If you already run your day from Claude or ChatGPT, you can skip most of that copying. A connector lets the chat create the form, read the answers, sum them up, and add each person to your client list. This guide walks through how to plan the form, how to connect a forms tool to the chat, and what to type once it works.

Start with the questions, not the tool

A good intake form is short. Every extra field is a reason for someone to close the tab. Before you build anything, write down only what you need to send a first reply.

For most service businesses that is:

• Name
• Email (and phone, if you really call people back)
• What they need, in their own words
• When they need it
• Rough budget, as a few choices instead of a free number
• How they found you

Leave out anything you can ask later. You don't need their company size or their full address to send a first reply.

Two small choices make the answers easier to use:

1. Use choices where you can. "Under $500, $500 to $2,000, over $2,000" is easier to sort than whatever people type.
2. Keep one free text field. People explain the job better in a sentence than in ten dropdowns.

Why do this from the chat at all

You can build a fine form in any form builder. The chat helps with the parts after that:

• Reading a stack of answers and telling you which ones look like real jobs
• Writing a first reply to each person, using what they wrote
• Adding each person to your client list with a follow-up, so nobody waits a week
• Giving you a short summary on Friday of who asked for what

Doing that by hand is where most of the time goes. The form itself takes ten minutes.

Option 1: a form builder plus copy and paste

The simple setup works and costs nothing extra. You build the form in your usual tool, export or copy the answers, and paste them into Claude or ChatGPT with a prompt like "sort these by budget and draft a reply to each."

This is fine if you get a few requests a week. The weak spot is the copy step. The answers and your client list live in different places, and follow-ups depend on you remembering to paste.

Option 2: a forms tool connected to the chat

The other setup is a forms service that the chat can reach through a connector. Then the chat can create the form, read new answers and act on them in the same conversation.

This guide uses Conecto as the example. Full disclosure, I'm a co-founder of Conecto. Its forms get their own public page, and responses can go to the CRM and to an inbox. The facts about Claude and ChatGPT below come from Anthropic's and OpenAI's help pages, which I read today.

Connect it in Claude

On a Pro or Max plan:

1. Go to Customize, then Connectors.
2. Click "+ Add", then "Add custom connector".
3. Give it a name, for example Conecto.
4. Paste the server URL: https://api.conecto.chat/v1/mcp
5. Click Continue, review the sign in settings, and finish with Add.
6. Sign in on conecto.chat and tick the areas the chat may use. For this guide, tick Forms and CRM.

On Team and Enterprise plans, an Owner adds the connector first under Organization settings, then Connectors. Members then find it under Customize, then Connectors, and click Connect. Free users can add one custom connector.

In a chat, turn it on from the "+" button at the bottom left, then Connectors. You can switch it on only in the conversations where you need it.

Connect it in ChatGPT

Custom MCP servers with write actions are available on ChatGPT Business and Enterprise/Edu, on the web. On Business, only admins and owners can add one.

1. Go to Plugins.
2. Select the plus button, then Add custom MCP server.
3. Enter a name and the same URL.
4. Set up sign in, read the risk warning, and tick the box to continue.
5. Select Create as a plugin and review the tools it found.
6. Install the plugin, start a new chat, type @ and pick it.

ChatGPT may ask you to confirm before it changes something. Read the details before you approve.

What to type once it is connected

You don't need special words. Say what you want.

To create the form:

create a quote request form with name, email, what you need, when you need it, budget (under $500, $500 to $2,000, over $2,000) and how you found us. Send each response to the CRM.

To check new requests:

show me this week's quote requests, newest first

which of these mention a date in the next two weeks?

To get a quick overview:

sum up the quote request form: how many responses, and how the budgets split

To follow up:

add a follow-up for each new request to reply by tomorrow

draft a short first reply to the latest request, using what they wrote

To close it for a holiday:

close the quote request form until Monday

The chat writes the drafts. You still read them before anything goes to a client.

What it costs

There is no subscription. You pay from one prepaid balance, only for calls that succeed.

• Each form response received: $0.01
• Creating or changing a form: $0.01
• Reading responses and summaries: free, up to 1 million reads a month
• A CRM change, note or task: $0.01

You start with $1 of credit, and your first top-up is doubled, up to $20 extra. A call that fails costs nothing.

If you only get a handful of requests a month, option 1 may be all you need. The connected setup pays off once you are copying answers often enough to forget some.

A few things to keep in mind

Both Anthropic and OpenAI say to connect only servers you trust. A connector can read and change data in the service it is attached to, so look at what it asks for when you sign in.

Don't collect more than you need. A quote form does not need ID numbers or bank details, and asking for them puts people off.

Tell people what happens next. A line under the button like "I reply within one working day" gets fewer "did you get my message?" emails.

Keep the human part. The chat is good at sorting and drafting. The decision on which jobs to take, and the tone of your reply, should stay yours.

The official setup pages I used:

• Anthropic: Get started with custom connectors using remote MCP
• OpenAI: Connecting custom MCP servers in ChatGPT

What does your intake form ask today, and which question do people skip most?

