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Connecting Microsoft 365 Copilot to the Crelate MCP Server

Follow these steps to set up the Crelate MCP Server in Microsoft 365 Copilot, from generating credentials to asking questions about your Crelate data.

Written by Amanda Krutz

This article explains how to connect Microsoft 365 Copilot to Crelate. Crelate MCP is added to Copilot as a source, so users connect it under Chat settings > Sources and then ask questions that name Crelate. A Microsoft 365 administrator must complete Steps 2 through 4. Each user then completes Steps 5 and 6.

Before You Begin

  • You must have the AI Administrator or Global Administrator role in Microsoft 365 to complete the Microsoft setup. Without one of these roles, the Connectors page does not appear in the Microsoft 365 admin center. To check your role, go to Users > Active users, select your name, and review Roles. If you do not have the role, ask an administrator in your organization to complete these steps or to assign the role to you.

  • Your Crelate organization must have access to the Crelate MCP Server, and the role of each user who connects must have the AI / MCP Access privilege set to Allowed. No other AI access setting is required. To check, navigate to Your Profile & Preferences and select AI / MCP Access.

  • Each user who connects needs a Microsoft 365 Copilot license.

  • Crelate MCP works as a source in Copilot. It does not appear as an agent, so it is not selected with the @ symbol.

  • With the scopes in this guide, Copilot can read your Crelate data but cannot create or change records.

  • The connection works in the Microsoft 365 Copilot app on the web and desktop. It may not appear in Teams, Outlook, or the mobile app.

  • Copilot Studio is not supported at this time.

Connecting Microsoft 365 Copilot to Crelate

Step 1: Generate Your Credentials in Crelate

  1. In Crelate, navigate to Settings > Security > AI Platform Connectors.

  2. Generate credentials for Microsoft 365 Copilot.

  3. Copy the Client ID, the Client secret, and the Redirect URI.

  4. Save the Client secret somewhere secure. It is shown only once. If it is lost, select Rotate secret to generate a new one.

Step 2: Create the App in the Microsoft Developer Portal

  1. Sign in to Microsoft and go to dev.teams.microsoft.com.

  2. Select Apps, then New app.

  3. Enter the name Crelate MCP and select Create.

  4. On Basic information, enter the following details. Complete any other required fields the portal flags, such as the icons under Branding, and select Save.

Field

Value

Short description (80 characters or fewer)

Read-only access to Crelate recruiting data

Long description (must differ from the short description)

Connects Microsoft 365 Copilot to Crelate through MCP so users can ask questions about candidates, Contacts, Companies, Jobs, and activities.

Developer name

Crelate, Inc.

Website

https://www.crelate.com

Privacy policy

https://www.crelate.com/legal/privacy-policy

Terms of use

https://www.crelate.com/legal/terms-of-service

5. Copy the App ID shown on the Basic information page. You will enter it in Step 3.

Step 3: Set Up the OAuth Client Registration

  1. In the Developer Portal, select Tools > OAuth client registration, then create a new registration.

  2. Enter the following details. The fields may appear in a different order.

    • Name: Crelate MCP

    • Client ID and Client secret: the values from Step 1

    • Authorization endpoint and Token endpoint: open https://mcp.crelate.com/.well-known/oauth-authorization-server in your browser and copy the authorization_endpoint and token_endpoint values

    • Scope: enter crelate.mcp.read,crelate.mcp.read.bulk

    • PKCE: select the box to enable it. Skipping it causes an authorization failure that does not name PKCE as the cause.

    • Client authentication method: leave this on the default option, which sends the Client ID and secret as request body parameters. Do not change it to HTTP Basic Auth. Crelate expects the credentials in the request body, and selecting a different method causes the error described in the troubleshooting section.

    • App ID: If the form restricts usage to a specific app, enter the App ID from Step 2. The connector in Step 4 does not ask for the App ID.

  3. Save the registration.

  4. Reopen the registration and confirm that the Scope field shows exactly crelate.mcp.read,crelate.mcp.read.bulk, with a comma and no space. The scopes control what Copilot is permitted to read, so include only the permissions you want to grant. Missing or incorrectly formatted scopes are the most common reason the connection fails.

  5. Copy the registration ID shown on the saved registration. You will enter it in Step 4 as the Reference ID. It is different from the Crelate Client ID and from the App ID, so be careful to copy the correct value.

