How to integrate Intercom MCP with CrewAI

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Introduction

This guide walks you through connecting Intercom to CrewAI using the Composio tool router. By the end, you'll have a working Intercom agent that can add tag 'vip' to contact john doe, assign open conversation #123 to support team, create note for contact emily about refund, close all resolved conversations from today through natural language commands.

This guide will help you understand how to give your CrewAI agent real control over a Intercom account through Composio's Intercom MCP server.

Before we dive in, let's take a quick look at the key ideas and tools involved.

TL;DR

Here's what you'll learn:
  • Get a Composio API key and configure your Intercom connection
  • Set up CrewAI with an MCP enabled agent
  • Create a Tool Router session or standalone MCP server for Intercom
  • Build a conversational loop where your agent can execute Intercom operations

What is CrewAI?

CrewAI is a powerful framework for building multi-agent AI systems. It provides primitives for defining agents with specific roles, creating tasks, and orchestrating workflows through crews.

Key features include:

  • Agent Roles: Define specialized agents with specific goals and backstories
  • Task Management: Create tasks with clear descriptions and expected outputs
  • Crew Orchestration: Combine agents and tasks into collaborative workflows
  • MCP Integration: Connect to external tools through Model Context Protocol

What is the Intercom MCP server, and what's possible with it?

The Intercom MCP server is an implementation of the Model Context Protocol that connects your AI agent and assistants like Claude, Cursor, etc directly to your Intercom account. It provides structured and secure access to your customer engagement platform, so your agent can perform actions like managing conversations, tagging contacts, creating articles, and updating company records on your behalf.

  • Conversation management and assignment: Let your agent assign conversations to teams or admins, create new conversations, and close them when resolved, streamlining your support workflow.
  • Contact tagging and note creation: Effortlessly tag contacts with relevant labels or add detailed notes for context, making customer follow-ups more organized and actionable.
  • Automated company and contact updates: Enable your agent to attach contacts to companies, create or update company records, and keep your Intercom data clean and up to date.
  • Article and collection creation: Let your agent publish new articles or create help center collections to expand your self-serve support resources without manual effort.
  • Subscription and message preferences management: Allow your agent to add or manage subscriptions for contacts, helping you personalize communication and respect user preferences automatically.

Supported Tools & Triggers

Tools
Add subscription to a contactYou can add a specific subscription to a contact.
Add tag to a contactYou can tag a specific contact.
Assign conversationAssigns a conversation to a specific admin or team in intercom
Attach a contact to a companyYou can attach a company to a single contact.
Close conversationCloses a conversation in intercom, marking it as resolved
Create a collectionYou can create a new collection by making a post request to `https://api.
Create an articleYou can create a new article by making a post request to `https://api.
Create a noteYou can add a note to a single contact.
Create conversationCreates a new conversation in intercom
Create or update a companyYou can create or update a company.
Delete a collectionYou can delete a single collection by making a delete request to `https://api.
Delete a companyYou can delete a single company.
Delete a contactYou can delete a single contact.
Delete an articleYou can delete a single article by making a delete request to `https://api.
Detach a contact from a companyYou can detach a company from a single contact.
Get a contactYou can fetch the details of a single contact.
Get conversationRetrieves a specific conversation by id with all messages and details
Identify an adminYou can view the currently authorised admin along with the embedded app object (a "workspace" in legacy terminology).
List all activity logsYou can get a log of activities by all admins in an app.
List all adminsYou can fetch a list of admins for a given workspace.
List all articlesYou can fetch a list of all articles by making a get request to `https://api.
List all collectionsYou can fetch a list of all collections by making a get request to `https://api.
List all companiesYou can list companies.
List all help centersYou can list all help centers by making a get request to `https://api.
List all notesYou can fetch a list of notes that are associated to a contact.
List attached companies for contactYou can fetch a list of companies that are associated to a contact.
List attached contactsYou can fetch a list of all contacts that belong to a company.
List attached segments for companiesYou can fetch a list of all segments that belong to a company.
List attached segments for contactYou can fetch a list of segments that are associated to a contact.
List conversationsLists conversations from intercom with filtering and pagination support
List subscriptions for a contactYou can fetch a list of subscription types that are attached to a contact.
List tags attached to a contactYou can fetch a list of all tags that are attached to a specific contact.
Merge a lead and a userYou can merge a contact with a `role` of `lead` into a contact with a `role` of `user`.
Remove subscription from a contactYou can remove a specific subscription from a contact.
Remove tag from a contactYou can remove tag from a specific contact.
Reopen conversationReopens a closed conversation in intercom
Reply to conversationSends a reply to an existing conversation in intercom
Retrieve a collectionYou can fetch the details of a single collection by making a get request to `https://api.
Retrieve a company by idYou can fetch a single company.
Retrieve a help centerYou can fetch the details of a single help center by making a get request to `https://api.
Retrieve an adminYou can retrieve the details of a single admin.
Retrieve an articleYou can fetch the details of a single article by making a get request to `https://api.
Retrieve companiesYou can fetch a single company by passing in `company id` or `name`.
Scroll over all companiesThe `list all companies` functionality does not work well for huge datasets, and can result in errors and performance problems when paging deeply.
Search conversationsSearches for conversations using query string with support for filtering and sorting
Search for articlesYou can search for articles by making a get request to `https://api.
Set an admin to awayYou can set an admin as away for the inbox.
Update a collectionYou can update the details of a single collection by making a put request to `https://api.
Update a companyYou can update a single company using the intercom provisioned `id`.
Update a contactYou can update an existing contact (ie.
Update an articleYou can update the details of a single article by making a put request to `https://api.

