# Search

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## Purpose

Connect a Search MCP to a mentor so it can search your platform for courses, programs, and mentors—and return grounded, recommendation-ready results without hallucinations.

## Overview

The Search MCP uses an MCP server (in this demo, ibl.ai’s own search MCP) to power a mentor that acts as a search assistant. It can:

- Search the course catalog (courses/programs).
- Find and recommend mentors.
- Ask follow-up filters (subject, level, format, language).
- Enforce guardrails via the system prompt.


## Prerequisites

- A mentor with a Search Assistant system prompt.
- MCP Tool enabled for the mentor.
- An API key for the Search MCP server.


## Setup Steps

#### 1) Prepare the Mentor

- Open the mentor you want to use for search.
- Set the system prompt to a search-focused assistant (catalog + mentor search, recommendations, guardrails).


#### 2) Enable the MCP Tool

- Go to the mentor’s **Tools** tab.
- Ensure **MCP** is enabled.


#### 3) Add the Search MCP Connector

- Open the **MCP** tab.
- Add (or edit) a connector with:
  - **Connector name**
  - **Server location** (Search MCP server URL)
  - **Description**
    - Acts like instructions for the connection (what the mentor can pull and how to respond).
  - **Transport:** Streamable HTTP
  - **Authentication:** API Key
    - **Token type:** API Key
    - **Token value:** paste your token
- Save the connector.


## Using Search in Chat

#### Search Courses

**Prompt example:**

> “What courses are available on the platform?”


**Result:**

- Returns a subset of courses from the tenant (even if the catalog is large).
- Asks if you want to filter by subject, level, format, or language.


#### Search Mentors

**Prompt example:**

> “What mentors can help me become a better student?”


**Result:**

- Lists relevant mentors (e.g., study tips, quizzes, Socratic support).
- Offers to filter further or show more results (based on system-prompt limits).


## Result

With Search MCP connected, mentors can reliably discover courses and mentors across your platform, guide users with filters and recommendations, and return accurate, grounded results from your own data.