Step 4: Create the Custom MCP Connector

  1. Sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin center (admin.microsoft.com) with an account that has the AI Administrator or Global Administrator role.

  2. Go to Copilot > Connectors, then select the Gallery tab.

  3. Under Created by your org, find the Create a new connector tile and select Add.

  4. On the Custom connector page, under Connect to MCP server, select Add.

  5. Enter the connector details. The labels may vary slightly.

Field

Value

Display name

Crelate MCP

MCP endpoint URL

https://mcp.crelate.com/mcp

Authentication type

OAuth 2.0

Reference ID

The registration ID you copied in Step 3. It is not the App ID.

6. Select Authorize and follow any prompts. The button becomes available after you enter the Reference ID.

7. Select the Notice checkbox to agree to the Microsoft 365 Copilot connectors terms of use. The Create button stays unavailable until you do.

8. Select Create.

9. Go to the Your Connections tab. Crelate MCP should appear with a status of Ready.

10. Select Crelate MCP and review the Staged rollout setting. Choose Visible to everyone, or choose a specific group to limit access while you test.

11. Confirm that your organization allows the connector. In Agents > Settings > Agent and plugin access, make sure Allow agents and plugins built by your organization is selected. In Agents > Settings > User access, make sure the users who need Crelate are included.

The connector does not ask for descriptions, developer information, or the App ID. Those belong to the app you created in Step 2. Changes to a connector can take up to 15 minutes to take effect.

Step 5: Add Crelate MCP as a Source in Copilot

Each user completes this step with their own Crelate account.

  1. Open the Microsoft 365 Copilot app at m365.cloud.microsoft/chat.

  2. Open Chat settings, then select Sources.

  3. Find Crelate MCP and select Connect.

  4. The consent screens open. Sign in to Crelate with your Crelate account when prompted, then allow access. Your Crelate role must have the AI / MCP Access privilege.

  5. Return to Sources and confirm that Crelate MCP is connected. You can select Crelate MCP to see the tools Copilot can use.

Step 6: Chat with Your Crelate Data

  1. Start a new chat in Copilot.

  2. Ask a question that names Crelate and describes what you want, such as “In Crelate, list my open Jobs and summarize their status.” Copilot chooses the Crelate tools automatically when your question calls for them. You do not select Crelate MCP in the message box.

  3. A Crelate sign-in card may appear the first time. Approve it and ask again.

If Copilot answers without using Crelate data, start a new chat and include “in Crelate” in your question. You can also try the same question in the Researcher agent, where connected sources are available.

Copilot can only see the data your Crelate user is allowed to see.

Step 7: Optional, Add the Connection to the App Package

This step is not required to use Crelate MCP as a source. It registers the Crelate MCP server in the app package so that agents can use it. Complete it only if Crelate Support recommends it.

  1. In the Developer Portal, select Tools > OAuth client registration, open the Crelate registration, and copy the registration ID. This is the same Reference ID used in Step 4.

  2. Select Apps, open Crelate MCP, then select App package editor.

  3. Open the file named manifest.json.

  4. Add a comma after the last existing section. Then paste the following section before the final closing brace of the file, and replace the placeholder with your registration ID. Keep the quotation marks around the ID.

json

"agentConnectors": [   {     "id": "crelate-mcp",     "displayName": "Crelate",     "description": "Read-only access to Crelate recruiting data",     "toolSource": {       "remoteMcpServer": {         "mcpServerUrl": "https://mcp.crelate.com/mcp",         "authorization": {           "type": "OAuthPluginVault",           "referenceId": "PASTE-YOUR-REGISTRATION-ID-HERE"         }       }     }   } ]

5. Save the file. The portal checks the manifest and shows any errors in red. Correct them, such as a missing comma, and save again.

6. Select Publish, then Download app package. Have your administrator upload the package in the Microsoft 365 admin center.

Troubleshooting

Crelate MCP does not appear when I type @ or under All agents.
This is expected. Crelate MCP is a source, not an agent. Connect it under Chat settings > Sources, then ask a question that names Crelate in a new chat.

Copilot says it cannot access Crelate data, or it does not use Crelate.
Confirm that Crelate MCP is connected under Chat settings > Sources. Select Crelate MCP there and check that a Tools section lists read tools. Then start a new chat and ask a question that names Crelate, such as “In Crelate, list my open Jobs.” If no tools are listed, confirm the scopes in Step 3 and select Connect again.

