MCP

MCP is an open protocol — originally published by Anthropic, now widely adopted — that standardises how an AI agent connects to external systems. An MCP server exposes 'resources' (things the agent can read) and 'tools' (things the agent can do), and any MCP-aware client can use them without bespoke integration code.

For connected products, MCP is the way the canonical Product Record becomes available to every agent in the world that cares: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, in-house agents, voice assistants. One server, every client.

Think of it as USB for AI integrations: the protocol is boring; the unlocked surface area is the point.