Connecting to Box from Third Party AI Apps

AI agents and tools need to reference your enterprise content to be impactful. As partners continue to add support for more connectors and integrations, faster than ever, AI providers are integrating with Box in increasingly different ways. This document provides an overview of common types of AI integrations, clarifies how they work, explains associated impacts on security, governance, and cost of using Box. 

Important 

These integrations are usually developed by our partners using Box public APIs. In such cases, Box does not always have the knowledge on how they were built or how they operate. 

Common types of AI integrations 

The table contains basic information on types of AI integrations. See more details in respective sections.

AI Search Integration 

A third party AI agent searches the user’s Box data in real time, calling Box APIs whenever the user makes a relevant query. 

Security 

User files and data stay inside Box unless explicitly returned in a query. Users can only access content they have permission to access in Box. Permissions are checked in real-time. 

Cost 

Typically lower costs because API calls only occur at the time of each relevant user query. User queries translate into API calls, which are typically billed against the API call limits and/or AI units allotted within their existing Box plan. 

AI Indexing Integration 

The entirety (or a significant portion) of the user’s Box content is indexed, copied, stored, and continuously updated inside the third party AI agent’s environment. 

Security 

User files and data are copied and stored in an external environment, which must be separately secured and governed by the third party. Many indexing connectors have checks in place to ensure users can only interact with the content they have permission to access in Box. However, those permission checks are managed by the third party in their environment and can be out of sync with Box. Important Review the third party documentation for the integration to ensure it meets your organization’s security requirements. 

Cost 

Typically higher costs because the provider makes bulk API calls to copy and store all of the user’s files and recurring API calls to keep that index updated. This can result in an enterprise unexpectedly exceeding the API limits allotted to their existing Box plan. User queries are then answered using the pre-built index of content that the third-party agent has copied and stored. 

Box MCP Server Integration 

A third party AI agent with an MCP client interacts with the Box MCP server using specific tools exposed by Box. The server calls Box APIs whenever the user makes a relevant query. 

Security 

User files and data stay inside Box unless explicitly returned in a query. Users can only access content they have permission to access in Box. Permissions are checked in real-time. This integration uses API calls to establish the connection between the third party MCP client and the Box MCP server, which are also typically billed against the API call limits allotted with their existing Box plan. 

Cost 

Typically lower costs because API calls only occur at the time of each relevant user query. User queries translate into API calls, which are typically billed against the API call limits and/or AI units allotted with their existing Box plan. Other API calls are used to establish the connection between the third party MCP client and the Box MCP server, which are also typically billed against the API call limits allotted with their existing Box plan. Existing AI integrations This list does not capture all AI integrations with Box and is subject to updates as new integrations are built and released.