# Start Here

Kick's AI and automation tools help accountants look up client context, review transactions, pull reports, and automate repeatable checks without leaving Kick's permission model.

Use this section to choose the right surface:

* **Kick web app** - best for day-to-day bookkeeping, approvals, client collaboration, and visual review.
* **MCP** - best when you want an AI assistant to inspect Kick data and help you reason through client work in natural language.
* **CLI** - best when you want repeatable commands, exports, scripts, shell pipelines, scheduled checks, or agentic workflows.

MCP and the CLI both go through Kick authorization. They cannot access a client workspace, read data, or change anything unless the connected credential is allowed to do it.

{% hint style="info" %}
Start with read-only access for lookup, review, reporting, and drafting. Use write access only when the workflow needs to change Kick data.
{% endhint %}

## Choose your path

Start with:

* [Overview](/ai-and-automation/ai-and-automation/overview.md) if you want the main concepts and safe-use principles.
* [MCP vs CLI](/ai-and-automation/ai-and-automation/mcp-vs-cli.md) if you are deciding between an AI assistant and a terminal workflow.
* [First Safe Workflow](/ai-and-automation/ai-and-automation/first-safe-workflow.md) if you want a low-risk first prompt and first command.
* [Permissions and Safety](/ai-and-automation/ai-and-automation/permissions-and-safety.md) if you are approving tokens, scopes, or write access.

Then go deeper:

* [MCP](/ai-and-automation/mcp.md) for AI assistant setup, prompts, MCP workflows, and MCP troubleshooting.
* [CLI](/ai-and-automation/cli.md) for installation, authentication, commands, CLI workflows, and CLI troubleshooting.
* [Advanced MCP Setup](/ai-and-automation/mcp/advanced-setup.md) for non-Claude/ChatGPT clients, config files, OAuth scopes, and tool discovery.
* [CLI Reference](/ai-and-automation/cli/reference.md) for token lookup, command discovery, output modes, and exit codes.

## Safe default

Before using any AI assistant or script on client data:

1. Confirm the client workspace and entity.
2. Use read-only access unless the task truly requires changes.
3. Limit broad searches with dates, fields, and row limits.
4. Ask for source ids when an assistant summarizes results.
5. Review any proposed write action before confirming it.


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://accountants.kick.co/ai-and-automation/ai-and-automation.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.