# AI Connections Overview
> Source: https://development.fuze-store.com/docs/store/ai-connections/overview

# AI Connections Overview

AI assistants like Claude Desktop and ChatGPT can read your store data and answer questions about your business in plain language. The AI Connections feature lets you grant an AI tool secure, read-only access to specific parts of your store — orders, reports, products, customers, inventory — and revoke that access at any time.

## What are AI Connections?

An AI Connection is a secure link between an external AI tool and your Fuze Store account. You decide which AI tool gets access, what it can read, and when to disconnect it. The AI tool reads your data to answer your questions. It cannot create, edit, or delete anything.

## What the AI Can Answer

Once connected, you can ask your AI assistant questions like:

- "What were my top-selling products last month?"
- "Show me my sales trend for this quarter."
- "Which day of the week has the highest revenue at my main store?"
- "How many orders did I process today?"
- "What is my average order value for dine-in customers?"

The AI reads the data you approved and responds in plain language.

## What Permissions Can the AI Get?

When you create an AI Connection, you choose which permissions to grant. You can grant as few or as many as you need. The AI tool only sees the data you explicitly approve.

Every permission except **Catalog Import** is read-only. Catalog Import is the one write permission: it can create and update catalog items, only after showing you a preview and getting your approval in the chat — it can never delete anything, and it can't touch orders, money, or settings.

## How the Connection Works

Setting up an AI Connection uses an industry-standard flow called **OAuth2 with PKCE**. You don't need to understand the details — Fuze Store has a short list of **presets** for popular AI tools (Claude Desktop, Claude Code, ChatGPT, Cursor) that auto-fill the technical fields for you. Just pick the preset matching your AI tool and the form takes care of the rest.

Here is what happens from your side:

  You create a new AI Connection in Fuze Store. Pick the preset for your AI tool, give it a name, and choose the permissions you want to grant.
  You copy your Client ID (and Client Secret, if your connection is Confidential) from the one-time reveal dialog and paste them into your AI tool's connector form.
  You start the connection from the AI tool. Your browser opens a Fuze Store consent screen.
  The consent screen shows which store and which permissions the AI is asking for. You review and approve.
  The AI tool is now connected. You can start asking questions.
  You can revoke access at any time from your AI Connections list.

## Public vs Confidential Connections

When you create a connection, you pick a **Connection Type**:

- **Public** (default, recommended) — For desktop AI apps like Claude Desktop and ChatGPT. No secret is issued. The connection uses PKCE for security.
- **Confidential** — For server-to-server scripts and automated integrations. A Client Secret is issued and shown only once.

If you are not sure, pick **Public**. It is the right choice for nearly every AI tool.

## Security and Privacy

- **Your password is never shared.** The AI never sees your Fuze Store credentials.
- **The AI only sees what you approve.** You review the exact list of permissions on the consent screen before approving.
- **Store-scoped access.** If you own multiple stores, you pick exactly one store per connection.
- **Revoke any time.** One click removes the AI's access immediately.
- **Read-only.** The AI cannot place orders, edit products, or change settings.

  Every permission is opt-in. Grant only what the AI needs. You can always create multiple connections with different permission sets and revoke them independently.

## Supported AI Tools

Any AI tool that supports the **Model Context Protocol (MCP)** and OAuth2 PKCE can connect to Fuze Store. The in-app connect guide has presets for:

- **Claude Desktop** and **Claude Code** by Anthropic
- **ChatGPT** and **Codex CLI** by OpenAI
- **Cursor**, **VS Code**, and **Windsurf**
- Any custom MCP client built by developers

## Does the AI Tool Need a Paid Account?

The Fuze Store **AI Connections add-on is paid** (the badge at the top of this page). Separately, **some AI tools require their own paid account** on the tool's side before you can add a custom MCP connector. This is set by each AI vendor, not by Fuze Store, and can change over time.

  - **ChatGPT** — adding a custom connector needs a paid ChatGPT plan (Plus, Pro, Business, or Enterprise). The free plan can't add custom MCP connectors.
  - **Claude Code** — needs a paid Claude plan (Pro or Max) or an Anthropic API key. There is no free Claude Code tier.
  - **Codex CLI** — needs a paid ChatGPT plan or an OpenAI API key with billing enabled.

  **Claude Desktop**, **Cursor**, **VS Code**, and **Windsurf** can add a Fuze Store connection on their free tiers (some impose their own usage limits). You still need the paid Fuze Store AI Connections add-on either way.

  - [Setting Up AI Access](/docs/store/ai-connections/setting-up-oauth)
  - [Connecting Claude Desktop](/docs/store/ai-connections/connecting-claude-desktop)
  - [Understanding Permissions](/docs/store/ai-connections/understanding-scopes)