You can manage your Instagram and Facebook inbox from Claude by connecting it to VivaDialog’s MCP server. Once connected, you ask in plain language, for example “which Instagram comments from today still have no reply?”, and Claude reads your inbox through VivaDialog and answers. If you allow it, Claude can also send replies, tag and assign conversations, and draft automations. This article explains what MCP is, the 43 tools the server offers, how to connect Claude, ChatGPT, and other apps, the permissions you control, and the limits. Everything below comes from VivaDialog’s own server code and help pages. If you came here searching for “ManyChat MCP”, the last section says how that fits.
What MCP is, in one paragraph
MCP (Model Context Protocol) is an open standard that lets an AI app use tools from other services. VivaDialog runs an official MCP server at https://api.vivadialog.com/mcp. When an AI app connects to it with your login, the app can call VivaDialog’s tools the same way you would click in the dashboard, under the same rules. It is one more way into the same workspace, not a separate copy of your data.
The 43 tools
The server has 43 tools: 20 that only read, and 23 that change something. You decide which of the 23 an app can use when you approve it.
20 tools that read
| What it reads | Tools |
|---|---|
| Who and where | whoami |
| Unified inbox | list_comments, list_conversations, get_messages, list_notes, list_tags, list_follow_ups |
| Channels | list_channels |
| Contacts | list_contacts, list_segments |
| Automations | list_rules, get_rule, test_rule, list_flows, get_flow, simulate_flow |
| Plan and usage | get_plan, get_usage |
| Analytics | get_inbox_analytics |
| Team | list_members |
test_rule and simulate_flow run a message through an automation or a flow to show what would happen. Nothing is sent and nothing is saved. Flows come with Growth and higher.
23 tools that change things, in four groups
Each group is a permission, called a scope, that you switch on or leave off on the consent screen:
| Group (on the consent screen) | Scope | Tools |
|---|---|---|
| Send replies to customers | mcp:reply |
send_message, reply_to_comment, send_private_reply |
| Organize the inbox | mcp:inbox |
set_comment_status, assign, add_tag, remove_tag, set_star, add_note, delete_note, mark_conversation_read, cancel_follow_up |
| Manage contacts | mcp:contacts |
set_contact_stage, create_segment, delete_segment |
| Manage automations | mcp:automations |
create_rule, update_rule, set_rule_active, delete_rule, create_flow, update_flow, pause_flow, delete_flow |
An app only sees the tools whose scope you gave it. The three reply tools send a real message to a real customer, so each one needs the argument confirm: true, and its description tells the AI app to show you the exact text and get your go-ahead first. A message sent this way cannot be undone.
Connect Claude
- In VivaDialog, open Settings, go to Developer, and find Connected apps. The server address is shown there:
https://api.vivadialog.com/mcp. - In Claude, open Customize > Connectors, click + Add, then Add custom connector, and paste the server address.
- Log in to VivaDialog when asked.
- On the consent screen, pick the Workspace, switch on what the app may do, and click Allow access.
On Claude Team and Enterprise plans, an organization owner adds the connector under Organization settings > Connectors, and each member then clicks Connect. Connectors added in Claude also work in Claude Desktop.
In Claude Code, run claude mcp add --transport http vivadialog https://api.vivadialog.com/mcp, then run /mcp, choose vivadialog, and log in.
Connect ChatGPT and other apps
- ChatGPT: in Settings > Apps & Connectors > Advanced, turn on Developer mode, click Create, paste the server address, and choose OAuth.
- Cursor: open Settings > Tools & MCP, add the server to
mcp.json, click Login next to it, and log in to VivaDialog. - Gemini, Grok, Perplexity, VS Code, Antigravity, Gemini CLI, and Codex each have steps on the MCP page. Any other app that supports MCP can connect with the same server address.
Connect an AI app to VivaDialog (MCP) has the same steps in the help center. Connecting needs an active paid plan, and only owners and admins of the workspace can approve an app. The free trial cannot connect AI apps.
The consent screen: read-only first
When you connect an app, Read-only starts switched on, and the app can only read. To let it do more, switch Read-only off, then turn on only the groups you want under Also allow (optional). Each one starts off.
Whatever you choose, an app can never change billing, members, channels, or settings. An app that connects with a VivaDialog API key, which is meant for scripts, can only read. The server accepts the key through HTTP Basic auth, with the access key (it starts with rpk_) as the username and the secret as the password. API keys and the Public API has the details.
