- Do I need an API key to use the MCP server?
- No. Every tool is open — no key, no account, no approval step. An optional partner key attaches a verified agency name to orders, which is the only thing it does. Ordering cannot spend money, so there is nothing for a key to protect. Order creation is rate limited per caller; to place a large batch, email theprofoundagency@gmail.com.
- Can an AI agent buy a press placement on its own?
- No. create_order opens an unpaid order and returns a payment link. No payment method is reachable through any tool, so the agent cannot complete a purchase even if instructed to. A human opens the link and pays. Until check_order_status reports paid: true, nothing is booked.
- What happens to an order nobody pays for?
- It is deleted automatically after 72 hours. An unpaid order reserves nothing and schedules nothing, so an abandoned one costs the client nothing and leaves no obligation.
- Can I try the tools without ordering anything?
- Yes. Give a contact email on example.com, example.org, example.net, .test or .invalid, and create_order, submit_campaign_brief and request_audit check everything but file and order nothing. The response says test: true.
- Can an agent handle a client's article after they pay?
- Yes, with the client's private order link: the "Open your order page" button in their order confirmation email. get_client_order shows where each publication's article is and what is needed next, submit_content sends the client's content, and review_content approves the outline or draft or asks for changes. Approving a draft sends it to our editors and cannot be undone, so the client sees the text and says yes first. A client with a finished draft can file it with submit_article_draft, using the order id and billing email.
- What is the MCP endpoint URL?
- https://theprofound.agency/api/mcp/ over Streamable HTTP, stateless. The trailing slash matters — the site redirects without it. Posting to https://theprofound.agency/mcp/ reaches the same server.
- Is there a REST API instead of MCP?
- Yes, for reading. The catalogue is also available over ordinary GET requests described at https://theprofound.agency/openapi.json. Quoting, ordering, campaign briefs and the client article tools are MCP only, because that is where the rules about what an agent may and may not do are enforced.
- How current is the catalogue data?
- It is resynced from the store every week, and prices are confirmed at checkout. get_catalog_changes lists what each sync added, removed and repriced. Treat a publication's page as the source of truth at the time of the question.
- Can an AI agent book a meeting on its own?
- No. get_availability shows real open slots and create_booking_link hands over a booking link, but the meeting does not exist until the human opens that link and confirms it. An agent must never present a meeting as booked on the strength of a link alone.