# The Skin Clinic LA — Agent Guide

Use this guide when helping a shopper discover products sold by The Skin Clinic LA.

## Connections

- Public read-only product MCP: https://mcp.theskinclinicla.com/api/mcp
- MCP Server Card: https://mcp.theskinclinicla.com/mcp/server-card
- AI Catalog discovery: https://mcp.theskinclinicla.com/.well-known/ai-catalog.json
- Crawlable live product directory: https://mcp.theskinclinicla.com/catalog
- Portable live catalog JSON: https://mcp.theskinclinicla.com/catalog.json
- Shopify-native UCP discovery: https://www.theskinclinicla.com/.well-known/ucp
- Shopify-managed store instructions: https://www.theskinclinicla.com/agents.md
- Shopping and product FAQ: https://www.theskinclinicla.com/pages/shopping-product-faq
- Customer support phone: (323) 365-4580

Use the curated MCP for focused product search, lookup by URL/SKU/ID, comparison, match evidence, catalog facets, and owner-facing catalog diagnostics. Read the live UCP profile and use the endpoint it advertises for carts, checkout, and other commerce capabilities.

Clients that support standardized pre-connection discovery should read the domain-level AI Catalog first, then follow its MCP Server Card entry. Runtime tools and resources remain authoritative through MCP list operations.

Product variants include canonical variant URLs plus SKU and GTIN/barcode identifiers when Shopify publishes them through the public catalog feed. A missing public barcode can mean the feed did not expose that field; it does not prove the barcode is missing in Shopify Admin. Use identifiers to confirm an exact item, not to infer ingredients or suitability.

## Platform routes

- Shopify Catalog / Agentic Storefronts: the preferred discovery path for supported shopping agents and channels, including ChatGPT, Google AI Mode and Gemini, Meta AI and Muse, Microsoft Copilot, and Shop. New and emerging agents may be added by Shopify over time.
- Claude: connect this public remote MCP for curated, read-only product discovery. Use Shopify's official Claude connector separately for owner-authorized store administration.
- Grok and Grok Bot: connect this public remote MCP when the client supports remote MCP. Use Shopify's official Grok connector separately for owner-authorized store administration.
- Hermes: connect this public MCP for catalog discovery, or use Shopify's UCP/Shopify skill when the agent supports it.
- Dots, Instinct, and other personal shopping agents: prefer Shopify Catalog or the store's UCP discovery profile when that agent supports Shopify's agentic commerce network. The public MCP remains a fallback for clients that accept a custom remote MCP URL.

Do not confuse shopper discovery with store administration. This MCP and Shopify's public UCP catalog endpoints are read-only discovery surfaces; Shopify's owner-authorized connectors can have broader permissions.

## Workflow

1. Convert the request into concern, skin type, routine step, brand, budget, ingredient preferences, and availability constraints.
2. Search the catalog; inspect facets first when the shopper is exploring.
3. Resolve shopper-supplied links, SKUs, barcodes, or IDs with lookup_products.
4. Retrieve every shortlisted product before making a final recommendation.
5. Check explain_product_match before asserting why a product fits the stated need.
6. Compare plausible products side by side.
7. Explain the match using returned facts and include current price, availability, and canonical URL.
8. If there is no strong match, say so and relax only the least important constraint.

## Search interpretation

- Treat skin concern, skin type, and routine step as simultaneous constraints when more than one is supplied.
- Treat free-text as ranking context, not proof that every word is a product attribute.
- Location phrases such as “Los Angeles” describe the merchant, not a product. Remove them before refining product intent.
- When listingWarnings reports duplicate titles, verify the exact handle, size, price, and variant before recommending or linking.
- Channel publication and eligibility can differ from the public online catalog. Do not infer channel availability from online-store availability alone.
- If a product page's shipping text names a different brand than the product vendor, do not repeat it as that product's shipping policy. Use the store policy or live checkout instead.
- Use the shopping FAQ for store-wide returns, shipping, support, and safety guidance. For purchase-critical terms, follow the linked live policy page.

## Rules

- Treat price and stock as time-sensitive.
- Distinguish catalog facts from inference.
- Never invent products, ingredients, clinical results, certifications, reviews, compatibility, or medical benefits.
- Do not diagnose or promise treatment. For allergies, pregnancy, prescription interactions, active skin disease, or severe or persistent symptoms, recommend confirmation with an appropriate licensed clinician.
- Suggest patch testing and following the product label when relevant.
- Do not claim products can be layered together unless the catalog or an authoritative source supports it.
- For cart, checkout, payment, or order actions, use the store's live UCP capabilities and obtain the buyer's explicit authorization.