SourceVale

Insights · Explainer

MCP, explained: how AI assistants are learning to use your apps

A once-obscure technical standard is now backed by every major AI company. Here's why it matters to a business owner.

3 min read7 November 20264 sources

The short version

  • MCP is an open standard that lets AI assistants connect to apps and data in a consistent way.
  • Anthropic introduced it, and it's now supported widely across the industry.
  • For businesses, it means one connection can serve whichever assistant your team prefers.

Remember when every phone had a different charger? AI assistants have had the same problem with business software. Every app needed its own custom connection.

The Model Context Protocol, or MCP, is the industry's attempt at a universal plug. Its official site calls it "an open-source standard for connecting AI applications to external systems", and offers the comparison itself: "Think of MCP like a USB-C port for AI applications."[1]

Where it came from

Anthropic introduced MCP in November 2024, describing the problem bluntly: "Every new data source requires its own custom implementation, making truly connected systems difficult to scale."[2] Its pitch was "replacing fragmented integrations with a single protocol".[2]

Rivals signed up

What made MCP matter is that competitors adopted it. OpenAI added "support for all remote Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers" to its developer platform in May 2025 and joined MCP's steering committee.[3] Microsoft brought it to Copilot Studio, where each tool an MCP server offers "is automatically added as an action".[4] Claude and ChatGPT both support it, according to the project.[1]

Why a business owner should care

MCP lets an assistant reach your files, databases and tools in a standard way.[1] Build a connection to your CRM or data warehouse once, and whichever assistant your team prefers can use it.

It doesn't make access safe by default. Each connection should see only what it needs, and anything that changes data deserves a human check. But the days of AI that can only talk, and never touch your real systems, are ending.

Sources

  1. Model Context Protocol: What is the Model Context Protocol (MCP)?
  2. Anthropic: Introducing the Model Context Protocol (25 Nov 2024)
  3. OpenAI: New tools and features in the Responses API (21 May 2025)
  4. Microsoft Copilot Blog: Introducing Model Context Protocol (MCP) in Copilot Studio (19 Mar 2025)

Sources checked 7 November 2026. Product features and prices change often, so check the vendor's site before you buy.