Connect ChatGPT
Add MerchLens AI to ChatGPT once, then ask about your sales, best sellers, stock and buying plans in any ChatGPT conversation. It takes about five minutes.
What you need
- A paid ChatGPT plan: Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise or Edu. Custom connectors aren't available on the free plan.
- A computer. You set the connector up at chatgpt.com in a web browser, not in the phone app.
- Your connector link from MerchLens AI (step 1).
On a Business, Enterprise or Edu workspace, an admin may need to turn on Developer mode or approve the connector first.
Set it up
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Copy your connector link
In MerchLens AI, open the 🔧 Tools menu, choose 🔌 Connect a chatbot, and click Copy link.
It looks like
https://mcp.merchlensai.com/. Treat it like a password: anyone who has it can read your store's numbers.…/mcp -
Turn on Developer mode in ChatGPT
At chatgpt.com, click your name or profile picture, then Settings. Open Apps (called Apps & Connectors on some accounts), then Advanced settings, and switch on Developer mode.
Not there? OpenAI has moved this switch during 2026. On some accounts it's under Settings › Security and login instead.
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Create the connector
Back in Apps, click Create (it may say Create app), and fill in:
Name:
MerchLens AI
Description:My boutique's sales, products, inventory and buying plans
MCP server URL: paste your connector link
Authentication: No authenticationTick the box confirming you trust this app, then click Create. ChatGPT connects and lists the 16 MerchLens AI tools.
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Turn it on in a chat
Start a new chat, click + next to the message box, and pick MerchLens AI (look under More or Developer mode if you don't see it right away). Turn it on in each new chat where you want your store's numbers.
Try it
Start with a broad question, then follow up. ChatGPT looks up the exact numbers it needs:
ChatGPT may ask your permission the first time it uses a tool. Every MerchLens AI tool only reads data; none of them can change your store.
What ChatGPT can see
- Shared: daily sales totals, sales by product, brand and collection, products and stock levels, forecasts, discounts, customer segments as counts, your buying and marketing plans, and your weekly AI briefings.
- Never shared: customer names, emails, phone numbers or addresses, and your Shopify login.
- How fresh: updated every night, and through the selling day while MerchLens AI is running.
Troubleshooting
I can't find Developer mode or the Create button
Check that you're on a paid plan and using chatgpt.com in a browser. On a work or school workspace, ask your ChatGPT admin to allow Developer mode or custom connectors. OpenAI renames these menus from time to time, so look under both Apps and Security and login in Settings.
ChatGPT says it couldn't connect to the server
Copy the link again from 🔌 Connect a chatbot. The whole link must be pasted, including the long code in the middle and /mcp at the end. Make sure Authentication is set to No authentication.
The answers use old numbers
The connector panel in MerchLens AI shows when the data was last updated. If it's more than a day old, open 📤 Export for ChatGPT and click Export now.
ChatGPT isn't using my store data
Make sure MerchLens AI is turned on for this chat (step 4). It also helps to say so in your question: "Use MerchLens AI to…"
I shared my link by mistake
Email support@merchlensai.com and we'll issue a new link right away. The old one stops working, and you paste the new one into ChatGPT.
Using Claude instead? See Connect Claude. ChatGPT's menu names were checked in October 2026 and may change.