Chat or automation, Claude or the API

Build gives you two ways in. You can ask Claude or ChatGPT, or you can let your own software call the REST API. Both reach the same marketplace data and the same safe actions. The difference is who is doing the work.

If a person is in the loop, use chat. If software runs on its own, use the API. If you are not sure, start with chat.

The two ways in

MCP stands for Model Context Protocol. It is the link that connects Build to Claude, ChatGPT and other AI assistants. Once connected, you ask a question in plain words and the assistant fetches the data. In Claude, add Build from the connector directory at https://claude.ai/directory/sellermate-ai and sign in. In ChatGPT, Gemini CLI, Cursor and other assistants, add https://api.sellermate.ai/mcp/sse as a custom connector and sign in. No API keys are needed.

The REST API is a web address your own code can call. Each tool is a POST to https://api.sellermate.ai/public/v1/tools/{name} with a JSON body and an X-API-Key header. No AI is involved unless you add it. The documentation is at https://www.sellermate.ai/api-docs.

Use chat when a person is in the loop

• You have a question: "Which campaigns lost money last week?" The assistant picks the right tools. You do not need to know their names.
• You want to approve one change. The assistant proposes it, you read it, and it applies only if you agree.
• Your team does not use a terminal. An account manager can ask questions without any set-up beyond the connection.
• You are exploring. You do not yet know what is worth automating.

Use the API when software runs on a schedule

• A report goes out every Monday with nobody asking for it.
• The output goes to someone else: a client in Slack, a dashboard, a spreadsheet, an email.
• You need every row, not a summary. A script can read forty pages of search terms and write them all to a file. An assistant will usually summarise.
• You are building your own tool or your own assistant, and Build is the data underneath it.
• You want the same shape of answer every time.

Quick guide

Safety is the same in both

Every write passes the same checks, whichever way it arrives. There are budget caps. You can preview a change before it applies. Idempotency keys stop a repeated call from doing the same thing twice. Every write goes into an audit log.

If a write breaks a rule, Build returns a 422 error with the reason, and nothing reaches the marketplace.

Access is limited in a similar way. An API key can be read-only, and read-only keys are fine for reports. Sign-in is OAuth, so your credentials never reach the AI tool. Keys and connections can both be revoked.

How most people use both

1. Explore in chat. Ask about one account until you see a pattern worth repeating.
2. Automate with the API. Ask Claude or ChatGPT to write a small script for that pattern. The Monday report and wasted-spend guides give you the prompts.
3. Keep chatting for the exceptions. The script does the routine. You ask when something looks odd.

Get started

For chat, sign up at build.sellermate.ai, connect your accounts, and add Build to Claude from its connector directory, or add the MCP link as a custom connector in ChatGPT. Then ask: "List my Amazon accounts."

For the API, create a key in the console. Keys look like sm_live_.... Your assistant should call get_user_context first. It lists your accounts, and every other call needs them.

Watch out for

• Assistants decide which tools to use and how to read the result. Check any number that matters against the console.
• API results are predictable, but a script is only as good as its instructions. Test with a dry run first.
• Keep keys secret. Use read-only keys wherever a script does not need to write.
• Limits apply per plan: 60 requests a minute on Free and Build, 300 on Scale. A 429 error comes with a Retry-After header that tells your code how long to wait.