More business owners now ask ChatGPT and Claude where to find funding, and a plain chat answer draws on what the model already knows and any public pages it searches, which can include lenders or rates that are wrong or out of date. Apps connect the assistant to a live service, so it can check which lenders in a network fit your business today. We explain the difference, show how to add EQ Funding's app in ChatGPT and Claude, and list what to keep out of any AI chat.
Can ChatGPT apps help you find business lenders?
They can, as long as you know which kind of answer you're getting. In a plain chat, the reply draws on the model's general knowledge and, if it searches, on public web pages. That's useful for learning how a business term loan differs from an SBA loan, or for drafting questions to ask a lender. The model can't check which lenders would look at a business with your revenue, time in business and credit today, though, and it can name lenders or quote rates that are wrong or out of date.
An app closes that gap by connecting the assistant to a live service. OpenAI's help center describes an app as a connection from ChatGPT to an external service, and a plugin as a package that can include one or more apps, skills, or both (Plugins in ChatGPT, as of October 17, 2026). In Claude, an MCP connector gives Claude access to a tool or data source, and a plugin packages skills, connectors, commands and agents into one install (Connectors, skills, and plugins, as of October 17, 2026).
EQ Funding is a financing marketplace that routes one application to lenders in its network who compete to fund the business, and it never lends, approves or quotes rates itself. Its app answers with the kinds of lenders in the network that fit, what they ask for, and a link that opens your application with your answers already filled in (EQ Funding in ChatGPT and Claude, as of October 17, 2026).
Plain chat, a connected app or a direct application
Each route gives you a different kind of answer.
| What you get | Plain chat answer | Connected app (EQ Funding) | Applying on eqfunding.com |
|---|---|---|---|
| Source of the answer | The model's general knowledge and any web pages it reads | A check of your answers against the criteria of lenders in EQ Funding's network | Lenders who review your full application |
| Checks which lenders fit today | No | Yes, by lender type | Yes, lenders review your file |
| Lender names | May name lenders, possibly out of date | Lender types only; names show in your application | Shown in your application |
| What you share | Whatever you type | Business answers such as purpose, location, amount, time in business, revenue and a rough credit score | Contact details and documents, once you decide to apply |
| Who receives your details | The AI provider, under its own privacy policy | The AI provider for the chat, plus EQ Funding, which doesn't store the answers or send them to lenders | Lenders in the network whose criteria your profile is likely to meet |
| Is it an offer? | No | No | Offers come from lenders after review, and terms vary by lender |
A plain chat is a good place to learn the vocabulary. The app is a quicker way to see whether lenders in a network fit before you hand over contact details, and the application is where lender offers start.
How to add an app in ChatGPT
OpenAI now groups apps inside plugins. These steps follow its help center as of October 17, 2026:
- Go to Plugins in the sidebar on ChatGPT web, desktop or mobile. The directory shows plugins available to your plan and workspace.
- Select a plugin and review its description, included apps and setup requirements.
- Select Install plugin if it's shown. Installing may start the app's setup or authorization flow.
- If prompted, select Connect. Some apps ask you to sign in to your own account, and others need no sign-in.
For EQ Funding, our app page says to open Plugins, search for EQ Funding and select Install plugin. ChatGPT then uses installed plugins automatically when they're relevant, and you can also call one with an @ mention or by selecting + and entering its name (Plugins in ChatGPT).
OpenAI notes that very old versions of the iOS or Android app may show Apps instead of Plugins, and that availability depends on your plan, region, workspace, role and interface (Connected apps in ChatGPT, as of October 17, 2026). In a managed workspace, an app marked Disabled by admin needs an administrator. To disconnect an app later, go to Settings > Plugins.
How to add EQ Funding as a custom connector in Claude
You can add a connector to Claude by its address even when it isn't in the Connectors Directory. On a Free, Pro or Max plan, Anthropic's documentation gives these steps (Add a connector that isn't in the directory, as of October 17, 2026):
- Go to Customize > Connectors.
- Click Add custom connector.
- Enter the server address. For EQ Funding, that's
https://www.eqfunding.com/api/mcp/claude. - Leave the optional OAuth fields empty, or choose No sign-in if asked, since EQ Funding's address needs no authentication.
- Click Add.
The Free plan allows one custom connector. On Team and Enterprise plans, an Owner adds the connector under Organization settings > Connectors (Add, then Custom, then Web if asked), and each member then connects from Customize > Connectors. You can turn any connector on or off for a single conversation by clicking + in the chat and selecting Connectors.
Anthropic notes that a connector you add yourself connects Claude to an unverified service, and advises connecting only to servers from trusted organizations and clicking Always allow only for servers you trust. The same steps work for any service that publishes a remote MCP server address, so small businesses can check which of their existing tools offer one.
What to tell the app, and what comes back
The match tool works from a short business profile. EQ Funding's app page and privacy policy list what it uses:
- What the money is for, your use of funds
- Where the business is: country and state or province
- How much you need
- How long the business has operated, its time in business
- Monthly revenue
- A rough credit score, if you choose to give one; an exact score isn't needed
- Your industry
A prompt that covers all of it might read: "We're an HVAC contractor in Ohio, 26 months in business, about $85,000 a month in revenue, credit score around 690. We need $120,000 for two service vans. Which kinds of lenders could fit?"
The app answers with how many lenders in EQ Funding's network fit, the type of each, the typical time to an offer and the documents each asks for, plus one link that opens the application on eqfunding.com with your answers filled in. Lender names appear in that application. The app can also build a document checklist for a kind of financing and estimate the monthly payment, total paid and total interest on a fixed-rate loan at a rate you choose. Our business loan documents checklist goes into the paperwork in more depth.
The app never asks for your name, contact details, Social Security number, bank details, login details or documents. You enter contact details and documents only on eqfunding.com, when you decide to apply.
Is it safe to share business financial information with ChatGPT or Claude?
That depends on what you share and which settings you use. OpenAI says an app you enable may access relevant context from your ChatGPT conversations, and from memories if Memory is on, and may see basic information such as your IP address, device type and approximate location. Data shared with apps falls under each app's own terms and privacy policy. OpenAI doesn't use information accessed from connectors to train models by default for ChatGPT Business, Enterprise and Edu, while on Free, Plus, Go and Pro it may use information accessed from apps if "Improve the model for everyone" is on (Connected apps in ChatGPT, as of October 17, 2026).
Anthropic's help center, in a consumer-plan article dated May 22, 2026, recommends being thoughtful about sharing financial information such as Social Security numbers, credit card numbers and bank account details, along with passwords and confidential business documents. It also says incognito chats aren't used to improve Claude (Anthropic help center).
EQ Funding's privacy policy (updated October 16, 2026) says the app receives only the business answers the assistant sends, doesn't store them, doesn't use them to contact you and doesn't send them to lenders or any other third party. The apply link carries your answers in the page address, and the site removes them from the address when the page opens, though, as with any page visit, the address can appear in the site's usage analytics. OpenAI and Anthropic handle the conversation itself under their own privacy policies, and you can disconnect EQ Funding at any time in the assistant's settings.
Use this checklist with any AI assistant:
| Fine to share in rough form | Keep out of every chat |
|---|---|
| What the funds are for | Social Security or Social Insurance number |
| Amount you need, rounded | Bank account and card numbers |
| State or province | Passwords and login details |
| Months in business | Bank statements, tax returns and other documents |
| Monthly revenue, rounded | Confidential contracts and customer lists |
| Credit score range | Your name, phone and email, until you apply |
Rounded figures give a matching tool enough to work with, and the details a lender needs for underwriting belong in the application you choose to submit.