Connect Perplexity
Add MerchLens AI to Perplexity once, then ask about your sales, best sellers, stock and buying plans alongside Perplexity's web research. It takes about three minutes.
What you need
- A paid Perplexity plan: Pro, Max or Enterprise. Custom connectors aren't available on the free plan.
- A computer, at perplexity.ai or in the Perplexity desktop app.
- Your connector link from MerchLens AI (step 1).
On an Enterprise plan, members can't add custom connectors until an admin allows it. See the last question under Troubleshooting.
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 -
Open Connectors in Perplexity
Click Plugins in the sidebar. If you don't see it, go to Customize › Connectors instead.
Choose Add custom › Connector › Add MCP connector, then pick Remote.
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Add MerchLens AI
Name:
MerchLens AI
MCP Server URL: paste your connector link
Description:My boutique's sales, products, inventory and buying plans
Authentication: None
Transport: Streamable HTTPTick the box acknowledging the risks of custom connectors, then click Add.
-
Turn it on
Click the MerchLens AI card on the Plugins page to switch it on. There's nothing to sign in to. Then ask your question in a new thread.
Try it
Perplexity is good at mixing your numbers with what's happening on the web:
Every MerchLens AI tool only reads data; none of them can change your store.
What Perplexity 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 don't see Plugins, Connectors or Add custom
Check that you're on Pro, Max or Enterprise and using a computer. Perplexity is renaming Connectors to Plugins, so your account may show either name.
Perplexity says it couldn't connect
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. Set Authentication to None and Transport to Streamable HTTP. To edit the connector, use the ⋮ menu on its card.
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. That refreshes the data for every chatbot.
Perplexity isn't using my store data
Make sure the MerchLens AI card is switched on, and say so in your question: "Use MerchLens AI to…"
We're on an Enterprise plan
An admin can add the connector for everyone in Enterprise settings › Permissions › Connectors permissions: click + Custom connector, follow step 3, and then share it with the organization. Or the admin can turn on Allow members to add custom connectors so you can add it yourself. Everyone it's shared with can see the store's numbers.
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 update the connector in Perplexity with the new one.
Using another chatbot? See all guides. Perplexity's menu names were checked in October 2026 and may change.