# What Omni Octo is, and the three ways to integrate

> Omni Octo is an AI platform for business messaging and calls: SMS, WhatsApp, email, AI phone calls, campaigns, contacts and an inbox. Reach it from an AI agent over MCP, from your code over the /v1 REST API, or through the OpenAI-compatible API.

Omni Octo is an AI platform for business messaging and calls. A workspace
has phone numbers and WhatsApp senders, AI agents that answer and place
calls, contacts and lists, a shared inbox across channels, campaigns,
workflows and a credit balance. Octo is the workspace's AI assistant: the
one in the dashboard that sets all of this up when you ask.

Everything you set up in the [dashboard](https://agent.omniocto.com) can be
reached from outside it in three ways.

## Three ways in

| Way in | What it's for | Start here |
|---|---|---|
| **MCP server** (`https://api.omniocto.com/mcp`) | Give an AI agent (Claude, Claude Code, Codex in ChatGPT, Cursor, any MCP client) the workspace's tools. It searches for the tool it needs, and anything risky waits for a person's OK. | [MCP server overview](/mcp/overview/) |
| **Platform API** (`https://api.omniocto.com/v1`) | Your own code sends texts and WhatsApp templates, places AI phone calls, runs campaigns, keeps contacts, works the inbox and receives webhooks, with one request shape for every channel. | [Platform API overview](/platform-api/overview/) |
| **OpenAI-compatible API** (`/v1/responses`, `/v1/chat/completions`) | Talk to Octo from the OpenAI SDK, LangChain, LiteLLM, n8n or any tool with a "custom OpenAI-compatible endpoint" field, by changing `base_url` and `api_key`. | [OpenAI-compatible API overview](/openai-api/overview/) |

They are not separate products. The MCP server's [API tools](/mcp/api-tools/)
make Platform API requests, and Octo, over MCP or the OpenAI-compatible API,
runs the same tools, role checks and confirmations as in the dashboard. The
dashboard itself runs on its own API under `/api/*`
([Dashboard API reference](/openapi/platform/)); integrations should use the
three above.

## Before you start

All three accept a workspace API key in the `Authorization: Bearer` header:
[Get an API key](/getting-started/api-keys/), then
[Authentication](/getting-started/authentication/) for how the key maps to
your role. On the MCP server a person can sign in with their Omni Octo
account instead, with no key at all.

## Where to go next

- The shortest path to a first text or call: the [Quickstart](/platform-api/quickstart/).
- Connect Claude, Codex or another AI client: [Connect any MCP client](/mcp/connect/).
- Try things on your own phone first: [Test without spending](/platform-api/testing/).
- Building an agent that reads these docs itself: [Resources for AI agents](/agents/resources/).