Research competitors with Exa
Connect Exa without credentials and build a source-backed recurring competitor brief.
The Competitor research brief template uses Exa to search the public web, read the most relevant source pages, and report meaningful changes with URLs, dates, contradictory evidence, and clearly labeled inference.
Connect Exa
An operator must first enable MANAGED_MCP_EXA_ENABLED. Open Connections →
Exa and choose Connect free. Work on Repeat verifies Exa's public MCP
endpoint and saves a connection without a credential.
An Exa API key is optional. Use the advanced API-key path when you need the
limits and attribution associated with an Exa account; the key is sent only in
the provider's x-api-key header and is encrypted at rest.
Reviewed tool boundary
Exa is runnable because its anonymous endpoint exposes a small schema surface that can be reviewed exactly. This release permits only:
web_search_exa— search the public web with a required natural-language query and an optional result count.web_fetch_exa— fetch public page content for a required list of URLs with an optional per-page character limit.
Both tools are classified as reads and fingerprinted from Exa hosted server 3.2.1. A renamed tool or schema change fails closed until a new snapshot is reviewed. Advanced Exa tools remain unavailable.
Configure the routine
Choose Competitor research brief, list the competitors, and define the market and customer context that makes a finding relevant. Attach Exa, prove a manual run, then schedule it weekly.
Search results are discovery leads, not evidence by themselves. The routine should fetch the best primary sources, cite a URL and date for every material claim, state contradictory evidence, and distinguish observed facts from strategic inference. Public availability does not make sensitive personal data appropriate to collect.
The anonymous endpoint and account-backed API keys are subject to Exa's current service limits. Keep result counts and fetched character limits narrow; add an API key if the free endpoint is insufficient. Replace the saved connection in place when rotating a key.
See Exa MCP documentation for current endpoint, authentication, and tool availability.