Introduction to iVendNext AI Gateway
What Is iVendNext AI Gateway?
iVendNext AI Gateway is a module that connects your iVendNext instance to external AI assistants — such as Claude Desktop or ChatGPT. It operates as an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server, which means it exposes your iVendNext data and functionality to any MCP-compatible AI assistant in a secure, permission-controlled way.
iVendNext AI Gateway has no user interface inside iVendNext. You do not interact with it by opening a screen or navigating a menu. Instead, once the Gateway is set up, you interact with your iVendNext data entirely through your AI assistant — by typing questions and instructions in plain English.
How It Works
When you ask your AI assistant a question about your business, the assistant sends a structured request to iVendNext AI Gateway. The Gateway processes that request against your live iVendNext data and returns the result to the AI assistant, which presents it to you in the conversation.
Every request the AI assistant makes is sent on behalf of your authenticated iVendNext user account. This means the Gateway enforces your existing iVendNext roles and permissions on every interaction — the AI assistant can only access data and perform actions that your account is already authorised for in iVendNext.
Responses are returned inline in the conversation. iVendNext AI Gateway does not create saved records, dashboards, or reports inside iVendNext as a result of a query. If you want an exportable version of a response — such as a dashboard or summary — you can ask your AI assistant to generate it as an HTML file.
What You Can Do
iVendNext AI Gateway supports the following types of interactions:
Query your data — ask questions about sales, inventory, purchasing, customers, suppliers, and any other data in your iVendNext instance. The AI assistant retrieves the relevant records and returns the answer in plain language.
Create records — instruct the AI assistant to create a new document in iVendNext, such as a purchase order, sales order, or customer record. The document is created in iVendNext under your user account, subject to your permissions.
Update records — ask the AI assistant to update fields on an existing iVendNext document. For example, you can ask it to change a document status, update a customer's contact details, or modify a quantity on a draft order.
Trigger workflow actions — instruct the AI assistant to execute a workflow action on an iVendNext document, such as submitting, approving, or rejecting it, provided your user account has the necessary permissions to perform that action.
Generate reports — ask the AI assistant to run an iVendNext report and return the results. The report runs against live data and the output is returned inline in the conversation.
What iVendNext AI Gateway Is Not
To avoid confusion, it is worth being clear about what the Gateway does not do:
It does not save dashboards or reports inside iVendNext. Any dashboard or summary generated through a query exists only within the conversation in your AI assistant.
It does not bypass iVendNext permissions. The AI assistant cannot access data or take actions that your user account is not already authorised for.
It does not store your business data externally. Data is retrieved from your iVendNext instance in real time for each request and is not persisted outside of iVendNext.
It does not replace iVendNext Desk. For users who process transactions and manage records day-to-day, iVendNext Desk remains the primary application interface.
Prerequisites
Before you can use iVendNext AI Gateway, the following must be in place:
iVendNext AI Gateway module installed — your system administrator will confirm whether the module is available on your site.
Assistant Core enabled — a user with the Administrator role must enable the Assistant Core in iVendNext Settings → Assistant Core Settings before any connections can be made.
A valid iVendNext user account — you must have an active iVendNext account with the appropriate roles and permissions. What you can see and do through the Gateway is determined by your iVendNext roles.
An MCP-compatible AI assistant — you need access to an AI assistant that supports MCP connectors, such as Claude Desktop (Anthropic) or ChatGPT (OpenAI).
Your own AI assistant subscription — iVendNext AI Gateway does not include a subscription to any AI assistant. You must have your own active subscription to a compatible AI assistant, obtained directly from the respective provider. The cost of that subscription is not covered by your iVendNext AI Gateway licence.