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**Welcome!** 

This FAQ covers the most common questions about BioCentury Connectors — from setup and access, to how the connectors works and what they can do. 

**Still have questions?** Contact us at [support@biocentury.com](mailto:support@biocentury.com). You can also request training or a walkthrough. For step-by-step setup instructions, see the [Getting Started guide](/crc/ai/bc-connector-set-up). For prompt ideas, see the [Prompt Library](/crc/ai/prompt-library). 

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CRC - BC Connectors FAQ - Welcome

## What are BioCentury Connectors for AI assistants? 

BioCentury Connectors for AI assistants are custom integrations that connects AI assistants such as Claude, ChatGPT and others to BioCentury's proprietary biotech intelligence. When the Connector is active in an AI assistant’s conversation, the AI assistant can draw on BioCentury's curated insights, analysis, and commentary to answer your questions in natural language. 

Think of it as having BioCentury's knowledge base available as a research assistant inside your AI platform interface.

What are BioCentury Connectors for AI assistants?

## Does my BioCentury subscription include the Connectors? 

Everyone with an authorized BioCentury account can use the Connectors. The Connectors is not required to use your BioCentury subscription, and it does not require an additional fee. It gives you a powerful new option for adding BioCentury Content and Information into your workflow.

Does my BioCentury subscription include the Connectors?

## What AI assistant plan do I need? 

Subscription plans/types may have different policies about use of custom connectors. Please check your subscription plan documents or check with your organization owner or administrator.

What Claude plan do I need?

## I'm on a team, company or enterprise plan. Does my admin need to do anything first? 

Some subscription plan/types may require that your organization owner or admin enable custom connectors before individual users can add one. If you do not see the option to add a custom connector, ask your organization admin to check this setting.

I'm on a Team or Enterprise plan. Does my admin need to do anything first?

## How do I get the connector URL I need to set up the BioCentury Connectors? 

To connect BioCentury to an AI assistant, you will need a connector URL — a unique web address that tells the AI assistant where to connect with BioCentury. This is sometimes referred to as an MCP URL (MCP stands for Model Context Protocol, the technical standard AI platforms use to connect to external data sources). 

You do not need to understand the technical details — you just need the URL itself. If you have not received it, contact [support@biocentury.com](mailto:support@biocentury.com) and we will provide it to you.

How do I get the connector URL I need to set up the BioCentury Connector?

Getting Access

## How do I set up a BioCentury Connector? 

See our [Getting Started Guide](/crc/ai/bc-connector-set-up) in the BioCentury Customer Resource Center for set-up instructions for different AI platforms.

How do I set up a BioCentury Connector?

## Can I use a BioCentury Connector across multiple devices? 

Yes. Your BioCentury Connector setup is tied to your AI assistant account, so it will be available wherever you are logged in to your AI assistant — desktop, mobile browser, or the appropriate app. Note you must be logged into the AI assistant account that is associated with your BioCentury subscription.

Can I use a BioCentury Connector across multiple devices?

Setup & Connection

## How do I activate a BioCentury Connector in a conversation? 

Open a new chat in your AI assistant or use an existing one. You will then need to prompt it to query BioCentury Content. Be sure to prompt the connector specifically with the sources you want to use. For instance, “Integrating BioCentury analysis with a web search...” or “What has BioCentury written about...”

How do I activate a BioCentury Connector in a conversation?

## Do BioCentury Connectors need to be turned on fresh for each conversation 

No. If the Connector toggle remains on, then you only need to use the term “BioCentury” in your prompt when you start a new conversation.

Does BioCentury Connectors need to be turned on fresh for each conversation?

## How do I know if a BioCentury Connector is actually active and being used? 

**Claude:** In any chat, click the **+** (plus) icon in the message toolbar at the bottom of the screen. Hover over **Connectors**. Find BioCentury in the list of available connectors. You will see a confirmation that it is active when the toggle is on. You should also include the term "BioCentury" in your prompt, which explicitly directs Claude to use the connector rather than its general knowledge. 

**ChatGPT:** Open your profile menu and go to **Settings → Plugins**. Under Plugins, locate **BioCentury Connector**. If BioCentury appears as connected and enabled, the Connector is active and available for use. Custom MCP-powered apps may display a Custom label next to their name. 

To use BioCentury in a conversation, open a new chat and select BioCentury from the **Tools** menu near the message box. You can also explicitly direct ChatGPT to use it by including wording such as: “Using the BioCentury plugin, find recent developments related to…” Selecting or naming BioCentury helps ensure that ChatGPT searches BioCentury content rather than relying only on its general knowledge or other sources.

How do I know if a BioCentury Connector is actually active and being used?

## Will my AI assistant automatically use the BioCentury Connector when I ask a question, or do I need to prompt it to do so? 

