Model Context Protocol

Also called MCP

An open standard for connecting AI assistants and agents to outside tools and data, such as files, databases, calendars and business software, so that one connector works across many AI applications.

Why it matters

If your product offers an MCP connection, AI assistants such as Claude and ChatGPT can read from it and act in it on a user's behalf, which is becoming another way software gets used and discovered. For builders it saves writing a separate integration for each AI tool.

For example

A project-management startup publishes an MCP server, so a customer can ask their AI assistant to list overdue tasks and reassign them without opening the app.

Go deeper

What is the Model Context Protocol (MCP)? modelcontextprotocol.io · guide The protocol's own introduction: what MCP is, what it lets AI applications connect to, and which assistants and developer tools support it. Open modelcontextprotocol.io →

Related terms

Also in Starting Up

See how founders actually handle this on Building the product, part of the Starting Up hub.

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