# FormWork with AI assistants Canonical: https://useformwork.com/docs/ai-assistants/overview Updated: 2026-10-11 Build forms and processes, ask about entries and work through your queue from an AI assistant connected to FormWork through MCP. Connect FormWork to an AI assistant that supports the Model Context Protocol (MCP), such as Claude or ChatGPT. You can then describe a form or process, ask about your entries, or work through your queue in the conversation where you already keep your project context. The assistant acts as you, within your role, the permissions you grant and the account's AI setting. Start with [Connecting an assistant](/docs/ai-assistants/connecting), then read [Permissions and controls](/docs/ai-assistants/permissions). ## Build a solution Describe the work you need to support, including what happens after submission: > In Acme's Client onboarding project, build an intake form with a repeating list of contacts. Give each request an owner, send it to Finance for approval if the budget is over £500, and email the client when it is approved. Prepare the draft for review. The assistant can create projects, forms, data tables, team fields, stages and approvals, automations, email templates and views. It can also read an existing solution before changing it. For common jobs, it can start from a blueprint: equipment requests with approval, quote requests from a product list, job applications, support requests, event registration with limited places, or client onboarding. It asks you to choose the people and groups in your account rather than inventing approvers or recipients. ### Draft, test, review, publish Changes to questions, team fields, stages and automations go into drafts. Ask the assistant to test the automations with sample answers or an existing entry, then show you the publish review. Tests report what would happen without sending emails, contacting other systems, saving changes or moving entries. In assistants that support MCP Apps, FormWork can show a form preview and a publish review inside the conversation. The assistant preview is isolated: it doesn't send emails or contact other systems, and its test entries are removed a day after their last change. The builder's [Preview](/docs/forms/form-versions#preview) uses the same isolation rules. Review the proposed changes, the effect on existing entries, and any recipients or other systems that would receive data. The assistant asks before publishing. If someone edits the draft after the review, FormWork refuses the stale publish and the assistant needs to review again. Some changes take effect immediately: templates, views and data table columns are not form drafts. Changes to live settings, including notifications and automation switches, need publishing permission. See [Permissions and controls](/docs/ai-assistants/permissions#what-you-can-allow). Add passwords, API keys and webhook secrets yourself in **Project settings → Secrets**. The assistant can refer to a secret by name, but can't read or change its value. Set up connected apps in FormWork before asking the assistant to use them. ## Ask about entries The assistant can find entries, summarise them and explain their history. For example: - "How many quote requests did Acme receive last month, grouped by service?" - "How long do requests spend waiting for approval?" - "Find this client's onboarding request and explain what happened to it." Summaries count submitted entries by default. Specify whether you also want entries still in progress, and state the account, project, form and period when they matter. Results stay within the connection's permitted projects. Password answers, file download URLs, and private approval and status links aren't returned to the assistant. ## Work through your queue Ask what's waiting for you, move entries through stages, assign work, or approve requests addressed to you. The assistant can also investigate failed automation runs and rerun them after you've reviewed a fix. Before bulk entry changes, the assistant performs a dry run. It shows the affected entries, what would change, what cannot change and which automations would start. An operation affecting more than one entry, row or run must carry a confirmation matching a recent dry run; changing the targets or requested action requires another check. A single-target operation does not require this token. Review it before confirming, especially when it would send messages or decide approvals. The assistant can only decide approval requests sent to you. It can't approve on behalf of another person. ## Work across client accounts One connection can cover several FormWork accounts. This is useful for an agency or freelancer who belongs to each client's account. Every change names its account and project. When the place is unclear, the assistant is instructed to ask; FormWork also checks that the resources named in an operation belong to the stated account and permitted projects. You can ask it to reuse a solution in another client's project. It copies the setup, without form entries. Data table rows are included only if requested, and protected file, signature and password values are left out. Choose the new client's people, groups and secrets before publishing. Each client's admins can remove their account from a connection without affecting the other clients you work with. ## Limits The MCP tools can't delete projects, forms, data tables or entries; manage team membership, groups or billing; install connected apps; read or change secrets; or fill in and submit a form as a respondent. Editing a draft can still remove fields, stages or automations, so review removals before publishing. An assistant can misunderstand a requirement. Check its questions, test realistic cases and review the result as you would a solution built by another person. FormWork's validation catches invalid configurations; it can't decide whether your business rule is the right one. ## Related - [Connecting an assistant](/docs/ai-assistants/connecting) - [Permissions and controls](/docs/ai-assistants/permissions) - [Drafts and publishing](/docs/forms/form-versions) - [Runs and testing](/docs/automations/runs) - [Why we're bringing FormWork into AI conversations](/blog/introducing-formwork-mcp)