MCP (Model Context Protocol)

Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard for connecting AI assistants to the outside world. Instead of building a custom, one-off integration for every tool an AI needs to use, MCP gives everyone a shared “language” for those connections — much like USB gave every device a standard port.

Why MCP matters

On its own, an AI model is a closed box: it can reason and write, but it can’t check your calendar, query your database, or file a ticket. To be genuinely useful in a business, it needs to connect to real systems — and historically every one of those connections had to be custom-built.

MCP standardises that. A tool that “speaks MCP” can be plugged into any AI assistant that supports the protocol, without custom glue code each time. That means faster integrations, less maintenance, and a growing ecosystem of ready-made connectors.

What it enables

With MCP, an AI assistant can securely do things like read files from a connected drive, look up records in a database, pull messages from a chat tool, or trigger an action in another app — all through a consistent, permissioned interface. It’s a key building block for AI agents that need to take real actions rather than just talk.

MCP in one sentence

MCP is the standard plug that lets one AI assistant connect to many different tools and data sources, instead of needing a custom adapter for each.