Availability: Must be enabled for your organization by Kivo Support
Access: All authenticated users (read-only tools)
The Kivo MCP integration lets you connect AI assistants such as Claude, Cursor, or any Model Context Protocol-compatible client, directly to your Kivo workspace. Once connected, the AI can read documents, search folders, inspect workflows, look up activities, and retrieve organization information on your behalf, without you needing to copy and paste content or switch between tools.
Overview
The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard that allows AI assistants to securely connect to external tools and data sources. Kivo's MCP integration exposes a set of read-only tools that an AI assistant can call during a conversation to fetch live information from your Kivo workspace.
For quality, clinical, and regulatory professionals, this means you can ask an AI assistant questions like:
"What documents are in the QA Procedures folder?"
"Show me the current approved version of SOP-QA-001."
"Which activities are open and assigned to me?"
"What is the current status of this document's workflow?"
The AI calls Kivo in real time to answer these questions — it is not working from a snapshot or cached export of your data.
Read-only access: All Kivo MCP tools are read-only. The AI assistant can retrieve information from your workspace but cannot create, modify, approve, or delete any documents, activities, or settings.
Available tool categories
Kivo MCP provides five categories of tools. The AI assistant uses these automatically based on your question, you do not need to select them manually.
Tool category | What it can do |
Document tools | Retrieve document details, version history, metadata, approval status, and document-level audit information |
Folder and cabinet tools | List the contents of folders and cabinets, retrieve folder settings and metadata structure |
Workflow tools | Retrieve active collaboration and review sessions, workflow configurations, and step status |
Search and activity tools | Search across documents and activities, retrieve activity details, task assignments, and linked records |
Organisation tools | Retrieve workspace-level information such as users, groups, and organisation settings |
Note: All tools respect your existing Kivo permissions. The AI can only access content and data that you are authorised to view in Kivo. A user without access to a folder will not be able to retrieve its contents via MCP.
Authentication
Kivo MCP uses your existing Kivo identity for authentication. When you connect an AI assistant to Kivo via MCP, you will be prompted to authenticate with your Kivo credentials through Auth0. Once authenticated, the AI assistant acts on your behalf using your permissions.
Your credentials are not stored by the AI assistant. The connection uses a secure token exchange, and all requests are logged in Kivo's audit trail.
Audit trail
Every action taken through Kivo MCP is recorded in the audit trail. Audit entries made via MCP are labelled "Action taken via MCP" and include the name and version of the AI client that made the request. This ensures that MCP-driven activity is fully traceable and distinguishable from actions taken directly in the Kivo interface.
Getting connected
Kivo MCP is enabled per organization and requires configuration by Kivo Support. Once enabled for your workspace:
Open your preferred MCP-compatible AI client (for example, Claude Desktop, Cursor, or another compatible tool).
Add the Kivo MCP server using the connection details provided by your Customer Success Manager or Kivo Support.
Authenticate with your Kivo credentials when prompted.
Start asking questions about your workspace, the AI will use the Kivo tools automatically as needed.
Contact your Customer Success Manager or Kivo Support to request access or for help with configuration.
Frequently asked questions
Can the AI make changes in Kivo through MCP?
No. All Kivo MCP tools are read-only. The AI can retrieve and summarise information, but it cannot create, edit, approve, or delete anything in your workspace.
Does MCP access respect my document permissions?
Yes. The integration authenticates as you and enforces the same permissions you have in Kivo. If you cannot view a document or folder directly, the AI cannot retrieve it via MCP either.
Is MCP activity logged?
Yes. All MCP actions are recorded in the Kivo audit trail and labelled as MCP activity, including the client name and version.
Which AI clients are compatible?
Any client that supports the Model Context Protocol standard can connect to Kivo MCP. This includes Claude Desktop (from Anthropic), Cursor, and other MCP-compatible developer tools. Contact Kivo Support for a current list of tested and recommended clients.
Is MCP available to all users or only administrators?
Any authenticated Kivo user can use MCP once it is enabled for their organisation. No special role is required, but your access is limited to what your Kivo permissions allow.