MCP (Model Context Protocol) — AI Glossary

Reference details

Related terms

• AI Agent
• Tool Use
• Function Calling

Example: N plus M instead of N times M

Four clients each needing five integrations is twenty bespoke connectors. With a shared protocol it is four clients and five servers — nine components, and a new server works with every client immediately. That arithmetic is the entire argument for standardising the interface.

bespoke : 4 clients x 5 tools = 20 integrations
protocol: 4 clients + 5 servers =  9 components

Commonly confused with

MCP is not function calling and does not replace it. Function calling is how a model expresses an intent to call a tool; MCP is how a client discovers and connects to the tools available. They operate at different layers and are normally used together.

When to use it

Reach for it when:

• The same tools must be reachable from several clients
• You want tool discovery rather than hard-coded integrations
• Tools are maintained separately from the applications using them

Reach for something else when:

• One client, two tools — direct integration is simpler
• You have not scoped what an MCP server exposes; it is a new trust boundary
• The tool surface changes rarely enough that discovery adds nothing

Referenced by

This term is used by the following ModelRefs references:

• mcp server integration

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