diff --git a/modules/ai-agents/examples/redpanda_cache.yaml b/modules/ai-agents/examples/redpanda_cache.yaml
index 49be191d..a6d62971 100644
--- a/modules/ai-agents/examples/redpanda_cache.yaml
+++ b/modules/ai-agents/examples/redpanda_cache.yaml
@@ -5,9 +5,7 @@ redpanda:
   tls:
     enabled: true
   sasl:
-    - mechanism: "SCRAM-SHA-512"
-      username: "${secrets.MCP_REDPANDA_CREDENTIALS.username}"
-      password: "${secrets.MCP_REDPANDA_CREDENTIALS.password}"
+    - mechanism: REDPANDA_CLOUD_SERVICE_ACCOUNT
 
 meta:
   mcp:
diff --git a/modules/ai-agents/examples/redpanda_output.yaml b/modules/ai-agents/examples/redpanda_output.yaml
index 324b135a..1c29785e 100644
--- a/modules/ai-agents/examples/redpanda_output.yaml
+++ b/modules/ai-agents/examples/redpanda_output.yaml
@@ -7,9 +7,7 @@ redpanda:
   tls:
     enabled: true
   sasl:
-    - mechanism: SCRAM-SHA-256
-      username: ${secrets.REDPANDA_USERNAME}
-      password: ${secrets.REDPANDA_PASSWORD}
+    - mechanism: REDPANDA_CLOUD_SERVICE_ACCOUNT
 meta:
   mcp:
     enabled: true
diff --git a/modules/ai-agents/examples/redpanda_output_with_processors.yaml b/modules/ai-agents/examples/redpanda_output_with_processors.yaml
index d58997a6..0b60ebd5 100644
--- a/modules/ai-agents/examples/redpanda_output_with_processors.yaml
+++ b/modules/ai-agents/examples/redpanda_output_with_processors.yaml
@@ -4,9 +4,7 @@ redpanda:
   tls:
     enabled: true
   sasl:
-    - mechanism: "${REDPANDA_SASL_MECHANISM}"
-      username: "${REDPANDA_SASL_USERNAME}"
-      password: "${REDPANDA_SASL_PASSWORD}"
+    - mechanism: REDPANDA_CLOUD_SERVICE_ACCOUNT
 
 processors:
   - openai_chat_completion:
diff --git a/modules/ai-agents/pages/mcp/remote/pipeline-patterns.adoc b/modules/ai-agents/pages/mcp/remote/pipeline-patterns.adoc
index 72b7a9d1..b41fe814 100644
--- a/modules/ai-agents/pages/mcp/remote/pipeline-patterns.adoc
+++ b/modules/ai-agents/pages/mcp/remote/pipeline-patterns.adoc
@@ -85,9 +85,7 @@ redpanda:
   tls:
     enabled: true
   sasl:
-    - mechanism: "${REDPANDA_SASL_MECHANISM}"
-      username: "${REDPANDA_SASL_USERNAME}"
-      password: "${REDPANDA_SASL_PASSWORD}"
+    - mechanism: REDPANDA_CLOUD_SERVICE_ACCOUNT
 ----
 
 See also: xref:develop:connect/components/inputs/redpanda.adoc[`redpanda` input]
diff --git a/modules/ai-agents/pages/mcp/remote/quickstart.adoc b/modules/ai-agents/pages/mcp/remote/quickstart.adoc
index a43e10ef..f954f65d 100644
--- a/modules/ai-agents/pages/mcp/remote/quickstart.adoc
+++ b/modules/ai-agents/pages/mcp/remote/quickstart.adoc
@@ -169,7 +169,15 @@ The template populates the configuration with YAML for the tool definition.
 
 . From the *Template* dropdown, select *Redpanda Output*.
 +
-The template populates the configuration for publishing to Redpanda. Authentication is handled automatically by the MCP server's service account.
+The template populates the configuration for publishing to Redpanda. Update the `sasl` section to use:
++
+[source,yaml]
+----
+  sasl:
+    - mechanism: REDPANDA_CLOUD_SERVICE_ACCOUNT
+----
++
+This automatically uses the service account associated with your MCP server for authentication.
 
 . Click *Lint* to check the configuration. You should see no errors.
 
@@ -238,7 +246,7 @@ curl -X POST "https://<dataplane-api-url>/v1/redpanda-connect/mcp-servers" \
         },
         "redpanda_output": {
           "component_type": "COMPONENT_TYPE_OUTPUT",
-          "config_yaml": "redpanda:\n  seed_brokers: [ \"${REDPANDA_BROKERS}\" ]\n  topic: events\n  tls:\n    enabled: true\n"
+          "config_yaml": "redpanda:\n  seed_brokers: [ \"${REDPANDA_BROKERS}\" ]\n  topic: events\n  tls:\n    enabled: true\n  sasl:\n    - mechanism: REDPANDA_CLOUD_SERVICE_ACCOUNT\n"
         }
       }
     }