UK’s DBT connects DBT Assist AI tool to live government data
Investment advisers can now use DBT Assist to query company interaction records and receive cited real-time answers.
The UK Department for Business and Trade has developed a reusable way to connect AI tools to live government data using a Model Context Protocol server and existing Single Sign-On controls.
The department said the approach allows its AI tool, DBT Assist, to query Data Hub, its Customer Relationship Management system, while protecting sensitive data. The work was developed following the Office for Investment’s request to the DBT Assist Team to help investment advisers access company interaction records more efficiently.
Before the integration, advisers had to manually search Data Hub, extract information, and paste it into DBT Assist alongside other sources. The department said direct access could not be added simply because of the scale and sensitivity of the data held in the Data Hub.
DBT chose to build a Model Context Protocol server, describing MCP as an open standard that acts as a communication bridge between AI applications and external systems. The server uses the same Single Sign-On authentication as DBT Assist and operates within a Virtual Private Cloud with no external access points.
The integration allows investment advisers to ask natural-language questions about prior company interactions and receive real-time answers, with citations linking back to the original Data Hub records. DBT said this reduces manual work, speeds access to trusted information, and improves confidence in data use.
The UK department said the MCP server can also be reused by other AI applications across DBT, creating a foundation for securely connecting future AI services to live data. It added that the work provides a blueprint for expanding AI capabilities while maintaining access controls and avoiding duplicated technical effort.
DBT said the project highlighted the importance of building on existing security measures, involving real users early, and treating deployment as the start of continuous improvement. The department is now working to handle more complex information requests and improve access controls with more detailed permissions.
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