Crelate MCP does not appear under Sources.
Confirm in the admin center that the connector shows as Ready and that Staged rollout includes the user. Check that Allow agents and plugins built by your organization is selected under Agents > Settings > Agent and plugin access, that the user is included under User access, and that the user has a Microsoft 365 Copilot license. Sign out and back in, or try a private browser window, and allow up to 15 minutes for changes to take effect.

The Create a new connector option is missing.
The option is on the Gallery tab under Created by your org, not on Your Connections. It also requires the AI Administrator or Global Administrator role.

The scopes are missing or incorrect.
Open the OAuth client registration in the Developer Portal and set the Scope field to crelate.mcp.read,crelate.mcp.read.bulk, with a comma and no space. Save the registration, disconnect and reconnect Crelate MCP under Sources, then try again in a new chat.

The Authorize button is unavailable, or authorization fails in the admin center.
The button stays unavailable until a Reference ID is entered. Confirm that OAuth 2.0 is selected and that the Reference ID is the registration ID from the OAuth client registration, not the Crelate Client ID or the App ID. Then confirm that the scopes and the PKCE setting in the registration are correct.

The Create button is unavailable.
Complete the Display name, MCP endpoint URL, and Reference ID fields, and select the Notice checkbox. If the form says the URL is not formatted correctly, enter the full address, including https://: https://mcp.crelate.com/mcp.

The consent screens show “Something went wrong. Please try again,” or the error “Client must not use multiple authentication methods.”
This usually means the OAuth client registration is sending the credentials in a way Crelate does not accept, or that it still holds an outdated setting from an earlier attempt. Complete the following steps in order.

  1. In the Developer Portal, open Tools > OAuth client registration, and open the Crelate registration.

  2. Confirm that the client authentication method is set to the default option, which uses request body parameters. If it is set to HTTP Basic Auth, change it back to the default and save the registration.

  3. To make sure the registration does not contain outdated settings, replace the credentials:

    1. In Crelate, navigate to Settings > Security > AI Platform Connectors.

    2. Under Connected platforms, select Revoke next to Microsoft 365 Copilot.

    3. Generate new credentials for Microsoft 365 Copilot, and save the new Client secret somewhere secure. It is shown only once.

  4. In the Developer Portal, update the existing OAuth client registration with the new Client ID and Client secret. Confirm that the scopes and PKCE setting are still correct, and save the registration. The Reference ID does not change, so you do not need to update the connector in the Microsoft 365 admin center.

  5. In Copilot, open Chat settings > Sources, disconnect Crelate MCP if it is connected, and then select Connect to try again. A private browser window can help rule out saved sign-in data.

If the error continues, contact Crelate Support with the time of the attempt and the request ID shown on the error page.

The consent screens do not open, or the sign-in window closes without finishing.
Allow pop-ups for the Copilot site in your browser, then select Connect again. If the window still does not open, try a private browser window.

The consent screens end with an “access_denied” error.
First, confirm that the scopes were entered exactly as shown in Step 3. Next, confirm that PKCE is enabled and that the Client ID and secret match the AI Platform Connectors page in Crelate. Then confirm that you signed in with a Crelate account whose role has the AI / MCP Access privilege set to Allowed. No other AI access setting is required. Make sure you select the Allow option on the consent screen and do not close or cancel it. If the error continues, contact Crelate Support with the time of the attempt and the request ID shown on the error page.

Uploading the app package fails with “Deployment failed.”
Step 7 is not required to use Crelate MCP as a source. If you still need it, run the app package validation in the Developer Portal, check All agents and Deleted agents in the admin center for an existing copy of Crelate MCP, increase the version value in manifest.json, and download a new package before you upload it again.

The manifest editor shows “Unexpected non-whitespace character after JSON.”
The new section was placed outside the main closing brace of the file. The agentConnectors section must sit inside the manifest, after a comma, and the final line of the file must be a single closing brace.

The Connectors page does not appear in the Microsoft 365 admin center.
The page requires the AI Administrator or Global Administrator role in Microsoft 365. Ask an administrator to confirm that your account has one of these roles.

Copilot Studio.
Copilot Studio is not supported at this time. Contact Crelate Support if you need it.

What's Next?

Crelate + MCP (Model Context Protocol
Setting Up Your Crelate MCP Connection
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