Glossary · AI Agents and Knowledge Bases

MCP

MCPAI Glossary

In one sentence

An open protocol that connects AI to external tools and data, enabling AI agents to read and write to databases and trigger business systems.

Without a unified protocol, every system integration requires custom development. MCP establishes a universal connection standard. Once a tool provider implements an MCP interface, any AI application that supports MCP can connect to it directly.

When connecting MCP tools, manage permissions carefully: read-only vs. write, accessible data scope, and whether actions require human confirmation.

Example

Once connected to an enterprise spreadsheet system via MCP, employees can simply tell the AI agent: "Add today's new customer leads to the leads sheet."

Related terms

Tool Calling (Function Calling): As an LLM generates a response, it calls external tools as needed—such as search, calculations, database queries, or messaging—and continues working based on the results.
API: Interfaces that allow software programs to interact with each other. Enterprise systems and AI agents use APIs to access capabilities such as large language models, search, image generation, and publishing.
AI Agent: An AI that can read files, call external tools, and complete multi-step tasks on its own, unlike a standard chat AI that only replies with text.