Shutterstock
by Shutterstock
Search Shutterstock's images, video, music and sound effects in any language. One read-only tool, no sign-in, previews and metadata only — no licensing.
Verified connector
Listed by Anthropic as a partner connector in its Connectors Directory.
Connection checked by Agentman on .
Anthropic states this reflects the level of review a connector received, not a security audit.
Connect Shutterstock via MCP
https://www.shutterstock.com/cciq/mcpWorks in any MCP-compatible client. In Agentman Studio it is one click — no config file to edit.
Use in Agentman
Connect Shutterstock once and your agents call these tools on their own — on a schedule, in a workflow, with nobody at the keyboard.
Open in Agentman StudioShutterstock Tools & Capabilities (1)
Use this when the user wants to search Shutterstock stock assets. Set assetType or assetTypes to image, video, music, or sfx. Use image/video with descriptive English phrases and music/sfx with short keyword queries. This tool is read-only and returns preview URLs plus metadata for selection. It does not generate/edit media or handle licensing/downloads.
Read from the server on 2026-08-17, including each tool's own safety annotations.
Limits
- It finds; it does not license. The tool description disclaims licensing and downloads outright. Nothing an agent returns from this connector is cleared for use.
- One tool, five parameters. No orientation, colour, contributor, duration, resolution or safe-search filters, and no result-count control. Everything must go into a 200-character query string.
- No pagination. The schema exposes no cursor, offset or page parameter. To go deeper than the returned set, refine the query or continue on shutterstock.com.
- No generation or editing. The tool description states it does not generate or edit media. Shutterstock's AI Image and Video Generators are separate products on its website, not part of this connector.
- Editorial content is restricted. Results flagged
isEditorialcannot lawfully be used in advertising, merchandise, packaging, print covers, or broadcast and OTT programming, per Shutterstock's help centre. Some editorial content is also unavailable in some regions. - Training on the assets is prohibited. Shutterstock's Terms of Service bar using Visual Content or Licensed Music as training data for AI, machine learning or generative systems.
- Watermarked comps are not final-use material. Shutterstock's comp licences for video and music permit test, sample and rough-cut evaluation only, forbid public distribution or inclusion in final materials, and forbid removing or altering the watermark.
- Licensing terms vary by plan and asset. Print-run caps, single-use rules and region restrictions differ across licence types. We deliberately quote no prices or plan tiers here; check Shutterstock's own pricing and licence pages, which are authoritative and change.
- The tool must run in conversation.
taskSupport: "forbidden"means it is not available for detached background execution. - Shutterstock's privacy policy predates this connector. It is dated 26 January 2024 and contains no section on AI assistants or MCP. Unlike some connectors, there is no published statement about what happens to queries you send through an assistant.
- The
ui://template is listed, not read. We enumerated the single widget resource on 2026-08-19 and did not fetch its contents, so nothing here describes what it renders. - We did not call the tool. Our check was a read-only
tools/listhandshake. Every behavioural claim above comes from the server's own schema and description, or from Shutterstock's published documentation.
Frequently asked questions
No account is needed to search. Shutterstock's help article states that no account or subscription is required to search or browse its creative library, and our anonymous handshake on 2026-08-17 returned the tool definition with no credential. An account and a plan become necessary only when you license or download an asset, which happens on shutterstock.com.
No. The tool's own description states it returns preview URLs plus metadata and does not handle licensing or downloads. Shutterstock's help article confirms you select an asset to open its page on shutterstock.com, then license or download it there with your plan. The directory blurb mentions downloading, but the live surface exposes search only.
No. Search results are pointers, not licences. Shutterstock's Terms of Service grant use rights only for Content you have licensed, and the connector never licenses anything. What you receive is a preview URL and metadata for selection. Open the asset on shutterstock.com and license it under a plan before publishing it anywhere.
