ChatGPT is where a lot of teams already ask quick questions. The aim of connecting Nautis is simple: when someone asks what the runway is, ChatGPT answers from your Startup Health numbers instead of a guess or last quarter's paste.
This is a channel into Nautis. The connector uses the Model Context Protocol, an open-source standard for connecting AI applications to outside systems, and it's the same address Claude uses (see the Claude page). It doesn't let Nautis act inside ChatGPT. If you're deciding between the two products instead, read Nautis vs ChatGPT.
Connector or API key: which one to use
The choice comes down to who ChatGPT should act as. Get this wrong and a whole team ends up seeing the owner's view of the company.
| Question | MCP connector | API key with GPT Actions |
|---|---|---|
| Set up by | Any member with the connector address | An owner or admin creates the key |
| Acts as | The person who approved it, with their role and sharing limits | The organization's owner |
| Write access | Optional Create and update records box, unticked by default | Allow write access on the key, fixed once created |
| Sign-in | Browser approval, no key to handle | A Bearer token pasted into the GPT |
| Best for | Each person using their own ChatGPT | A custom GPT, a script or a chatbot builder |
Use the connector unless you have a reason not to. A shared custom GPT on an API key answers with owner-level access to whoever uses it, so share it only with people who should see everything the owner sees.
Add the Nautis connector in ChatGPT
- In Nautis, click your organization name in the sidebar and open the Developers tab. Copy the address of the MCP connector for Claude and ChatGPT.
- In ChatGPT, add a custom MCP server. OpenAI's MCP server guide describes going to the Plugins page, selecting the plus button, choosing Add custom MCP server, entering the URL and authentication details, and accepting the risk warning.
- A browser window opens on Nautis. Sign in, choose the Workspace, and decide whether to tick Create and update records.
- Click Allow access. ChatGPT now shows under Connected AI Apps in Nautis.
Those ChatGPT menus belong to OpenAI, and the Nautis guide says their names may vary by plan. OpenAI's guide doesn't say which ChatGPT plans can add a custom server, so check your own account or ask your ChatGPT workspace admin.
How do I build a custom GPT on Nautis?
OpenAI describes GPT Actions as a way for a custom GPT to call outside applications through API requests, with the model choosing the call and writing its inputs. Nautis publishes a spec for exactly this.
- On the Developers tab, click Create API Key. Name it after the GPT, decide on Allow write access, and add an Expiration date if it's for a trial.
- Click Copy to Clipboard, then Done. You won't see the key again.
- Copy OpenAPI spec, the entry for ChatGPT Actions, from the Developers tab.
- In your custom GPT's Actions settings, import that address.
- Set authentication to API Key, then Bearer, and paste the key.
Each key in the list shows Read-only or Read & write, and when it was last used. That label is the truth about what a key can do, whatever the intro text on the tab says.
Confirmations on both sides
OpenAI's guide says ChatGPT currently requires manual confirmation in a conversation before write actions are taken. It also warns that a write can happen even when a server has tagged an action as read-only, and that custom servers aren't developed or verified by OpenAI.
Nautis then checks the write again. It holds the change, tells ChatGPT it's waiting, and an owner or admin approves or rejects it under Chief of Staff, Approvals. The setting that controls this is AI Copilot & connected-app writes under Agent Autonomy. Leave it on Ask every time for at least the first month, and read the AI Governance log to see what was actually written.
Workflows worth setting up
A sales lead's morning
Ask ChatGPT which leads moved stage this week and which have no next step. It reads the Leads CRM through the connector, with that person's permissions, so they only see the pipelines they could open in the app.
An internal FAQ GPT for founders
Two co-founders build a read-only custom GPT that answers questions about runway, open invoices and hiring tasks. Read-only keeps it safe to leave open, and since both founders already see everything, owner-level access isn't a problem.
Logging expenses from a chat
With write access on, ask ChatGPT to log a software expense. Nautis holds it as a pending approval until someone signs off.
Limits and fixes
- Your plan must include developer access. If the Developers tab is missing, your plan or role doesn't include it (see pricing).
- Each key or connection gets 120 requests a minute and up to 25 writes waiting for approval. Each person can create 10 new keys an hour.
- A connector left unused for 30 days expires, and pending requests expire if nobody decides.
- Deleting an API key is instant, with no confirmation step, and anything using it stops.
- A lost key can't be shown again. Create a new one and delete the old one.
- Records can't be deleted through either route. Credential secrets are never visible, only names and details.
FAQ
Does the Nautis ChatGPT integration work with custom GPTs?
Yes. Create an API key on the Developers tab, import the OpenAPI spec for ChatGPT Actions into your GPT, and set authentication to API Key with Bearer. The GPT then acts as the organization's owner, so share it carefully.
Can I add write access to an existing connection or key?
For the connector, disconnect ChatGPT and connect again with Create and update records ticked. For an API key, write access can't be changed, so create a new key with Allow write access.
Can ChatGPT see the passwords in our Credentials Vault?
No. A connected tool can see a credential's name and details, such as its type and web address, but never the secret value.
Why is ChatGPT saying my change is pending?
Your autonomy settings ask for approval before writes. An owner or admin needs to approve it in Chief of Staff, under Approvals, and it then runs as the person behind the connection.