Model Context Protocol (MCP)
FrontierAgentic Protocols and Infrastructure
Also called: MCP
The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard that allows software systems, including AI agents, to connect to external tools and data sources through a single, consistent interface. Without it, every link between a model and a business system is a bespoke integration. With it, one connector serves any client that speaks the protocol.
In practice
Without MCP, an AI assistant can tell you how to update a Salesforce record; with MCP, it updates the record directly. The protocol is rapidly becoming the default infrastructure for agentic systems, so the question for a software business is whether its own product is reachable through it or invisible to the agents its customers are starting to run.