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Connect to the Dotdigital Marketing MCP server

Connect AI tools such as Claude and ChatGPT to your Marketing account.

Written by Gareth Burroughes

The Dotdigital Marketing MCP server lets you connect AI tools directly to your account. Once connected, you can use natural language to work with your contacts, campaigns, and data through any compatible MCP client.

Before you start

  • The MCP server is available on the Accelerate, Amplify, Email & SMS Marketing, and CXDP packages.

  • The MCP server must be enabled in each Marketing account you want to connect. Go to Settings > Access > MCP Server, select the Enable MCP server for Account checkbox, then select Save. Only the account owner or a user with the Can manage account permission can change this setting.

  • When your MCP client uses the MCP server, data from your account, including contact details, is sent to your client's AI provider. Learn more in Dotdigital and AI: FAQ.

  • AI tools can make mistakes. Always review the results of any MCP server action before relying on the data or making further changes.

Required permissions

To use this feature, you must have the following user permissions:

  • MCP server access (for individual user)

  • For managed users, this permission must be granted individually.

  • Relevant permissions for any data you want to access through the MCP server.

  • For example, to access contact data through MCP, you must have the Contacts user permission enabled.

These account permissions are also required:

  • MCP server access

Find your MCP server URL

Each Marketing account has a region-specific MCP server URL. Use this URL when you connect any MCP client.

Region

MCP server URL

Region 1 (Europe)

https://r1-mcp.dotdigital.com

Region 2 (North America)

https://r2-mcp.dotdigital.com

Region 3 (Asia Pacific)

https://r3-mcp.dotdigital.com

Use the correct region

If you use the URL for a different region from your account's, the connection doesn't work.

Connect a client

Expand your MCP client below and follow the steps to connect.

Claude

This feature is available to Claude and Claude Desktop users on Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise plans.

  1. In Claude, go to Customize > Connectors.

  2. Select Add custom connector.

  3. Enter the following details:

    • Name: Dotdigital

    • Remote MCP server URL: Enter your region-specific MCP server URL.

  4. Select Add.

  5. Next to the connector, select Connect.

  6. Review the access permissions and select Approve.

Optionally, test the connection by asking Claude to fetch information from Marketing, for example, account information or campaign data.
​

ChatGPT

  1. In ChatGPT, select your profile icon, and go to Settings > Apps & Connectors.

  2. Select Advanced settings.

  3. Select the toggle to activate Developer mode.

  4. Select Create app.

  5. Enter the following details in the connector modal:

    • Name: Dotdigital

    • MCP Server URL: Enter your region-specific MCP server URL.

    • Authentication: Select OAuth.

  6. Select I understand and want to continue.

  7. Select Create.

  8. Review the access permissions and select Approve.

  9. If you're connecting multiple accounts, choose the account you want to connect.

  10. Review the permissions for your Marketing account and select Allow.

If you're connecting multiple accounts, include the account name to tell them apart, for example, "Dotdigital Marketing - Your Company".

Optionally, test the connection by asking ChatGPT to fetch information from Marketing, for example, account information or campaign data.

Microsoft Copilot

Connect your Microsoft Copilot Studio agent to the Dotdigital Marketing MCP server to give it direct access to your Marketing account.

Before you start

  • Your Copilot agent must be built in Microsoft Copilot Studio and must support external MCP servers.

  • Your Copilot tenant must have permission to access MCP servers. To check, go to Tenant Settings > Permissions > MCP server access.

  1. In Microsoft Copilot Studio, sign in with the account you want to use.

  2. In the left navigation, go to Agents and open the agent you want to connect.

  3. Select the Tools tab.

  4. Select Add tool.

  5. From the Tool type drop-down menu, select MCP server.

  6. Enter the following configuration details:

    • Name: Dotdigital

    • MCP server URL: your regional endpoint, for example https://r1-mcp.dotdigital.com

    • Authentication method: OAuth 2.0

    • OAuth subtype: Dynamic discovery

    Replace r1 with your account's region prefix, for example, r2 or r3. If you use the wrong prefix, the connection will fail.

  7. Select Add.

  8. When prompted, approve the access request for your Marketing account:

    • Review the requested permissions.

    • Select Allow to grant Microsoft Copilot authorisation via OAuth 2.0.

The Dotdigital Marketing MCP server appears in your agent's Tools list with the status Connected. Optionally, test the connection by asking your Copilot agent to fetch a resource from Marketing, for example account information or campaign data. A successful reply confirms your MCP server integration is active.

If authentication fails, remove the server and re-add it. Check that Tenant Settings > Permissions > MCP server access is enabled for your Copilot tenant.

Cursor

  1. In Cursor, go to Settings > Cursor Settings > MCP > New MCP Server, and add the following configuration:
    ​

    {
      "mcpServers": {
        "dotdigital": {
          "url": "YOUR_REGION_SPECIFIC_MCP_SERVER_URL"
        }
      }
    }


    ​

  2. Save your changes, then go to Settings > Cursor Settings > Tools & Integrations.

  3. Select Connect and authenticate the server when prompted.

  4. Verify the connection by checking for visual indicators and running a test query.

Troubleshooting authentication errors

If you encounter authentication errors, first log out of the MCP server and re-authenticate. If that doesn't resolve the issue, sign out of your Cursor account and sign back in.

VS Code

  1. In VS Code, open the command palette (Ctrl+Shift+P on Windows, Cmd+Shift+P on Mac) and search for MCP: Open User Configuration.

