How it works
What the Stensul MCP server is, what it can and can't do today, and the one path from nothing to a working email draft.
Stensul is where enterprise marketing teams build emails and landing pages inside their brand’s rules: approved templates, locked legal text, fixed palettes, required checks. The Stensul MCP server exposes that platform to AI hosts through the Model Context Protocol (MCP), the open standard AI assistants use to call tools in other products. You describe an email in Claude, Copilot, Writer or ChatGPT; the host calls Stensul’s tools; a governed draft appears in your Stensul account.
Who does what
| Who | Does | How often |
|---|---|---|
| Stensul admin | Creates an API connection in Stensul and sends the host admin a Client ID | Once |
| Host admin (Claude, Copilot, Writer or ChatGPT) | Adds Stensul as a connector with that Client ID | Once |
| Everyone else | Signs in to Stensul from the host, then asks for emails | Once, then just prompts |
The config generator writes the exact settings for both admins, plus a message you can send yours. Don’t know your Stensul admin, or whether the MCP is turned on for your company? Ask your Stensul customer success manager, or email help@stensul.com from your work address.
What happens when you ask for an email
- You brief the assistant in plain language, or hand it a brief file, or point it at a brief in Adobe Workfront.
- It finds a starting point. It lists your libraries, picks the best match, and reads an approved template or an existing email.
- It builds the draft in one call. Copy, buttons, images (from your gallery, a file or a public URL) and alt text go into the template’s editable slots.
- Stensul enforces the rules. Anything that breaks a guardrail, such as an off-palette color, text over a limit or a locked footer, is declined and reported. It isn’t reshaped or retried.
- You see the result. The assistant shows a preview (in the chat, where the host supports it), runs quality checks if you ask, and returns an edit link.
- You finish in Stensul. Review, route for approval and send through your normal flow.
What it can do today
| Task | Status |
|---|---|
| Create a draft from a template or by copying an email | Available |
| Write and edit copy, buttons, images, alt text, visibility | Available |
| Change name, subject line, preheader, title (where the library enables them) | Available |
| Upload images from a URL, a file or the gallery | Available |
| Apply styling variations | Available |
| Apply Segment Sets and write per-audience copy (Scripted DCA libraries, text and buttons, section level) | Available |
| Preview in chat, run accessibility and quality checks | Available |
| Create a standalone Studio module | Available |
| Send, schedule or route an email for approval | Not yet Done in Stensul |
| Build landing pages | Not yet |
| Pull images from an external DAM | Not yet Use the gallery, a file or a public link |
| Create a template from scratch | Not supported Admins create templates in Stensul |
The full list of tools, with inputs and errors, is in the tool reference.
What you need
- A Stensul account with the MCP turned on. The MCP server works against your company’s own Stensul instance. There is no public sandbox or trial account yet. Request access.
- An admin on each side, once. A Stensul admin creates an API connection; a host admin adds the connector. After that, people just sign in.
- An AI host that supports remote MCP servers with OAuth. Guides: Claude, Claude Code, Microsoft Copilot, Writer, ChatGPT, others.
Where to go next
- Have access? Use the config generator for your host’s exact settings.
- Want to see a session first? Step through the session walkthrough.
- Planning a workflow? Start with recipes and the prompt gallery.