What it is
Out of the box, an AI assistant only knows its training data. MCP is the standard way to hand it live context: your product catalog, your docs, your CRM, your site. The AI queries the connected source through MCP before it answers, so the response is grounded in your real data instead of a guess.
Why it matters
MCP is the plumbing behind the agentic web. As AI agents start completing tasks for people, the sites and systems that expose their data through MCP become the ones agents can actually use. It is also why MCP keeps showing up in marketing conversations: it is how your data reaches the AI tools your customers already use.
What to do
You do not need to build an MCP server tomorrow. Start by making your core data clean and structured. When you are ready for agents to query or act on your site directly, an MCP endpoint is the standard way to expose it.