The Model Context Protocol lets a host discover and use capabilities from independent servers without inventing a custom integration for every pairing.
A traveler asks one information desk for tickets, directions, or lost property. Each department follows the same request format.
An MCP client speaks a shared protocol to servers that expose named capabilities and structured results.
Owns user intent, permissions, and the MCP client connection.
Each server describes what it offers and returns structured results.
MCP is the protocol, not the intelligence. The model still decides what might help; the host controls execution.
Find passages relevant to a natural-language query.
{ "query": "museum accessibility" }Name, purpose, and expected inputs.
Chosen operation plus validated arguments.
Structured content, errors, or resources.
Authentication says whose data is reachable. Tool definitions say which actions exist. The host can require approval before sensitive calls and should treat remote output as untrusted input.
A clear tool name and narrow schema are part of the safety design.
The product runs the conversation.
MCP defines how capabilities are described and called.
The service implements tools and data access.