The Birdi connector links your Birdi workspace to the AI assistant your team already uses, such as Claude, ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot or Gemini. Once it’s connected, you can ask about your sites, take measurements, build reports and send data for processing, all in plain language and without switching between apps.
The Birdi connector is available on all paid Birdi plans.
With the Birdi connector you can:
Find maps, layers, sites, processing jobs and reports across your workspace
Measure areas, lengths, volumes and tonnage
Look at your map and drone photos and describe what’s on site
Create maps, calculate volumes, and generate contours and hillshades
Build PDF reports, including reports in your own or your client’s branding
Upload drone photos and send them for processing
What is MCP?
The connector is built on MCP (Model Context Protocol), an open standard that acts like a plug between AI assistants and software. Birdi built the connector once, so any assistant that supports MCP connectors can use it.
You don’t need to know anything technical to use it. Add Birdi once, sign in, and then just ask.
Birdi connector vs Scout
Scout is the AI assistant built into Birdi. Use it while you’re working inside the Birdi app.
The Birdi connector brings the same capabilities into your own AI assistant. Use it when you work mostly in other tools, such as email, Excel, GIS, CAD or Procore, and want your assistant to combine Birdi with them.
When to use the Birdi connector
You spend most of your day in an AI assistant and want answers about your sites without opening Birdi
You build the same report every month and want to ask for it in one sentence
You report to several clients or stakeholders who each want a different format or branding
You want to combine Birdi data with your other tools, such as a volume in an email or figures in a spreadsheet
You want to upload a capture and send it for processing straight from your laptop
What you can ask it to do
You choose how much the assistant can do when you connect. This works in two ways:
Read-only: it can look and answer, but can’t change anything.
Read & act: it can also create maps, run calculations and produce outputs.
Explore and measure (Read-only)
“List the maps I’ve captured at the Kingsford site this year.”
“What’s the area of the site boundary on the August survey?”
“What’s the stockpile volume on the north pad, and what’s that in tonnes using our saved materials?”
“What was the flight altitude and GSD for the latest capture?”
“How do I create a difference grid in Birdi?” (it searches the Birdi Help Centre for you)
See the map
“Show me a snapshot of the Gregory Hills map with the annotations on.”
“Describe what’s on site in the latest capture.”
“Take a look at this drone photo and tell me what’s in it.”
Tip: Visual descriptions are a helpful second pair of eyes, not a qualified assessment. When you need exact counts, measurements or outlines, use Birdi’s measurement tools or AI Detect.
Get work done (Read & act)
“Create a new map called Kingsford October and move it into the Mining folder.”
“Calculate the volumes on this map and generate contours.”
“Create a PDF report of the annotations on the ROM pad map.”
“Upload today’s capture to a new map called Kingsford demo and send it for processing.”
Examples by industry
Mining and resources: “Run the month-end stockpile report for the ROM pad and compare it with last month.”
Construction: “Compare the August and September earthworks on Gregory Hills and draft the progress summary for the client.”
Drone service providers: “Upload today’s capture to the Acme site, then run Acme’s monthly report when it’s processed.”
Step-by-step: connecting Birdi to Claude
You’ll need a paid Birdi plan and a Claude account. Setup takes a couple of minutes.
1. Open your connector settings
In Claude, go to Customize > Connectors.
Tip: On a Claude Team or Enterprise plan, an organisation owner may need to add the connector first. They do this in Organization settings > Connectors by selecting Add > Custom > Web. Members then find Birdi under Customize> Connectors and select Connect.
2. Add Birdi as a custom connector
Select + Add, then Add custom connector.
Name: Birdi
Remote MCP server URL:
https://api.birdi.io/v1/mcp
Select Continue and follow the prompts, then select Add.
3. Sign in with your Birdi account
When prompted, sign in with your usual Birdi login. Single Sign-On (SSO) also works, so your team’s existing access rules still apply.
4. Choose what the assistant can do
Pick Read-only to let the assistant explore and answer questions. Pick Read & act to also let it create maps, run calculations and produce outputs.