**Claude:** No, Claude does not automatically pull from the BioCentury Connector for every question. It only uses it when: 
1. You explicitly ask it to — e.g., "Search BioCentury for..." or "Use the BioCentury Connector to..."
2. The query is clearly relevant to BioCentury's content — e.g., you ask about biotech news, drug development, clinical trials, or biotech company analysis, and it makes sense that BioCentury's archive would help
3. You've indicated you want Claude to use it — e.g., you tell Claude it's your preferred source for certain topics 

For most general questions (coding help, general knowledge, writing, math, etc.), Claude won't automatically use BioCentury or any other connector. 

**ChatGPT:** No. It will not for every question. It will generally use the BioCentury Connector automatically when your question is clearly BioCentury-related. ChatGPT will not use it for unrelated questions like travel, cooking, or general definitions. To make sure it is used, explicitly say something like: “Use the BioCentury Connector to answer this.” Mentioning “BioCentury” helps, but the clearest instruction is to specifically request the Connector, e.g.: "When using the BioCentury Connector, ground the answer in the retrieved BioCentury content rather than relying only on general knowledge."

Will the AI assistant automatically use the BioCentury Connector when I ask a question

## Can I configure my AI assistant to use the BioCentury Connector every time I ask a question? 

**Claude:** You cannot fully do this, since there are some practical limitations: Claude can save preferences, including that you want it to use BioCentury frequently. It has a memory system (/preferences.md) where it stores how you like it to behave. But Claude won't apply preferences that would make its answers worse. Claude is designed to use judgment about when tools actually help. 

Claude does allow you to save a preference like "Default to checking BioCentury for biotech/pharmaceutical/clinical trial/drug development questions" or "Use BioCentury as my first source for industry news and company analysis." 

Click your initials in the lower-left corner, go to **Settings → Profile**. There you'll find a text box for instructions Claude keeps in mind across all your chats. Just add a line like: 

`When using the BioCentury connector, always include the source link for each article you reference.` 

Save it, and from then on it applies to every new conversation without you having to ask.

**ChatGPT:** You can teach ChatGPT a persistent preference, but you cannot fully retrain it or guarantee that the BioCentury Connector will be called for literally every message. 

The best setup is to add this to **Settings → Personalization → Custom Instructions**: 

`For every question related to biopharma, biotech companies, therapeutics, deals, and BioCentury, search the BioCentury Connector first. Base the answer on BioCentury results and cite them. If the Connector does not contain the answer, clearly say so before using other sources or general knowledge.` 

Custom Instructions apply across your chats, and Memory can also retain direct preferences you give ChatGPT. 

You could also tell ChatGPT directly: 

`Remember to use the BioCentury Connector first for all biopharma, deal, company, product, and BioCentury questions.`

Can I configure the AI assistant to use the BioCentury Connector every time I ask a question?

## What kind of questions can I ask? 

You can ask Claude any research question you would normally bring to BioCentury. Common use cases include BioCentury’s analysis and perspective in the following areas: 

- Competitive landscape overviews for a therapeutic area or target 
- Summaries of recent deals, partnerships, or M&A activity 
- Company and asset due diligence briefings 
- Regulatory and FDA decision summaries 
- Clinical data and trial update summaries 
- Financing trends and investor activity 

See the [BioCentury Connector Prompt Library](/crc/ai/prompt-library) in the Customer Resource Center for ready-to-use prompts organized by use case.

What kind of questions can I ask?

## Can I ask follow-up questions in the same conversation? 

Yes. Claude and ChatGPT retains context within a conversation, so you can ask follow-up questions, drill down on a specific point, or ask for a different format without re-explaining the background. This makes it easy to conduct multi-step research within a single session.

Can I ask follow-up questions in the same conversation?

## Can I ask my AI assistant to format the output in a specific way? 

Yes — and it is a good habit. You can ask your assistant to respond in a summary paragraph, a bulleted list, a comparison table, a timeline, or any other format. Specifying the format in your prompt helps your assistant return output that fits your workflow. For example: "Summarize as a bulleted briefing" or "Format as a table with columns for company, asset, phase, and indication."

Can I ask my AI assistant to format the output in a specific way?

## Can I combine a BioCentury Connector with other Connectors or my AI assistant’s general knowledge base? 

Yes, you can do both. Specifying any connectors in your prompt helps your AI assistant return output that fits your needs. For example, “using the BioCentury and ClinicalTrials.gov Connectors, give an overview of what programs are in the clinic for [Target/disease of interest].” Similarly, you can use the general knowledge base instead of or in addition to another Connector.

Can I combine a BioCentury Connector with other Connectors or my AI assistant’s general knowledge base?

