Quit and reopen Claude Desktop. Ocean.io's tools will appear in your tool picker.
Cursor
Open Cursor Settings → MCP → Add new global MCP server and add:
{
"mcpServers": {
"ocean": {
"url": "https://api.ocean.io/mcp/"
}
}
}
Cursor asks you to sign in to Ocean.io. To use an API token instead, add "headers": { "x-api-token": "YOUR_API_TOKEN" }.
Other assistants
Use https://api.ocean.io/mcp/ with OAuth sign-in, or send your API token in the x-api-token header.
Managing your connection
You can disconnect an AI assistant whenever you want.
Open Ocean.io → Settings → API → Connected apps.
Find the app you want to remove.
Click Disconnect and confirm.
You can reconnect at any time using the instructions above.
Available actions
Search companies: filter by industry, location, size, growth, technology, and more; supports lookalike search.
Search people: filter by job title, seniority, department, skills, location, and company attributes; supports lookalike search.
Similar customers, role changes, and "why now": signal tools that surface lookalikes, job/role movement, and timing triggers worth acting on. These read Ocean's own company and people data on demand; they are not a live buying-intent feed.
Get active segmentation: pulls your segments along with win rate, average deal value, and average time-to-close, so your assistant can prioritize by real performance, not just fit.
Export companies: export up to 10,000 companies per call to CSV, or up to 1,000 per call straight to your CRM or via webhook; returns a download link or syncs directly.
Export people: export people the same way: up to 10,000 per call to CSV, or up to 1,000 per call via webhook. You pass the person ids that a people search returns, not LinkedIn handles or URLs.
Helper lookups: list your CRM pipelines, owners, or configured webhooks, so exports go to exactly the right place without guessing an ID.
Find industries or technologies: turn a plain term like "fintech" or "Salesforce" into Ocean's exact filter value, no need to know our taxonomy upfront.
Lookups & reference tools: single-record company/person lookups, field lists, industry lists, CRM/deal reads, and help center search: all free, built for quick checks along the way.
How credits work with MCP
Ocean.io is built to be transparent about cost as you go, so there are no surprises mid-conversation:
Searches: including company, people, and signal-based searches (similar customers, role changes, why now), cost 0.2 credits per result. Note: "why now" can run a few small searches behind the scenes to build its answer, so it may use more than one search's worth of credits per call.
Exports: CSV, CRM, or webhook, cost 0.2 credits per successfully exported record. You're only ever charged for records that actually export; failed matches don't count.
Reveals: asking for emails and phone numbers costs 1 credit per email found and 10 credits per phone found, for up to 25 people per call. Contacts that are not found, or that your organization already revealed, cost nothing.
Workflow runs: a workflow you start from your AI assistant runs like any other run, so it spends credits wherever its steps do.
Free: counting how many companies or people match a search (the count also shows the exact cost to fetch them), single-record lookups, field/industry lists, help center search, CRM/deal reads, getting your active segmentation, and all helper lookups (pipelines, owners, webhooks) never touch your credit balance.
To check the cost of a search before you run it, ask your assistant to count the matches first. Exports, reveals, and workflow runs show a Confirm or Cancel prompt in your AI tool before they run, so you're always in control of what gets spent.
Pricing may vary slightly for accounts on older plans. Contact support if you'd like your exact rate confirmed.
Usage example
Prompt: Find Chicago-headquartered companies similar to pandadoc.com and export them to CSV.
What the assistant does:
Here are 5 companies similar to pandadoc.com HQ'd in Chicago:
OneSpan – Enterprise-grade e-signature and digital agreement security platform focused on regulated and high-risk transactions.
Mediafly – Sales enablement platform that helps revenue teams deliver interactive content and close deals faster.
Conga – Contract lifecycle management and document automation software powering complex revenue workflows.
Showpad – Sales enablement solution that equips sales teams with content, training, and buyer engagement tools.
ActiveCampaign – Sales and marketing automation platform for customer engagement, pipelines, and lifecycle messaging.
This search returned 5 results, which cost 1.0 credit (5 results × 0.2 credits).
Export ready. This export will consume 1.0 credit (5 companies × 0.2 credits). Please confirm if you'd like me to proceed.
Once confirmed, the assistant calls export_companies and returns a download URL for the generated CSV file.
FAQ
Can I use MCP with my plan?
Probably, MCP is available on all newest plans. Contact support through live chat if you're in doubt.
Does MCP use the same credits as the Ocean.io platform?
Yes. MCP uses your unified API/Platform credit pool, the same credits you use in the platform and via the API.
Do I get charged just for searching?
Yes. Every result a search returns costs 0.2 credits. Counting how many results match is free, so you can check the cost first.
What happens if I run out of credits during an export?
The export stops once credits are exhausted. Only successfully exported records are charged.
Can my assistant read my CRM or segments through MCP?
Yes, it can pull your CRM deals and your active segmentation (with win rate, deal value, and time-to-close) to ground its answers in your real pipeline, not just general fit. These reads are free.
My assistant isn't showing Ocean.io tools. What should I do?
Try refreshing your assistant and checking whether the connection appears under Settings → API → Connected apps in Ocean.io.
I'm getting an authorization error.
Try disconnecting Ocean.io and reconnecting with your account.
Can I manage workflows through my AI assistant?
Yes! Supported assistants can help you list, create, update, and run Ocean.io workflows.
Need help?
If you have questions about MCP access, credit usage, or setup, contact our support team through live chat. We're happy to help.