No. Shutterstock's Terms of Service prohibit using any Visual Content or Licensed Music as training data for artificial intelligence, machine learning or generative AI systems, tools, processes or datasets. The terms carve out an exception for AI features of editing software, provided that software does not itself train on the content or on derivative works incorporating it.
It marks content that carries editorial restrictions. Shutterstock's help centre states editorial content may be used in news articles, non-fiction books and documentaries, but not in advertisements, merchandise, product packaging, print covers or broadcast and OTT programming. The terms also forbid modifying editorial-only content in a way that changes the context of what is depicted.
Four: image, video, music and sfx. The live schema enumerates exactly those values on both the assetType and assetTypes parameters, and searches all four when neither is supplied. Shutterstock's guidance in the same tool description is to use descriptive English phrases for image and video, and one to three keyword terms for music and sound effects.
Yes for the query, with a caveat. Shutterstock's help article states you can search using natural language in multiple languages, and the connector accepts a locale code for interface strings. However, the tool's own description asks for descriptive English phrases when searching images and video, so English queries are what the vendor tunes for.
Sources
- Shutterstock help centre, "Connect AI assistants to Shutterstock" (retrieved 2026-08-17, HTTP 200 in browser). Availability, the no-account statement, per-client setup for Claude and ChatGPT, the licensing handoff, and six vendor FAQs. Reached by following the real href from the collection URL Anthropic's directory publishes. · retrieved 2026-08-17
- Shutterstock help centre, "Creative Tools" collection (retrieved 2026-08-17, HTTP 200 in browser). This is the exact
documentationvalue in Anthropic's directory entry. It is a 50-article index rather than a connector page; the connector article above is one entry in it. · retrieved 2026-08-17 - Shutterstock blog, "Define the Creative Conversation: How to Use Shutterstock in ChatGPT" (retrieved 2026-08-17, HTTP 200 in browser; published 7 May 2026, updated 8 May 2026). The workflow guide the help article links as its "detailed guide", written for the ChatGPT app specifically. · retrieved 2026-08-17
- Shutterstock Terms of Service and License Agreements (retrieved 2026-08-17, HTTP 200 in browser). The AI-training prohibition, editorial-use restrictions, comp licence terms and the scope of granted rights. · retrieved 2026-08-17
- Shutterstock help centre, "Shutterstock Editorial License" (retrieved 2026-08-17, HTTP 200 in browser). Permitted and prohibited editorial uses, and regional availability. · retrieved 2026-08-17
- Shutterstock help centre, "How is Shutterstock bringing AI-generated content to their platform?" (retrieved 2026-08-17, HTTP 200 in browser). Context for the
isGeneratedflag. · retrieved 2026-08-17 - Shutterstock privacy policy (retrieved 2026-08-17, HTTP 200 in browser; page states last updated 26 January 2024). No AI-assistant or MCP section. · retrieved 2026-08-17
- Live
tools/listhandshake againsthttps://www.shutterstock.com/cciq/mcp— one tool with its description, input schema, output schema and safety annotations, returned anonymously (2026-08-17). Schema committed atdocs/marketing/data/tool-schemas/shutterstock.tools.json. · retrieved 2026-08-17 - Live
resources/listandprompts/listagainsthttps://www.shutterstock.com/cciq/mcp— 1ui://widget template,text/html;profile=mcp-app, and zero prompts (listed 2026-08-19). The resource was listed only, not read. · retrieved 2026-08-19 - Anthropic Connectors Directory entry — . Tier, categories, endpoint, transport, auth posture and the single tool name, read from our committed directory snapshot dated 2026-08-16. The live directory page renders client-side and returned no text to our fetcher, so we cite the snapshot rather than a page we did not read. · retrieved 2026-08-16
Server Info
- Category
- Design
- Developer
- Shutterstock
- Tools
- 1
- Domain
- www.shutterstock.com
Using Claude Desktop or another MCP client? Setup docs — the connection URL above works anywhere.
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