MCP (Model Context Protocol)

MCP is the Model Context Protocol, originally authored by Anthropic and now supported across most major AI providers. MCP standardizes how an AI assistant discovers and connects to external tools — a merchant's product catalog, an inventory system, a fulfillment API — so the assistant can perform actions on the shopper's behalf.

MCP doesn't replace ACP or UCP for the transactional flow; instead, it's the layer beneath them. A brand can expose an MCP server that describes its product catalog, its inventory availability, its shipping rules — and any MCP-compatible agent (Claude, ChatGPT with plugins, Copilot with tool-use) can call it. ACP and UCP then handle the specific commerce flow on top.

For merchants building custom agent experiences (in-house shopping agents, B2B procurement bots, brand-owned Claude apps), MCP is the foundational integration primitive. For merchants using off-the-shelf agent surfaces, MCP is invisible infrastructure — but knowing your commerce backend is MCP-compatible future-proofs your stack.