Research without leaving the chat
Most MCP sessions start with discovery. These tools cover the research loop affiliates run every day: find the brand, check the offer, then find who to email.
Advertisers and opportunities
| Tool | Use it when |
|---|---|
universal_search |
You have a fuzzy query across advertisers, publishers, agencies, deals, contacts |
search_advertisers |
You want programs filtered by query, network, country, vertical, and related facets |
search_advertisers_by_domain / search_domains
|
You have a website or hostname |
get_advertiser |
You need one advertiser’s detail record |
get_similar_advertisers / get_related_advertisers
|
You are expanding a seed brand |
list_opportunities |
You want join/promote candidates |
get_verticals / list_tags / get_tag_advertisers
|
You are browsing by category or tag |
build_advertiser_search_links |
You want shareable /a/search URLs back into the app |
Example prompts:
- “Find approved outdoor apparel advertisers on Impact in the US.”
- “What advertiser owns allbirds.com in my account?”
- “Show similar brands to Alo Yoga that we are not already joined.”
Deals and promotions
| Tool | Use it when |
|---|---|
search_deals |
Filter live or historical deals |
get_deal |
One deal by id |
list_deal_types |
Normalize deal-type vocabulary |
translate_deal |
Localize deal copy when your workflow needs it |
Example prompts:
- “Search sample deals for kitchen gadgets with free shipping.”
- “Summarize the current promo terms for advertiser X.”
Contacts and outreach
| Tool | Access |
|---|---|
search_contacts |
Paid / admin — preferred contact search |
get_advertiser_contacts |
Paid / admin — contacts for one advertiser |
add_contact / add_contact_for_advertiser / create_contact
|
Create contacts (source stamped to the MCP caller) |
find_more_contacts |
Queue Dex AI contact discovery |
Free accounts connecting over MCP will get 403 on contact search tools — same gate as the product. Upgrade or use an admin account when the agent needs emails.
Example prompts:
- “Find highly rated affiliate managers for Nike in my contacts.”
- “Add this partnership email on advertiser 12345.”
- “Queue Dex to find more contacts for this brand.”
Deeplinks
When research turns into a trackable URL, ask for generate_deeplink with the destination and publisher context your account allows. Pair it with get_extension_config if you are validating browser-extension setups.
Tips for better agent results
- Prefer specific tools once the intent is clear —
search_advertisersbeats a vague omnibox for filtered brand lists. - Pass the same filters you would use in the UI (network, country, status).
- For outreach, search contacts after you lock the advertiser id.
- When you need a URL to share with a human, use
build_advertiser_search_links.
Next: turn research into reports and performance answers with recommend_report and transaction tools.
Frequently Asked Questions
Direct answers to common questions about this topic — optimized for search and AI answer engines.