What is the Composio tool router, and how does it fit here?

What is Tool Router?

Composio's Tool Router helps agents find the right tools for a task at runtime. You can plug in multiple toolkits (like Gmail, HubSpot, and GitHub), and the agent will identify the relevant app and action to complete multi-step workflows. This can reduce token usage and improve the reliability of tool calls. Read more here: Getting started with Tool Router

The tool router generates a secure MCP URL that your agents can access to perform actions.

How the Tool Router works

The Tool Router follows a three-phase workflow:

  1. Discovery: Searches for tools matching your task and returns relevant toolkits with their details.
  2. Authentication: Checks for active connections. If missing, creates an auth config and returns a connection URL via Auth Link.
  3. Execution: Executes the action using the authenticated connection.

Step-by-step Guide

Prerequisites

Before starting, make sure you have:
  • Python 3.9 or higher
  • A Composio account and API key
  • A Intercom connection authorized in Composio
  • An OpenAI API key for the CrewAI LLM
  • Basic familiarity with Python

Getting API Keys for OpenAI and Composio

OpenAI API Key
  • Go to the OpenAI dashboard and create an API key. You'll need credits to use the models, or you can connect to another model provider.
  • Keep the API key safe.
Composio API Key
  • Log in to the Composio dashboard.
  • Navigate to your API settings and generate a new API key.
  • Store this key securely as you'll need it for authentication.

Install dependencies

bash
pip install composio crewai crewai-tools[mcp] python-dotenv
What's happening:
  • composio connects your agent to Intercom via MCP
  • crewai provides Agent, Task, Crew, and LLM primitives
  • crewai-tools[mcp] includes MCP helpers
  • python-dotenv loads environment variables from .env

Set up environment variables

bash
COMPOSIO_API_KEY=your_composio_api_key_here
USER_ID=your_user_id_here
OPENAI_API_KEY=your_openai_api_key_here

Create a .env file in your project root.

What's happening:

  • COMPOSIO_API_KEY authenticates with Composio
  • USER_ID scopes the session to your account
  • OPENAI_API_KEY lets CrewAI use your chosen OpenAI model

Import dependencies

python
import os
from composio import Composio
from crewai import Agent, Task, Crew
from crewai_tools import MCPServerAdapter
import dotenv

dotenv.load_dotenv()

COMPOSIO_API_KEY = os.getenv("COMPOSIO_API_KEY")
COMPOSIO_USER_ID = os.getenv("COMPOSIO_USER_ID")

if not COMPOSIO_API_KEY:
    raise ValueError("COMPOSIO_API_KEY is not set")
if not COMPOSIO_USER_ID:
    raise ValueError("COMPOSIO_USER_ID is not set")
What's happening:
  • CrewAI classes define agents and tasks, and run the workflow
  • MCPServerHTTP connects the agent to an MCP endpoint
  • Composio will give you a short lived Intercom MCP URL

Create a Composio Tool Router session for Intercom

python
composio_client = Composio(api_key=COMPOSIO_API_KEY)
session = composio_client.create(user_id=COMPOSIO_USER_ID, toolkits=["intercom"])

url = session.mcp.url
What's happening:
  • You create a Intercom only session through Composio
  • Composio returns an MCP HTTP URL that exposes Intercom tools

Initialize the MCP Server

python
server_params = {
    "url": url,
    "transport": "streamable-http",
    "headers": {"x-api-key": COMPOSIO_API_KEY},
}

with MCPServerAdapter(server_params) as tools:
    agent = Agent(
        role="Search Assistant",
        goal="Help users search the internet effectively",
        backstory="You are a helpful assistant with access to search tools.",
        tools=tools,
        verbose=False,
        max_iter=10,
    )
What's Happening:
  • Server Configuration: The code sets up connection parameters including the MCP server URL, streamable HTTP transport, and Composio API key authentication.
  • MCP Adapter Bridge: MCPServerAdapter acts as a context manager that converts Composio MCP tools into a CrewAI-compatible format.
  • Agent Setup: Creates a CrewAI Agent with a defined role (Search Assistant), goal (help with internet searches), and access to the MCP tools.
  • Configuration Options: The agent includes settings like verbose=False for clean output and max_iter=10 to prevent infinite loops.
  • Dynamic Tool Usage: Once created, the agent automatically accesses all Composio Search tools and decides when to use them based on user queries.

