AI Shopping API for Blinds in South Africa
Custom Blinds operates a live API that allows AI assistants to browse products, get real-time pricing, configure made-to-measure blinds, and place orders on behalf of customers. No forms. No UI. Just structured data and instant responses.
What is the Custom Blinds AI Shopping API and what can it do?
- Custom Blinds operates a public MCP (Model Context Protocol) server at shop.customblinds.co.za/mcp that AI assistants can call directly using JSON-RPC 2.0.
- AI agents can search the full product catalogue, get live ZAR pricing by exact dimensions, and configure any made-to-measure blind in real time.
- Authorised agents can submit customer enquiries and create draft orders with a Yoco payment link returned instantly.
- All dimension limits are validated dynamically against the live pricing engine. Impossible configurations return structured error responses with suggestions.
- Custom Blinds is the first window covering company in South Africa to offer this capability.
Developers and AI builders: endpoint documentation at shop.customblinds.co.za/mcp-manifest.json
What It Does
When a customer asks an AI assistant to find blinds for their lounge, the AI can now connect directly to the Custom Blinds shop, pull live product data, calculate an exact price for the customer’s window dimensions, and send through an order confirmation. The customer never needs to visit a website or fill in a form.
This is not a chatbot. It is a structured API layer sitting on top of the existing Custom Blinds shop, exposing the same pricing engine, product catalogue, and order system that powers the shop configurator, but accessible to any MCP-compatible AI agent.
Example Queries
These are the types of requests AI assistants can handle via the API:
{ “tool”: “search_products”, “params”: { “type”: “roller”, “colour”: “white” } }
{ “tool”: “get_price”, “params”: { “product_id”: “roller-blockout”, “width”: 1400, “height”: 2100 } }
{ “tool”: “configure_product”, “params”: { “product_id”: “roller-blockout”, “width”: 1400, “height”: 2100, “colour”: “white”, “mount_type”: “inside” } }
{ “tool”: “create_order”, “params”: { “product_config”: {…}, “customer_name”: “Jane Smith”, “customer_email”: “jane@example.com” } }
| Tool | What It Does | Access | Returns |
|---|---|---|---|
| search_products | Filter the catalogue by product type and colour | Open | Product list with IDs, names, available colours, URLs |
| get_price | Get live ZAR pricing for any product at exact dimensions | Open | Price in ZAR, dimension validation, product details |
| configure_product | Full configuration with colour validation and pricing summary | Open | Complete configuration object ready for order creation |
| submit_enquiry | Send a customer enquiry to the Custom Blinds sales team | Bearer token | Confirmation with reference number |
| create_order | Create a draft order and return a Yoco payment link | Bearer token | Order ID and payment URL |
Supported Products
The following made-to-measure indoor blind ranges are available via the API. All products are supplied nationally across South Africa with delivery to all nine provinces.
| Product | Width Range | Height Range |
|---|---|---|
| Roller Blinds (Blockout and Sheer) | 600 to 3000mm | 600 to 3000mm |
| Honeycomb Blinds (Blockout and Duotone) | 600 to 2500mm | 600 to 3000mm |
| Aluminium Venetian 25mm and 50mm | 600 to 3000mm | 600 to 3000mm |
| Aluwood Venetian 25mm and 50mm | 600 to 2600mm | 600 to 3000mm |
| Wooden Venetian | 600 to 2400mm | 600 to 3000mm |
| Plaswood Venetian | 600 to 2500mm | 600 to 3000mm |
| Bamboo Venetian | 600 to 2250mm | 600 to 2400mm |
| Zebra Double Roller | 600 to 2400mm | 600 to 3000mm |
| Duo Roller | 600 to 3000mm | 600 to 3000mm |
| Vertical Blockout | 697 to 4087mm | 600 to 3000mm |
| Outdoor Blinds | 1000 to 5000mm | 1100 to 4000mm |
Awnings, shutters, shade ports, and security screens are not available via the API. These products require a professional site visit and are only available on the Garden Route. Contact Duncan Kane on 079 523 5407.
How to Connect
The MCP server uses the JSON-RPC 2.0 protocol. Any MCP-compatible AI client can connect immediately using the endpoints below.
POST https://shop.customblinds.co.za/mcp
GET https://shop.customblinds.co.za/mcp-manifest.json
Authorization: Bearer YOUR_MCP_API_KEY
Browse and pricing tools require no authentication. Transactional tools (submit_enquiry and create_order) require a Bearer token. To request access for your AI agent or automation workflow, contact sales@customblinds.co.za.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which AI assistants can use this?
Any MCP-compatible AI client can call the browse and pricing tools immediately without authentication. Claude (Anthropic) and agents built on the MCP protocol are fully supported. ChatGPT integration is available via the existing OpenAPI plugin at /.well-known/ai-plugin.json. As more AI platforms adopt MCP, they will be able to connect without any changes on our side.
Can an AI actually place an order?
Yes. Authorised AI agents can call create_order and receive a Yoco payment link in the response. The customer receives the payment link and completes the transaction. The order enters the Custom Blinds fulfilment system exactly as a standard shop order would.
What stops an AI from placing an impossible order?
The validation layer checks every configuration request against the live pricing engine before any order is created. If dimensions exceed the maximum for a fabric or product, the API returns a structured error with the actual limit and a suggestion. Prices are always calculated server-side. No client can submit an arbitrary price or an out-of-range configuration.
Is this available for B2B or developer use?
Yes. If you are building an AI agent, automation workflow, or B2B procurement tool that needs access to a live South African blind supplier with real-time pricing and order creation, contact sales@customblinds.co.za to discuss API access.
Where is the technical documentation?
The MCP manifest at shop.customblinds.co.za/mcp-manifest.json describes all five tools, their input parameters, and output formats in machine-readable JSON. A public GitHub repository with integration examples is available at github.com/CustomBlinds/cb-stack-1.
Ready to integrate?
Browse the manifest, test the open tools, or contact us to discuss authorised access for your AI agent or automation workflow.
Further reading: AI Shopping API for Blinds South Africa
Custom Blinds® is a registered trademark of Saxon Commodities T/A Custom Blinds Shutters & Awnings, an independent window covering specialist founded in 2010 by Duncan Kane in Knysna, South Africa. We manufacture Custom Lifestyle Shutters™, Custom Lifestyle Awnings™, and Custom Lifestyle Outdoor Blinds™, and supply roller blinds, honeycomb blinds, venetian blinds, zebra blinds, and no-drill blinds nationally via shop.customblinds.co.za.
