AI systems · Protocol
Model Context Protocol
Also known as: MCP
What is MCP?
The Model Context Protocol (MCP), introduced by Anthropic in November 2024, is an open standard for connecting AI applications to external tools and data sources.
MCP gives models a common way to call tools, which is the plumbing underneath agents that act rather than only answer.
Related entities
- AI subscriptionsAI subscriptions are recurring-fee access products whose usable capacity depends on the provider, plan, workload, and applicable usage limits.
- Claude CodeClaude Code is Anthropic’s agentic development tool for inspecting projects, editing files, using tools, and verifying work under configurable permissions.
- Agentic commerceAgentic commerce is shopping in which an AI agent discovers, compares and purchases on a person's behalf within limits the person has authorized.
- Agent Payments ProtocolThe Agent Payments Protocol (AP2), announced by Google in September 2025, is an open protocol for agents to make payments using verifiable, user-signed mandates.
- Maker-checker reviewMaker-checker review is a control pattern in which one agent or person produces work and a separate one verifies it against a specification before it ships.
Field notes covering MCP
- Agentic Checkout: Is Your Store Buyable by AI?Being recommended is no longer the finish line. AI agents need reliable product state, policy, authority, and checkout rails to complete the transaction.
- Your AI Can Finally Stop Talking and Start DoingFor two years, AI has been the world's most brilliant intern locked in a room with no laptop. Model Context Protocol just handed it a badge, a login, and actual work to do.
Sources & identifiers
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