Model Context Protocol (MCP)

Model Context Protocol (MCP) is a new standardized communication protocol introduced by Anthropic, similar to how HTTP standardizes web communication. It provides a way for AI models and applications to interact with external data sources and tools in a structured format. Before MCP, developers building AI agents also had to build custom integrations for every tool—email, Notion, SMS, SendGrid, etc. But now, MCP separates AI agent creation from integration development, allowing third-party developers to build and maintain integrations.

This shift creates a new marketplace where SaaS platform owners can offer MCP-compatible integrations, enabling AI systems to interact with their platforms without them having to build AI agents themselves. Likewise, AI agent developers no longer need to spend time implementing integrations; instead, they can simply plug into a growing ecosystem of ready-to-use tools. My mental model for MCP is that it’s like USB-C—where before, you needed different adapters for HDMI, VGA, or USB-A, now everything just works together through a single standard. MCP does the same for AI applications, making it easier for any AI model to connect with any system seamlessly.