Automations from an AI app stay off
This is the guardrail that matters most if you let an app manage automations. A rule or flow that an AI app creates or changes is saved turned off, and changing one that is on switches it off. No MCP tool can turn one on, even through a field in create or update. Only a person in the VivaDialog dashboard can switch it on, after reading it. That matters because a rule or flow that is on replies to customers by itself.
So “draft a rule that answers price questions” gives you a draft to review, not a live automation. For ideas of what to ask for, the Instagram auto reply templates and how automations work show what a rule contains.
What you can ask: examples
- “Which Instagram comments from today still have no reply?”
- “Summarize the DMs that are waiting for a reply, oldest first.”
- “How many AI replies do we have left this month?”
- “Which conversations are not assigned to anyone?”
- “Draft three replies to the comments asking about shipping. Show me the text before you send anything.”
- “Tag every conversation that mentions a refund with
refund, and assign them to Sam.” - “Test this rule against ‘how much is the large size?’ and tell me whether it would match.”
The answers come from your own workspace, so they will differ from any example. Meta’s limits still apply to anything sent. For DMs, Meta allows a reply within 24 hours of the customer’s last message, and a private DM to a commenter is one per comment within 7 days. The 24-hour window explained covers why a send can be refused.
What it reaches, and what it does not
The tools work on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Telegram, and email conversations. YouTube comments can be read but not answered, since replies are written on YouTube, and reading them needs an add-on seat. WhatsApp is not supported. TikTok is used only to schedule video posts, so there are no TikTok messages or comments for an AI app to reach. Website chat conversations are not available to AI apps connected through MCP.
Two more points on data. What an AI app reads goes to that app and its provider, under the provider’s own terms and privacy policy. And VivaDialog does not keep tokens or message text in its logs.
Limits and control
- An app can send up to 20 messages and make up to 60 other changes a minute in a workspace.
- Each workspace and app can make up to 100 requests a minute.
- Under Connected apps, each app shows who approved it, what it is allowed to do, and when it was last used. Show actions lists what the app changed, kept for 90 days. Message and note text is never stored there.
- Click Disconnect next to an app and it loses access right away. It also stops when the person who approved it is no longer an owner or admin, and when that person logs out on all devices.
- Changes need an active paid plan. A workspace that paid before and is now read-only can still be read, but not changed.
If you searched for “ManyChat MCP”
People search for ManyChat’s MCP support when they are comparing tools, so here is how this article handles it. It describes VivaDialog’s server only. ManyChat’s help pages did not load for our automated check, so we cannot say what its MCP offering does, which plans include it, or which apps it supports, and we do not guess. Check ManyChat’s own documentation for that.
If you compare any two MCP servers, five questions give you a fair picture:
- Can you start read-only, and choose what else to allow?
- Does sending a message need an explicit confirmation from you?
- Can the AI turn an automation on, or only draft it?
- Is there a list of what the app changed, and for how long?
- Can you disconnect an app right away?
For a wider comparison of the two tools, see ManyChat alternatives and the ManyChat alternative page.
A safe way to start
Connect with Read-only on and ask a few questions about your inbox. When the answers look right, reconnect and allow Organize the inbox, which customers never see. Switch on Send replies to customers last, once you have seen how the app words its drafts. The inbox itself is described in the unified inbox guide.
Frequently asked questions
Can Claude reply to my Instagram DMs?
Yes, if an owner or admin allows Send replies to customers when connecting. The app has to ask you to confirm the exact text before it sends. Meta’s 24-hour window still applies, so a reply is refused once it has closed.
Does the MCP server work with ChatGPT and Cursor too?
Yes. It is a standard MCP server, so ChatGPT in Developer mode, Cursor, Claude Code, Gemini, and other MCP apps connect with the same address.
Can an AI app turn on an automation?
No. Rules and flows created or changed through MCP are saved off, and no MCP tool turns one on. Only a person in the dashboard can.
Do I need a paid plan?
Yes. Connecting AI apps needs an active paid plan: Starter, Growth, Pro, or Premium. The free trial cannot connect an app.
How many tools does the VivaDialog MCP server have?
43: 20 that only read and 23 that change things, in four permission groups.
VivaDialog is in early access right now, and participants get the Growth plan free for 30 days. The pricing page has the details.