Three integration approaches
Elium offers several methods to leverage its content in the context of a chatbot or a Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) system. Each approach presents specific advantages according to your technical and organizational needs :
Connect an AI assistant via the MCP protocol for direct, secure access.
Dynamically collect relevant content via semantic search.
Query directly Elium AI to obtain a generated response.
1. Integration via the MCP protocol
The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard that allows AI assistants and external applications to securely access the content of your Elium platform in real time. It is the simplest way to connect Elium to an existing AI ecosystem (Claude, ChatGPT or your own agents), without any export or custom development.
Features
Open standard natively supported by major AI assistants (ChatGPT, Claude…) and agent frameworks
Respect for user access rights through OAuth 2.0 authentication
Real-time data, with no synchronization or post-processing
Quick implementation: configured in minutes, no code required
Limitations
Requires an MCP-compatible client or framework
Less fine-grained control over the retrieval strategy than an API integration
Implementation
Each Elium instance exposes its MCP endpoint at:
https://your-platform-name.elium.com/services/mcp
Authentication is handled via OAuth 2.0: manual creation of an OAuth client from the admin panel (recommended), or Dynamic Client Registration (DCR) on request to support.
👉 See our dedicated MCP article for the step-by-step tutorial (ChatGPT, Claude).
2. Elium semantic search
The most robust solution for enriching the context of a conversational agent. It uses Elium's internal search engine without directly querying an LLM. The results provided can be injected into the context of an LLM or used to justify a response.
Features
Optimal relevance of results thanks to semantic engine
Respect for user access rights
Possibility of limiting to the context of a Smart Assistant
Real-time updating of data
Results provided
Text extracts relevant to the query
References to source articles and attachments
Relevance scores for each result
Example query
query SemanticSearchQuery {
me {
answer {
semanticSearch(query: { text: "Où es hébergé Elium?", limit: 5 }) {
stories {
score
story { slug version { title } }
asset {
... on FileAsset {
filename
downloadUrl
}
}
content
}
}
}
}
}
Answer
Answer
{
"data": {
"me": {
"answer": {
"semanticSearch": {
"stories": [
{
"score": 63,
"story": {
"slug": 1214,
"version": {
"title": "Elium - Dossier technique et sécurité"
}
},
"asset": {
"filename": "202402 elium - Dossier technique et sécurité.docx",
"downloadUrl": "https://demo-consulting.elium.com/api/story/asset/1214/download/1408/202402%20elium%20-%20Dossier%20technique%20et%20se%CC%81curite%CC%81.docx?g=1"
},
"content": "nées.\n· Centre de données de Google (GCP)\n· Centre de données de 3DS Outscale (Outscale)\nPour toutes\n les entreprises qui exploitent ces centres de données, nous avons et nous maintenons des contrats contenant des clauses sur la confidentialité des informations et des données personnelles. [...]"
},
{
"score": 62,
"story": {
"slug": 1304,
"version": {
"title": "Elium - Legal - Standard contract templates"
}
},
"asset": {
"filename": "202409 elium - Dossier technique et sécurité.pdf",
"downloadUrl": "https://demo-consulting.elium.com/api/story/asset/1304/download/1483/202409%20elium%20-%20Dossier%20technique%20et%20se%CC%81curite%CC%81.pdf?g=1"
},
"content": "icielle\nLa solution Elium intègre des fonctionnalités basées sur de l’intelligence artificielle. Il \ns’agit, par\nexemple, d'assistants intelligents qui aident les utilisateurs à trouver les informations qu'ils\nrecherchent. [...]"
},
...
]
}
}
}
}
}
3. Querying Elium AI directly
This method simulates a query via the Elium user interface and returns a complete response generated by the AI engine, along with the sources used. This is a good solution for simple use cases, especially if the agent is not enriched with additional context.
Features
Simplicity of implementation
Structured responses and integrated references
Compatible with existing Smart Assistants
⚠️ This approach involves a call to the language model hosted on Azure (OpenAI), which may have regulatory implications for data processing.
Example query
query AnswerQuery {
me {
answer {
answer(query: "Where is Elium hosted?") {
text
sources {
... on Story {
slug
version { title }
}
... on AnswerAssetSource {
story { slug version { title } }
asset {
... on FileAsset {
filename
downloadUrl
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
Answer
Answer
{
"data": {
"me": {
"answer": {
"answer": {
"text": "Elium is hosted in the **Google data center** located in **Saint-Ghislain**, Belgium, as well as in other data centers in **Europe**.",
"sources": [
{
"story": {
"slug": 1304,
"version": {
"title": "Elium - Legal - Standard contract templates"
}
},
"asset": {
"filename": "202409 elium - Technical and safety file.pdf",
"downloadUrl": "https://demo-consulting.elium.com/api/story/asset/1304/download/1483/202409%20elium%20-%20Dossier%20technique%20et%20se%CC%81curite%CC%81.pdf?g=1"
}
},
{
"story": {
"slug": 1214,
"version": {
"title": "Elium - Technical and safety file"
}
},
"asset": {
"filename": "202402 elium - Technical and safety file.docx",
"downloadUrl": "https://demo-consulting.elium.com/api/story/asset/1214/download/1408/202402%20elium%20-%20Dossier%20technique%20et%20se%CC%81curite%CC%81.docx?g=1"
}
}
]
}
}
}
}
}
Conclusion
Each method has its advantages, depending on the objectives and constraints:
Method | Advantages | Limitations | Ideal use case |
MCP integration | - Immediate implementation - Access rights respected - Real-time data | - Requires an MCP-compatible client | - Connecting existing AI assistants (Claude, ChatGPT) - Enterprise agents |
Semantic search | - Reliability and relevance - Respect for access rights - Up-to-date data | - Requires integration of external LLM module | - Advanced RAG systems - Critical applications |
Direct call to Elium AI | - Easy to implement - Structured responses | - Dependence on external services (Azure/OpenAI) | - Rapid prototyping - Simple use cases |
To connect existing AI assistants, the MCP integration is the most direct route. For custom RAG systems requiring relevant results, data security and system scalability, we recommend the semantic search approach. This method offers the best balance between simplicity of integration and quality of results.
For technical questions or specific requirements, please contact the Elium Support team.