Model Context Protocol is an open protocol developed by Anthropic that standardizes how AI assistants like Claude interact with external tools and data. Instead of requiring users to copy-paste information into a chat window, MCP lets the AI directly query databases, call APIs, read files, and perform actions in external systems — all within the same conversation.
For businesses, MCP means your AI assistant can look up a patient's insurance status in your EHR, check a lead's history in your CRM, or pull financial data from QuickBooks without anyone manually transferring information between windows.
MCP servers are the components that expose specific tools and data sources to AI assistants. Each MCP server defines what actions are available (searching contacts, creating appointments, reading records) and handles authentication, rate limiting, and data formatting.
The protocol is still relatively new, which means most AI developers haven't worked with it yet. The businesses that adopt it early get a meaningful efficiency advantage — their teams can interact with AI tools that understand their actual business data rather than working with generic AI that knows nothing about their specific clients, patients, or transactions.