Using BioCentury Connectors

## What BioCentury Content can BioCentury Connectors access? 

BioCentury Connectors draw on BioCentury's library of editorial analysis, biotech insights, and editorial commentaries from January 1, 2021, to the present.

What BioCentury Content can BioCentury Connectors access?

## How current is the data? 

The BioCentury Connectors access the latest BioCentury Content as it is updated daily on the platform, so you should expect coverage to reflect the most recent analysis.

How current is the data?

## Will my AI assistant use its own general knowledge or only BioCentury content? 

When a BioCentury Connector is active, your AI assistant will prioritize BioCentury Content to answer your question. However, your AI assistant is a general AI model and may draw on its broader training knowledge — including for background scientific or regulatory concepts. Your AI assistant also determines how BioCentury Content is presented to you, including how BioCentury Content is combined with other sources. 

To anchor responses specifically to BioCentury Content, include the phrase "using BioCentury content" in your prompt.

Will AI tools use their own general knowledge or only BioCentury content?

## Should I verify information my AI assistant gives me when using a BioCentury Connector? 

Yes. As noted above, your AI assistant decides how to present information to you. That’s why it’s best practice to always verify information and data points provided by AI models. Treat Connector outputs as a research starting point, not a definitive record. You can also build source-checking into your workflow by asking follow-up questions like "What BioCentury articles cover this topic?" This will surface the underlying coverage so you can review it directly and confirm your assistant’s interpretation is accurate.

Should I verify information my AI assistant gives me when using a BioCentury Connector?

Data & Content

## Is my data secure when using BioCentury Connectors? 

All data transferred between your AI assistant and a BioCentury Connector is encrypted in transit. You will expose your BioCentury login email to your AI platform when installing the Connector, but BioCentury does not share other details about you. Your AI platform does not share your conversation content with BioCentury.

Is my data secure when using BioCentury Connectors?

## Does my AI assistant store my conversations? 

Conversation data are handled according to AI platforms' privacy policies and your plan's data terms. Enterprise plans typically include additional data controls. For questions about how your AI platform handles conversation data, refer to the AI platform’s privacy policy or your enterprise agreement.

Does my AI assistant store my conversations?

## Does BioCentury see what I ask my AI assistant? 

BioCentury does not have access to your AI assistant conversation content. When a BioCentury Connector is queried, BioCentury's system receives a request for relevant data — not the full text of your conversation.

Does BioCentury see what I ask my AI assistant?

Privacy & Security

## I do not see an option to add a custom connector. What should I do? 

First, confirm your plan supports custom connectors — support may vary depending on the vendor and your plan. Some plans may require your organization admin to enable custom connectors in Admin Settings before the option appears for individual users. 

Note: Free Claude plans only support a single custom connector.

I do not see an option to add a custom connector. What should I do?

## The connection fails when I enter the URL. What should I check? 

The most common cause is a typo or extra space in the URL. Make sure you are pasting the URL exactly as provided by BioCentury. If the problem persists, contact [support@biocentury.com](mailto:support@biocentury.com) — the URL may need to be re-issued.

The connection fails when I enter the URL. What should I check?

## Authorization keeps failing even though I am using the right credentials. 

Confirm you are using the email and password associated with your active BioCentury subscription — not a different account. You can reset your password at [login.biocentury.com/forgotpassword](https://login-biocentury-com.proxy.lib.umich.edu/forgotpassword). 
If the issue continues, contact [support@biocentury.com](mailto:support@biocentury.com).

Authorization keeps failing even though I am using the right credentials.

## A BioCentury Connector is connected but my AI assistant does not seem to be using BioCentury data. 

Check two things. First, make sure the Connector is on for your current conversation. Second, add the term "BioCentury" to your prompt. If your AI assistant still does not draw on BioCentury Content, try disconnecting and re-adding the Connector.

A BioCentury Connector is connected but Claude does not seem to be using BioCentury data.

## What if the Connector URL stops working? 

Please contact [support@biocentury.com](mailto:support@biocentury.com) or reach out to your BioCentury account representative.

What if the Connector URL stops working?

## The BioCentury Connector was working before but has suddenly stopped. 

Try disconnecting the Connector and re-adding it with the same URL. If the issue persists — or if you receive an error message when saving — contact [support@biocentury.com](mailto:support@biocentury.com).

The BioCentury Connector was working before but has suddenly stopped.

## My AI assistant gives me a response but says it could not find BioCentury information on my topic. 

This may mean BioCentury's coverage of that specific topic is limited, or that the query was too broad or ambiguous to surface relevant results. Try being more specific — include a company name, drug name, target, or indication, and add a time horizon such as "in the past 12 months." If the issue persists for a topic you would expect BioCentury to cover, contact [support@biocentury.com](mailto:support@biocentury.com).