Model Context Protocol (MCP)
The Model Context Protocol is an open standard, introduced by Anthropic in 2024 and now supported across the industry, that lets AI assistants connect to outside tools and data through a common plug. A tool built once as an "MCP server" can work with many different assistants.
In one line, for a 12-year-old
MCP is like a universal charger cable that lets any AI plug into lots of different apps.
An example
A small business connects its assistant to its calendar and invoicing app through MCP servers instead of custom code.
Why it matters to people
Standards make AI more useful and less locked-in. Only install MCP servers from sources you trust: each one can read or act on the data it connects to.