An open source standard protocol for connecting AI models to external data sources and tools. MCP addresses the execution layer: how an agent calls tools and retrieves data. MCP enables interoperability between different AI systems and data sources, with implications for data access control, logging, and vendor lock-in. The use of MCP (usually described in terms of an “MCP server”) almost always implies that an AI system will be given access to some Resource.
See: CORE; Connector; Resources; Tool calling (function calling)