Model Context Protocol

The Model Context Protocol gives AI applications and external data systems a shared connection interface. In its November 2024 introduction, Anthropic described two sides: servers expose access to data sources, and clients inside AI applications connect to those servers. Developers can build against the common protocol instead of creating a different integration for each assistant and data source pairing. That makes connector reuse the central benefit. The model still needs access to relevant information, but the software carrying that information can follow a shared specification.