AI Glossary

Model Context Protocol

Also called MCP

What does “Model Context Protocol” mean?

Model Context Protocol: Open standard, introduced by Anthropic in 2024, for connecting AI applications to outside tools and data. A service is wrapped once as an MCP server, and any compatible app can then use it, instead of each app building its own custom integration. Anthropic later donated it to the Linux Foundation's Agentic AI Foundation.

Model Context Protocol visual guide: Open standard, introduced by Anthropic in 2024, for connecting AI applications to outside tools and data. A service is wrapped once as an MCP server, and any compatible app can then use it, instead of each app building its own custom integration. Anthropic later donated it to the Linux Foundation's Agentic AI Foundation.
Visual guide Open full size (new tab)

What is an example of “Model Context Protocol”?

One MCP server for a company's ticketing system can be used from several different AI chat and coding apps.