Agents & MCP
MCP (Model Context Protocol)
An open standard for how AI agents connect to external tools and data sources in a consistent way — a common "plug" so any compatible agent can use any compatible tool. It's how modern agents reach beyond the model to your systems.
Example
Instead of custom-wiring an agent to your database, your ticketing system, and your file store separately, each exposes an MCP interface. The agent speaks one protocol to all three — and a governing layer can watch and gate what flows through that single, standard path.
Related terms
AI agent
An AI system that doesn't just answer once but works toward a goal over multiple steps — planning, calling tools, reacting to results, and looping until done. Because an agent can make many calls per task, it can spend far more than a single prompt, and it spends without a human watching each step.
Tool call
A single action an agent takes to use an external capability — query a database, search the web, run a function — as opposed to just generating text. Each tool call is a step where the agent reaches outside the model.
AI gateway
A single point that all AI traffic passes through on its way to the providers — the place where keys are resolved, budgets are checked, calls are logged, and policies are enforced. It's the choke point that makes control possible, because everything flows through it.