You type something like "add Maria from the bakery as a lead, note she wants a quote by Friday." The contact, the note and the follow-up are stored. The next time you ask "what follow-ups are due this week," the chat can look them up.

This guide uses Conecto as the CRM. Full disclosure, I'm a co-founder of Conecto. The Claude and ChatGPT steps below come from Anthropic's and OpenAI's own help pages, which I checked before writing this.

What you need

For Claude, you need an account on the Free, Pro, Max, Ultra, Team or Enterprise plan. Custom connectors work in claude.ai, Claude Desktop and Cowork. The Free plan allows one custom connector.

For ChatGPT, you need to do this on the web. Custom MCP servers that can change records are available on Business, Enterprise and Edu plans. On Pro, a custom MCP server can connect for reading only. OpenAI's help does not list this on the Free plan or in the mobile app.

You will also need a Conecto account. If you don't have one yet, you can create it before you connect, or during sign-in. A new account starts with $1 of credit.

The connector address

Both apps use the same address:

https://api.conecto.chat/v1/mcp

When you sign in, you tick the areas the app may use. For this guide, tick CRM. You can tick other areas later if you want them, but you don't need to start with everything.

Add the connector in Claude

These steps follow Anthropic's help for adding a custom connector on a Free, Pro, Max or Ultra plan.

1. Open Customize, then Connectors.
2. Click Add, then Add custom connector.
3. Name it Conecto and paste https://api.conecto.chat/v1/mcp. Click Continue.
4. Keep the settings Claude detects. Under Authentication, choose "Sign in now." Under OAuth client, choose "Register automatically." Click Add.
5. If the connector shows Connect, click it and sign in to Conecto.
6. Pick the account, tick CRM, and allow it.
7. In a chat, open the + button, then Connectors, and turn Conecto on for that conversation.

On Team and Enterprise plans, an Owner adds the connector first under Organization settings, then Connectors. Members go to Customize, Connectors, find the custom connector, and click Connect.

Claude asks before each change, such as saving a contact or adding a note. Reads can run without that prompt. Review the request before you allow it.

If an area is missing later, Claude only sees what you ticked at sign-in. To change that, remove the connector and add it again, then tick the areas you want.

Add the connector in ChatGPT

These steps follow OpenAI's help for connecting a custom MCP server. Do this in a browser, not in the mobile app. You do not need to turn on Developer Mode first.

1. Go to chatgpt.com/plugins.
2. Select the plus button, then Add custom MCP server.
3. Enter a name, such as Conecto, and optionally a description.
4. Under Connection, paste https://api.conecto.chat/v1/mcp.
5. Keep OAuth as the sign-in. Review the warning, select "I understand and want to continue," then select "Create as a plugin."
6. Sign in to Conecto, tick CRM, and allow it. Review the tools, then install the plugin.
7. Start a new chat, type @ and pick Conecto.

On a Business plan, only an admin or owner can add a custom MCP server. On Enterprise and Edu, admins can let other members add one. After you create the plugin, you still need to install it before it appears in a chat.

When ChatGPT is about to change a record, it may ask you to confirm. Check the details before you approve. You can also @mention the plugin again when a later message needs it to look something up or make another change.

What to type once it is connected

You don't need special syntax. Type what you would say to someone keeping your client list.

To add a person and a follow-up:

add Maria from the bakery as a lead, note she wants a quote by Friday

To see what needs a reply:

what follow-ups are due this week

Other prompts that work once the records are there:

show me what we have on Maria from the bakery

add a note on Maria: she prefers morning calls and asked about a tasting menu for 20

add a follow-up to call Maria on Tuesday morning

mark the Friday quote task as done

list my open follow-ups, soonest first

Saving a contact, adding a note or creating a follow-up task costs $0.01 each. Looking up a contact or listing tasks is free, up to 1 million reads a month. A call that fails costs nothing.

What it costs

There is no subscription. You pay from one prepaid balance, only for the calls that succeed.

• A CRM record change, a note or a task: $0.01
• Reads: free up to 1 million a month
• E-sign: $0.20 a request
• Forms: $0.01 per response
• Website chat: $0.05 per conversation

You start with $1 of credit. Top-ups start at $5, and your first top-up is doubled, up to $20 extra. A $5 first top-up gets $5 extra. A $20 first top-up gets $20 extra.

Each key spends at most $20 a day until you raise that limit, and the account has a monthly ceiling of $100. Tools that move money, such as topping up, stay out of the connector.

A few things to keep in mind

Only connect to a server you trust. Both Anthropic and OpenAI say the same thing: a custom connector can read and change data in the service you attach, so review the permissions when you sign in.

In Claude, turn the connector on in the conversation where you need it, and off when you don't. In ChatGPT, @mention it when you want it to act.

The chat itself stays in Claude or ChatGPT. Conecto receives the tool calls and their results.

If you want the official setup pages I used for the steps, they are here:

• Anthropic: Get started with custom connectors using remote MCP
• OpenAI: Connecting custom MCP servers in ChatGPT

If you already talk to clients in Claude or ChatGPT, where do you keep the follow-ups today?