How to connect Google Ads to ChatGPT and Claude, step by step

What does connecting Google Ads to an AI assistant mean?

ChatGPT and Claude can't see your ad account on their own. The connection runs over MCP (Model Context Protocol), the standard that lets an assistant use outside tools. An MCP server sits in the middle: it takes the assistant's request, fetches the data from Google Ads through the official API and hands it back.

Go Shift is a hosted MCP server, so there is nothing to install and no code to write. You sign in with Google, choose your accounts and add the connector to your assistant.

What you need before you start

• A Google account with access to your Google Ads account (or to a manager account).
• A ChatGPT or Claude account that supports adding connectors.
• A free Go Shift account.

Step 1: connect Google Ads in Go Shift

1. Create an account in the Go Shift dashboard with Google or your email.
2. Open the Connections page, click Connect on the Google Ads card and sign in on Google's official page.
3. Choose the ad accounts the assistant may use. Anything you leave out stays out of reach.

Step 2 (Claude): add the Go Shift connector

1. In Claude open Settings, then Connectors.
2. Search for Go Shift and click Connect. If it isn't listed yet, choose Add custom connector and paste the server link: https://mcp.goshift-eg.com/mcp
3. Sign in with your Go Shift account and approve the permissions.
4. In any new chat, enable Go Shift from the tools menu and start asking.

Step 2 (ChatGPT): add the Go Shift connector

1. In ChatGPT open Settings, then Apps & Connectors.
2. Search for Go Shift, or create a custom connector with the same server link.
3. Sign in with your Go Shift account, approve the permissions, then enable it in the chat.

Custom connectors in ChatGPT need an account that supports them, and you may need to turn on developer mode in advanced settings. Menu names can differ slightly between app versions.

Five questions to try first

• "How did my Google Ads campaigns perform over the last 30 days vs the period before?"
• "Where is spend going without conversions? Suggest negative keywords."
• "Why did cost per conversion rise this week?"
• "Which search terms convert but aren't keywords yet?"
• "Is conversion tracking healthy on this account?"

The answer comes with your account's numbers. Follow up with another question, or ask for the change: "Add those negatives to the campaign."

Can the assistant change something without me knowing?

This is the question to settle before connecting any ad account. In Go Shift the rules are enforced inside the server, not left to instructions that could be talked around:

• Every new campaign, ad group and ad is created paused.
• Pausing, lowering a budget and adding negative keywords run immediately, because they never raise spend.
• Turning something on and raising a budget or bid show a preview first and only run after your explicit yes in the chat.
• Deleting needs you to confirm the item's exact name.

More on the security page.

Common problems and fixes

• My ad account isn't listed: check that you signed in with the Google account that has access to it, then click Refresh accounts on the Connections page.
• The assistant isn't using Go Shift: check that the connector is enabled in the current chat from the tools menu.
• Numbers differ slightly from Google Ads: check the date range and the account's time zone; compare the same period on both sides.

What next?

With Google Ads connected, you can add Google Analytics 4, Search Console and Tag Manager with the same Google sign-in, to see ads next to what happens on your site. Everything the assistant can do in Google Ads is on the Google Ads integration page.