Create a CLI Chatloop and define the Crew

python
print("Chat started! Type 'exit' or 'quit' to end.\n")

conversation_context = ""

while True:
    user_input = input("You: ").strip()

    if user_input.lower() in ["exit", "quit", "bye"]:
        print("\nGoodbye!")
        break

    if not user_input:
        continue

    conversation_context += f"\nUser: {user_input}\n"
    print("\nAgent is thinking...\n")

    task = Task(
        description=(
            f"Conversation history:\n{conversation_context}\n\n"
            f"Current request: {user_input}"
        ),
        expected_output="A helpful response addressing the user's request",
        agent=agent,
    )

    crew = Crew(agents=[agent], tasks=[task], verbose=False)
    result = crew.kickoff()
    response = str(result)

    conversation_context += f"Agent: {response}\n"
    print(f"Agent: {response}\n")
What's Happening:
  • Interactive CLI Setup: The code creates an infinite loop that continuously prompts for user input and maintains the entire conversation history in a string variable.
  • Input Validation: Empty inputs are ignored to prevent processing blank messages and keep the conversation clean.
  • Context Building: Each user message is appended to the conversation context, which preserves the full dialogue history for better agent responses.
  • Dynamic Task Creation: For every user input, a new Task is created that includes both the full conversation history and the current request as context.
  • Crew Execution: A Crew is instantiated with the agent and task, then kicked off to process the request and generate a response.
  • Response Management: The agent's response is converted to a string, added to the conversation context, and displayed to the user, maintaining conversational continuity.

Complete Code

Here's the complete code to get you started with Intercom and CrewAI:

python
from crewai import Agent, Task, Crew, LLM
from crewai_tools import MCPServerAdapter
from composio import Composio
from dotenv import load_dotenv
import os

load_dotenv()

GOOGLE_API_KEY = os.getenv("GOOGLE_API_KEY")
COMPOSIO_API_KEY = os.getenv("COMPOSIO_API_KEY")
COMPOSIO_USER_ID = os.getenv("COMPOSIO_USER_ID")

if not GOOGLE_API_KEY:
    raise ValueError("GOOGLE_API_KEY is not set in the environment.")
if not COMPOSIO_API_KEY:
    raise ValueError("COMPOSIO_API_KEY is not set in the environment.")
if not COMPOSIO_USER_ID:
    raise ValueError("COMPOSIO_USER_ID is not set in the environment.")

# Initialize Composio and create a session
composio = Composio(api_key=COMPOSIO_API_KEY)
session = composio.create(
    user_id=COMPOSIO_USER_ID,
    toolkits=["intercom"],
)
url = session.mcp.url

# Configure LLM
llm = LLM(
    model="gpt-5",
    api_key=os.getenv("OPENAI_API_KEY"),
)

server_params = {
    "url": url,
    "transport": "streamable-http",
    "headers": {"x-api-key": COMPOSIO_API_KEY},
}

with MCPServerAdapter(server_params) as tools:
    agent = Agent(
        role="Search Assistant",
        goal="Help users with internet searches",
        backstory="You are an expert assistant with access to Composio Search tools.",
        tools=tools,
        llm=llm,
        verbose=False,
        max_iter=10,
    )

    print("Chat started! Type 'exit' or 'quit' to end.\n")

    conversation_context = ""

    while True:
        user_input = input("You: ").strip()

        if user_input.lower() in ["exit", "quit", "bye"]:
            print("\nGoodbye!")
            break

        if not user_input:
            continue

        conversation_context += f"\nUser: {user_input}\n"
        print("\nAgent is thinking...\n")

        task = Task(
            description=(
                f"Conversation history:\n{conversation_context}\n\n"
                f"Current request: {user_input}"
            ),
            expected_output="A helpful response addressing the user's request",
            agent=agent,
        )

        crew = Crew(agents=[agent], tasks=[task], verbose=False)
        result = crew.kickoff()
        response = str(result)

        conversation_context += f"Agent: {response}\n"
        print(f"Agent: {response}\n")

Conclusion

You now have a CrewAI agent connected to Intercom through Composio's Tool Router. The agent can perform Intercom operations through natural language commands.

Next steps:

  • Add role-specific instructions to customize agent behavior
  • Plug in more toolkits for multi-app workflows
  • Chain tasks for complex multi-step operations

How to build Intercom MCP Agent with another framework

FAQ

What are the differences in Tool Router MCP and Intercom MCP?

With a standalone Intercom MCP server, the agents and LLMs can only access a fixed set of Intercom tools tied to that server. However, with the Composio Tool Router, agents can dynamically load tools from Intercom and many other apps based on the task at hand, all through a single MCP endpoint.

Can I use Tool Router MCP with CrewAI?

Yes, you can. CrewAI fully supports MCP integration. You get structured tool calling, message history handling, and model orchestration while Tool Router takes care of discovering and serving the right Intercom tools.

Can I manage the permissions and scopes for Intercom while using Tool Router?

Yes, absolutely. You can configure which Intercom scopes and actions are allowed when connecting your account to Composio. You can also bring your own OAuth credentials or API configuration so you keep full control over what the agent can do.

How safe is my data with Composio Tool Router?

All sensitive data such as tokens, keys, and configuration is fully encrypted at rest and in transit. Composio is SOC 2 Type 2 compliant and follows strict security practices so your Intercom data and credentials are handled as safely as possible.

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