  2. Add the following configuration:
    ​

    {
      "servers": {
        "dotdigital": {
          "url": "YOUR_REGION_SPECIFIC_MCP_SERVER_URL"
        }
      }
    }


    ​If you already have a servers entry, append the Marketing configuration to it.

  3. Save your changes.

  4. Open the command palette again and search for MCP: List Servers, then select dotdigital > Start Server. Authenticate the server when prompted.

  5. Verify the connection by checking for visual indicators and running a test query.

The connection may take time

The remote MCP server connection can sometimes be slow to fully initialise and load all available tools. If the server doesn't start, or your first test query doesn't work, try restarting VS Code.

Other clients

The Dotdigital Marketing MCP server is compatible with any MCP client that supports remote servers.

You may need the following details when connecting:

  • URL: Your region-specific MCP server URL

  • Authentication method: OAuth

  • Transport: Streamable HTTP

Learn more in Example clients - Model Context Protocol.

Insufficient Permission error

If you see "Insufficient Permission. The account does not have the required permissions to grant the (mcp:write) scope.", check the following in the Marketing account you're connecting:

  • The Enable MCP server for Account checkbox is selected in Settings > Access > MCP Server.

  • Your user has the MCP server access permission for that account.

Learn more in Manage user access and permissions.

Custom OAuth callback URLs

If you use a self-hosted MCP client, such as LibreChat, with a custom OAuth callback URL, that URL may need approval before you can connect. This applies even if your client supports Dynamic Client Registration (DCR), and even if the MCP server is enabled in your account.

If you see a "Redirect Uri Not In Allowlist" error, contact Dotdigital support with the exact redirect URI shown in the error. Support can tell you how to get it approved.

If you can't connect, see Troubleshoot the Dotdigital Marketing MCP server.

Connect more than one account

Each connection gives your MCP client access to one Marketing account. Connecting a parent account doesn't give access to its child accounts. To work with more than one account, such as a parent account and a child account, add a separate connection for each one.

Each connection needs a unique name and a unique URL. To make the URL unique, add /?account= and a label to the end of your region-specific MCP server URL. The label can be anything, as long as each connection's URL is different.

For example, for a child account in Region 1:

Part

Example

Your region-specific MCP server URL

https://r1-mcp.dotdigital.com

Add /?account= and a label

/?account=child

URL for this connection

https://r1-mcp.dotdigital.com/?account=child

Here's how connections to a parent account and a child account could look:

Account

Connection name

MCP server URL

Parent account

Dotdigital Marketing - Parent account

https://r1-mcp.dotdigital.com/?account=parent

Child account

Dotdigital Marketing - Child account

https://r1-mcp.dotdigital.com/?account=child

To connect more than one account:

  1. In your browser, log out of Marketing.

  2. In your MCP client, add a connection with a unique name and URL.

  3. Follow the steps for your client in Connect a client.

  4. When your client asks you to authorise the connection, log in to Marketing as a user in the account you want that connection to access, and approve access.

  5. Log out of Marketing again.

  6. Repeat steps 2 to 4 for each account you want to connect.

The account you're logged in to is the one you connect

Each connection gets access to the account you're logged in to when you authorise it. Check you're logged in to the right account before you approve access.

Once a connection is authorised, it keeps access to that account, even if you later log in to a different account in your browser.

When you write a prompt, name the connection or account you want to use, for example, "Get me the account details for Dotdigital Marketing - Child account".

What you can do with the MCP server

Once connected, your MCP client can:

  • Look up, create, and update contacts, and add contacts to lists.

  • Unsubscribe and resubscribe contacts, and remove contacts from lists.

  • Work with Insight data such as orders and products, and refresh segments.

  • Build, edit, and summarise segments.

  • Report on email campaign performance.

  • Report on SMS performance and transactional email.

  • Create, copy, send, and schedule email campaigns, and create email templates. Campaigns and templates your AI tool creates can be edited in EasyEditor.

  • Create and copy SMS campaigns, and send single SMS messages.

  • Enrol contacts in programs.

  • Compare your results with industry benchmarks.

  • Get form activity and responses.

The MCP server can't delete contacts from your account.

Pre-register OAuth credentials

Some MCP clients don't support Dynamic Client Registration (DCR) or Client ID Metadata Documents (CIMD). These clients require pre-registered OAuth credentials. The clients in Connect a client don't need pre-registered credentials.

Pre-registered credentials are separate from callback URL approval. If your client supports DCR but uses a custom callback URL, see Custom OAuth callback URLs in Other clients.

Enterprise license required

Pre-registering OAuth credentials is only available on an Enterprise license. Contact your account manager to get started.

When you register with Dotdigital Marketing for the OAuth 2.0 service, you must provide a redirect URI. This is the URL that receives authorisation responses. The redirect URI must:

  • Use the HTTPS scheme. HTTP isn't allowed.

  • Not contain a fragment. For example, https://example.com/callback#fragment isn't allowed.

The redirect URI is case-sensitive

The URL you provide during registration must exactly match the one you use in your application, including letter case. If they don't match, you'll see errors.

When registration is complete, you receive:

  • A client ID
    A string used to identify you when you make authorisation and token requests.

  • A client secret
    A string used to authenticate you when you make token requests. Keep this secret.

Child accounts

Registering your main Marketing account for OAuth access enables all your child accounts for OAuth authentication by default. New child accounts need to complete the initial authorisation phase before obtaining an access and refresh token.

SSL certificate required

You must have an SSL certificate for your application domain. If you don't have one, speak to your account manager.

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