MCP Explained: The Protocol Connecting AI to the World

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open-source standard that enables AI models to seamlessly connect with external tools and services, acting as a universal translator. It evolved from proprietary function-calling APIs to a widely adopted standard for AI-tool interaction supported by major companies. A key challenge with this approach is "context overload," where providing too many tool options to a model increases costs and reduces performance. To address this, innovative design patterns have emerged, such as Klavis AI's "Progressive Discovery" and Anthropic's "Code Execution." These methods focus on more efficient ways of connecting models to the world, emphasizing that the future of AI lies in smarter integration, not just larger models.