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What is MCP?

Jess Starr·Product Manager, AI Access Management

Jess, Product Manager for AI Access Management at C1, explains what MCP is and why standardizing the connection between agents and your systems replaces a tangle of custom integrations.

Main Takeaways

  • Agents need data across your systems to be productive. Think Slack, GitHub, and your database.
  • Before MCP, every agent-to-system connection was its own custom integration, which gets cumbersome fast.
  • MCP standardizes the shape of the connection: one server per service, every connection the same shape.
  • MCP also gives your agent tools. Each service introduces itself with its tool set, so the agent can navigate that system with all its quirks and nuances.