Use ChatGPT to Talk to Your JD Edwards Data via CData Connect AI

Jerod Johnson
Jerod Johnson
Director, Technology Evangelism
Leverage the CData Connect AI Remote MCP Server to enable ChatGPT to securely answer questions and take actions on your JD Edwards data for you.

ChatGPT is an AI chatbot developed by OpenAI, launched in November 2022. Based on large language models (LLMs), it enables users to refine and steer conversations through natural language processing. ChatGPT's developer mode, available to Plus and Pro subscribers, provides full Model Context Protocol (MCP) support for connecting to external data sources and tools.

CData Connect AI offers a dedicated cloud-to-cloud interface for connecting to JD Edwards data. The CData Connect AI Remote MCP Server enables secure communication between ChatGPT and JD Edwards. This allows you to ask questions and take actions on your JD Edwards data using ChatGPT, all without the need for data replication to a natively supported database. With its inherent optimized data processing capabilities, CData Connect AI efficiently channels all supported SQL operations, including filters and JOINs, directly to JD Edwards. This leverages server-side processing to swiftly deliver the requested JD Edwards data.

Step 1: Configure JD Edwards Connectivity for ChatGPT

Connectivity to JD Edwards from ChatGPT is made possible through CData Connect AI Remote MCP. To interact with JD Edwards data from ChatGPT, we start by creating and configuring a JD Edwards connection in CData Connect AI.

  1. Log into your Connect AI account, click Sources, and then click Add Connection.
  2. Adding a Connection
  3. Select "JD Edwards" from the Add Connection panel.
  4. Selecting a data source
  5. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to JD Edwards.

    The driver connects to JD Edwards through your Application Interface Services (AIS) Server. Set the following connection properties:

    • URL: The base HTTPS URL of your AIS Server (e.g., https://jde-ais.example.com:8300).
    • User: Your JD Edwards username.
    • Password: Your JD Edwards password.
    • Environment (optional): The JD Edwards environment to use (e.g., PD920 for production or DV920 for development). If not specified, the AIS Server's default environment is used.
    • Role (optional): The JD Edwards role for the session. If not specified, the AIS Server's default role is used.
    • DeviceName (optional): An identifier for the connecting device or application, used for auditing and logging on the AIS Server.
    • Jasserver (optional): The specific Java Application Server (JAS) instance to route requests through, useful in clustered environments.

    Choosing Which Data Is Exposed

    JD Edwards organizes tables and business views by System Code, and the driver exposes each System Code as its own schema. Use these properties to control which schemas are available:

    • DataModel: One or more ERP modules (comma-separated) whose System Codes are exposed as schemas, or All to expose every System Code in the connected instance. Defaults to FinancialManagement.
    • SystemCodes: A comma-separated list of additional System Codes to expose alongside those from DataModel (e.g., 42,43).

    When you connect, the driver sends your credentials to the AIS Server to obtain a session token and caches it. The driver requests a new token automatically before the session expires.

    Configuring a connection (Salesforce is shown)
  6. Click Save & Test

With the connection configured, we are ready to connect to JD Edwards data from ChatGPT.

Step 2: Connect ChatGPT to CData Connect AI

Follow these steps to add a CData Connect AI connection in ChatGPT:

  1. Sign in to ChatGPT with a Plus or Pro subscription.
  2. Navigate to Apps from the left panel.
  3. Select the CData Connect AI app from the list.
  4. . Search for CData Connect AI
  5. Click Connect to authenticate to your Connect AI account.
  6. Click Connect to authenticate
  7. Click Sign in with CData Connect AI to add Connect AI to your ChatGPT account.
  8. Sign in with CData Connect AI
  9. After successful authorization, you will be redirected back to ChatGPT.
  10. Click Start Chat to start a new conversation in ChatGPT with Connect AI connected at the background.
  11. Start Chat

Step 3: Explore Live JD Edwards Data with ChatGPT

  1. Start a new conversation in ChatGPT.
  2. Connect AI should ideally be automatically enabled in the chat. If not, navigate to -> More -> CData Connect AI, under the chatbox, to enable the connector from the dropdown
  3. Enable CData Connect AI in the chat
  4. You can now start exploring your data with natural language prompts. ChatGPT will use the Connect AI MCP server to query your live JD Edwards data. Example prompts:
    • "Show me all customers from the last 30 days"
    • "What are my top performing products?"
    • "Analyze sales trends for this quarter"
    • "List all active projects and their current status"
    Refer to CData prompt library for more prompt ideas.
  5. Using natural language to explore your JD Edwards data (Salesforce used here).
  6. Permit ChatGPT to access your JD Edwards data. Click Query Data to continue, or Deny to refuse.
  7. Give permissions to ChatGPT.
  8. ChatGPT translates your natural language queries into SQL and execute them against your JD Edwards data through the Connect AI MCP server.
  9. ChatGPT shows the desired results from your JD Edwards data based on the prompts

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