Most AI assistants are stuck talking. You ask them to check your last email, and they write a response about checking your email. They can't actually do it.
MCP changes that.
MCP — Model Context Protocol — is a secure bridge that gives your AI access to real tools: your inbox, your files, your calendar, your apps. Once it's installed, you stop asking your AI to describe what it would do and start watching it do it.
This guide shows you how to install MCP in Companion in under two minutes.
What MCP actually is
MCP is an open standard for connecting AI assistants to external tools. Think of it as a permission layer: you install an MCP server for an app (Gmail, Notion, Spotify, etc.), and the AI gains the ability to read and act on that app — with your permission, on your machine.
Without MCP, your AI can only talk.
With MCP, it can browse the web, manage files, send emails, update spreadsheets, book meetings, and more.
Installing MCP in Companion
Step 1: Open Companion Settings
Launch Companion and open the Settings menu from the left sidebar. Navigate to Integrations.
You'll see a list of available MCP servers. Each one represents a set of tools your AI can use once installed.
Step 2: Pick an MCP to install
For this guide, we'll install Gmail MCP — one of the most useful starting points.
Click Install next to Gmail MCP. Companion handles the download and configuration automatically. No terminal commands, no JSON config files, no manual setup.
This is the "one-click install" part. It takes about 10–15 seconds.
Step 3: Authorize the integration
After installation, Companion will ask you to authorize access to your Gmail account via a secure browser OAuth flow. This is standard Google sign-in — Companion never stores your credentials.
Once authorized, the Gmail MCP is live.
Step 4: Try it
Open a new chat in Companion and type:
Please check the last email I received in Gmail.
Watch what happens. Companion doesn't describe what it would do. It opens a tool call, connects to your Gmail, reads the latest email, and summarizes it for you.
That's the difference MCP makes.
What you can do after setup
Once Gmail MCP is installed, you can:
- Summarize emails: "What are the unread emails in my inbox from today?"
- Draft and send: "Send an email to [name] with [subject] and [body]"
- Triage your inbox: "Flag any emails from clients that need a response today"
- Search: "Find all emails from [sender] in the last 30 days"
And because Companion supports 100+ MCP integrations, you can stack them. Install Gmail MCP and Google Calendar MCP together, and a single prompt like "draft a reply and schedule a follow-up meeting" executes across both tools without you switching apps.
The security model
MCP runs locally on your machine. The AI doesn't send your emails to a third-party server — it reads them through the MCP connection, which operates on your device, authorized by your credentials.
Each MCP server has a defined set of permissions. Gmail MCP can only access Gmail. File MCP can only access the directories you specify. You stay in control.
What to install next
Gmail is a good start, but here's what makes Companion genuinely powerful — the combinations.
After Gmail, we recommend:
- Google Calendar MCP — send emails and schedule meetings in the same prompt
- File System MCP — organize documents, rename files, summarize folders
- Browser MCP — research, screenshot, fill forms
Each addition multiplies what a single prompt can accomplish. The apps, when activated together, become more than the sum of their parts.
Download Companion and follow along — the whole setup takes less time than reading this article.