Developer Tools & Devops · Anakin + Claude
Anakin MCP with Claude: Automate Web Scraping, Crawling and Monitoring
The short answer
Claude works with Anakin through the Model Context Protocol, an open standard that lets Claude use outside software securely. Once connected with an API key, Claude can request website scraping, crawls, searches and browser actions in plain language, and return structured results to your team.
What is Anakin?
Anakin is a web automation platform. It offers scraping, which pulls information from web pages, crawling, which moves through a site to collect many pages, search, and browser automation, which performs repeated actions on a website. Teams use it to extract structured data, keep track of competitor or supplier pages, and reduce manual copying from websites. It suits operations, research, pricing and marketing teams that depend on up-to-date web information.
How Claude connects to Anakin through MCP
The Model Context Protocol, or MCP, is an open standard that acts like a universal adapter between Claude and other software. It lets Claude use a tool securely, reading information and taking actions, with permissions your organisation controls. Anakin offers an MCP connection alongside its direct API, so Claude can reach its web automation features without custom coding for each request.
Once connected, Claude can ask Anakin to scrape a set of pages, run a crawl across a website, perform a search, or carry out browser steps such as opening a page and extracting a table. Your team can describe the task in everyday language, and Claude turns it into the right requests and returns the results in a clear format such as a spreadsheet-ready table.
Access is granted with an API key that your organisation issues and can revoke at any time. We set up least-privilege access so Claude only reaches the functions a workflow needs. Consequential actions, such as sending extracted data into a live system, can require a person's approval before they run, so people stay in charge throughout.
What you can automate
Competitor price tracking
A pricing team asks Claude to check a list of competitor product pages each morning. Anakin scrapes the current prices, and Claude compares them with yesterday's figures and highlights meaningful changes. Analysts review the summary rather than visiting dozens of sites by hand.
Supplier and stock monitoring
An operations manager sets up monitoring on supplier websites that list availability or lead times. Claude checks these pages through Anakin and flags items that go out of stock or change delivery dates. The procurement team receives a short alert with the affected products.
Market research collection
A research analyst needs structured data from many industry websites. Claude uses crawls and searches through Anakin to gather articles, company listings or directory entries, then organises them into consistent fields. This saves days of manual collection and gives the analyst a clean dataset to work from.
Website change monitoring for compliance
A compliance officer needs to know when a regulator or partner changes published terms. Claude watches the relevant pages through Anakin and reports any wording changes, with the old and new text side by side. A person reviews each change before any action is taken.
Lead list building
A sales development team wants lists of companies in a target sector. Claude runs searches and extracts public company details through Anakin, then formats the results for import into the CRM. Sales staff check the list before outreach begins.
An end-to-end workflow: Weekly competitor intelligence report
TriggerEvery Monday at 7 am, a scheduled request is sent to Claude.
Claude reads the list of competitor product and pricing pages stored by the marketing team.
Claude asks Anakin to scrape the current prices, features and stock status from each page.
Claude compares the results with the previous week's data held in the shared spreadsheet.
Claude drafts a summary of notable changes and places it in the team's Microsoft 365 folder.
A marketing manager reviews the draft and approves it before it is shared with leadership.
Approved figures are logged in the CRM notes for the relevant accounts.
OutcomeLeadership receives a reliable weekly view of competitor moves, typically within an hour of the trigger, and the marketing team spends less time on manual checks.
How we set it up
Free automation audit
We review your current web research, monitoring and data collection work to identify the workflows worth automating with Anakin and Claude.
Secure API key setup
We help your IT team create an Anakin API key, store it in your approved secrets manager and agree the scope of access before anything is connected.
MCP connection and permissions
We connect Claude to Anakin through its MCP server or direct API, using least-privilege settings so only the required functions are available to each workflow.
Workflow design and testing
We build the end-to-end process across Anakin and your other systems, such as Microsoft 365 or your CRM, and test it against real past cases with approval points in place.
Launch, monitoring and training
We launch with audit logs and monitoring, then train your team to run, review and adjust the workflows confidently.
Who benefits
- Marketing and pricing managers
- Receive regular competitor and price updates without manual site visits.
- Operations and procurement leads
- Get early alerts on supplier stock and delivery changes.
- Research and analytics teams
- Collect structured web data faster and in consistent formats.
- IT and compliance heads
- Gain controlled, auditable access to web automation with clear approval steps.
Security and control
- Access is granted with an API key that can be rotated or revoked at any time.
- Least-privilege settings limit Claude to the functions each workflow needs.
- People approve consequential actions, such as sending data into live systems.
- Audit logs record requests and results so activity can be reviewed.
- Collection rules are set to respect the terms and access policies of the sites involved, reviewed with your legal or compliance team.
For teams in the US, UK, India and the Middle East
Organisations in the United States and the United Kingdom can host their Claude workflows in those regions to align with local data handling expectations. Indian organisations are supported in line with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, and can choose India hosting. Businesses in the UAE and Saudi Arabia are supported under their respective data protection laws, with hosting chosen to meet those requirements. We select the hosting region together with you during the audit.
Learn more about Claude and MCP
Anthropic's AI model and assistant.
Secure links between Claude and business tools.
How engineers build and change software with Claude.
Hosted agents that run multi-step work.
The open standard Claude uses to connect to tools.
Frequently asked questions
What does the Anakin MCP server do?
The Anakin MCP server gives Claude a secure way to use Anakin's web automation features. Through it, Claude can request scraping, crawls, searches and browser actions in natural language, and receive structured results back. It acts as the adapter between Claude and Anakin, so your team does not need to write code for each request.
Is connecting Claude to Anakin secure?
Security depends on how the connection is set up. Access uses an API key that your organisation controls and can revoke. We apply least-privilege permissions, store keys in a secrets manager, keep audit logs and add approval steps for consequential actions. Final security decisions remain with your IT and compliance teams.
What can Claude do with Anakin once connected?
Typically, Claude can scrape specified pages, run crawls across a website, perform searches, carry out browser steps to reach data, and set up monitoring for changes. It can then summarise, compare and format the results for your systems. The exact actions available depend on your Anakin account and the scope of access you approve.
How long does setup take?
Simple setups with one or two workflows can often be running within a few weeks. Larger projects involving several systems, approvals and testing typically take longer. The free automation audit gives a realistic timeline for your specific needs before any work begins.
What account access is needed to use Anakin with Claude?
Generally, you need an Anakin account that allows API key creation, and an API key issued with the permissions your workflows require. The exact plan and access level depend on Anakin's offering at the time, so we confirm the requirements with you during the audit.