Tip: Not sure? Start with Read-only. You can reconnect with Read & act later.
5. Turn Birdi on in a chat
In a new chat, select + (bottom left) > Connectors and make sure Birdi is switched on. Then ask your first question, for example “What maps do I have in Birdi?”
6. Switch workspaces if you need to
If you work across more than one Birdi workspace, just ask, for example “Switch to the Acme workspace.” The assistant works in that workspace until you switch again.
Connecting other AI assistants
ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot and Gemini follow the same pattern:
Open your assistant’s connector (or apps) settings and add a custom connector.
Enter the Birdi address:
https://api.birdi.io/v1/mcpSign in with your Birdi login and choose Read-only or Read & act.
Menu names vary between assistants and change over time, so check your assistant’s own help pages for the exact steps. If your company manages AI tools centrally, your IT team may need to approve the connector first.
Uploading drone data from your computer
Uploading only works in an assistant that can see the files on your computer, such as Claude Code. Open Claude Code in the folder that holds your capture and ask, for example “Upload this capture to a new Birdi map called Kingsford October.”
Assistants without access to your files can still do everything else once your data is in Birdi.
Staying in control
Your permissions apply. The assistant signs in as you and can only see and do what you can in Birdi, within your plan.
No surprise processing charges. Before anything is processed, the assistant gets you a quote. It only uses your existing processing credit, and only after you confirm. If a job needs more credit than you have, you’ll get a payment link instead of a charge.
Real numbers from Birdi. Measurements and volumes come straight from Birdi, in your map’s own units. The assistant reports them; it doesn’t calculate its own.
Some things are off-limits. The connector can’t delete data, share maps, invite users or send emails.
You can remove it at any time. In Claude, go to Customize > Connectors, select the three dots next to Birdi, then select Remove.
Tip: Volume calculations, terrain layers and reports run in the background. The assistant tells you when they’re ready, so you can keep working.
Best practice tips
Use map and site names. “The September Gregory Hills map” works better than “my latest map”.
Be specific about the result you want. “Volumes for every stockpile in the ROM pad folder, in a table” beats “get volumes”.
Start with Read-only while you learn what the connector can do.
Reuse prompts that work. Save your go-to requests, or set them up as a scheduled task in your assistant, for example “On the 1st of each month, run the volumes report for every active site.”
Use the Birdi app for live map work. Zooming, side-by-side compare and the timeline stay in Birdi.
Connector compatibility notes
Assistant | Custom connectors? | Who can use it | Notes |
Claude (web, desktop, mobile) | Yes | Every plan, including Free (Free gets one custom connector) | On Team and Enterprise, an owner adds it first and members then select Connect. s tested most. |
Claude Code | Yes | Pro and above | The only assistant here that can upload drone data from the user’s computer. |
ChatGPT | Yes, through Developer mode | Business, Enterprise and Edu get full read and write (write is still in beta). Pro is read-only. OpenAI’s article doesn’t mention Free or Plus. | An admin must turn on Developer mode and publish the app. Custom apps work on the web only, not mobile. No country restrictions. Write actions can need confirmation. |
Gemini app(gemini.google.com) | Yes, as custom apps | US only, 18+, personal Google accounts only, English only, and Keep Activity must be on | Not available on work or school (Workspace) accounts, and not available in Australia. Write actions always need manual confirmation. |
Gemini Enterprise | Yes (pre-GA, Business edition) | A team admin adds it under Manage team > Connected apps > Add MCP Server | Needs Streamable HTTP and a pre-registered OAuth client ID and secret. The connection is off by default until the admin enables it. |
Gemini CLI | Yes | Free | Developer tool, set up from the command line. It works, but it isn’t a fit for most of our users. |
Microsoft 365 Copilot | Yes, through an admin-built connector or Copilot Studio | A Global or AI Administrator sets it up in the Microsoft 365 admin centre | Microsoft’s custom connector route is read-only, so Read & act would only work through a Copilot Studio agent. It needs a Teams Developer Portal registration and privacy policy and terms URLs. Microsoft’s pages don’t cover consumer Copilot. |