This article applies to client-side IT administrators and technical sponsors responsible for enabling PI's MCP connector during the current Pre Beta phase.
Once you've enabled PI's MCP connector, you're ready to leverage PI's behavioral intelligence in your LLM of choice.
Here's a brief rundown of how the MCP works.
What to ask Obi (via PI's MCP)
Ask questions in plain English, inside your AI host; there is no separate "PI" or "Obi" window. Use people’s full names exactly as they appear in your PI software.
Here are a few prompts to get you started:
Understand someone — "What is [EMPLOYEE NAME]'s Reference Profile?" / "What motivates and frustrates [EMPLOYEE]?"
Prepare a conversation — "I need to give [EMPLOYEE] hard feedback on missed deadlines. Pull their behavioral profile and help me plan the conversation." / "How should I open my 1:1 with [EMPLOYEE] about a role change?"
Coach and motivate — "What’s the best way to give feedback to a [REFERENCE PROFILE]?" / "How do I re-engage [EMPLOYEE] when they seem checked out?"
Hiring — "What should I ask [CANDIDATE NAME] ahead of their interview?" / “Help me create a behaviorally aligned job ad for [PI JOB NAME]”
Team dynamics — "Where is friction likely between [EMPLOYEE A] and [EMPLOYEE B]?" / "Who on my team will find a fast reorg hardest based on their behavioral profile?"
The science — "What is a Reference Profile?" / "What do Dominance, Extraversion, Patience, Formality, and Objectivity measure?"
What PI's MCP connector cannot do
The connector is read-only. Obi can look up, explain, and draft, but it cannot send an assessment, email or deliver a report, invite a coworker, save anything into PI, or change any PI data. Where a question implies an action, Obi describes what to do so you can complete that action in the PI application.
These limits cover actions inside PI. Once an answer reaches the AI host, the host can reuse it like any other content; governing that is the host administrator’s responsibility.
Getting reliable routing via PI's MCP
The AI host decides on its own when to call a tool. It will reliably call Obi for questions it cannot answer alone — particularly when you ask about an employee, candidate, job, or team within PI. For general PI-science questions, it may try to answer from its own knowledge, which can be wrong or off-brand.
To steer it in the right direction, PI recommends adding a short instruction in your host: a Claude "Project" instruction or "Skill," a ChatGPT custom instruction, or, in Microsoft Copilot, an instruction your administrator adds to the agent.
Users without access to those settings can paste it as the first message in a new chat. Users can also simply ask the host directly: "Ask Obi how I am naturally wired to lead a team."
Recommended instructions for your host (copy and paste)
Use the following instructions with your host AI to help direct it on when and how to invoke the Predictive Index MCP:
"When the user asks anything about The Predictive Index (PI) — behavioral science; the factors Dominance (A), Extraversion (B), Patience (C), Formality (D), or Objectivity (E); Reference Profiles; the Behavioral or Cognitive Assessment; a specific person, team, or manager; or hiring and coaching guidance — you MUST use the Obi by PI connector and base your answer on its response.
Do not answer these PI questions from your own knowledge, and never substitute another framework (for example DISC or the Big Five). Relay Obi’s answer, including any citations it provides. Only answer directly when the question is clearly unrelated to PI."
Tip: If you need further assistance, PI can tailor this wording for your specific host or use case. Please contact our product manager, Stefano Hernandez, at [email protected].