AI is already good at understanding everyday language. MCP helps turn that understanding into useful, controlled action by giving an AI agent a standard way to work with the information and functions inside your CRM.
What Is It?
In plain English, MCP is what allows your AI agent to interact with the data in your CRM. Instead of the AI only answering general questions, MCP can give it a structured and controlled way to find information, use approved tools and help complete practical tasks.
Technically, MCP stands for Model Context Protocol. It is an open-source standard created by Anthropic. It acts as a universal communication layer to allow AI models (like Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini) to securely interact with external software, databases, and enterprise applications.
Why Do I Need It?
Traditionally, when one computer system needs to talk to another this is done via an API. A strictly defined protocol (shared language) by which the two systems can communicate. This is ideal when both systems are rigidly structured computer programs. See my previous article What Is an API?
Ironically, an AI Agent is better at communicating with a human through natural language than it is at interacting with another computer via an API.
MCP is a kind of halfway house, that exposes the functionality of the API as a set of “Tools” that the AI can pick from when trying to achieve its task.
How Do I use It?
You don’t really. If your CRM has an MCP server, then you chat to your AI Agent in plain English, and it uses the MCP “Tools” to achieve the task you set for it.
For example:
You can ask: “Find me all open opportunities in my sales pipeline that don’t have a next action date, and draft and follow-up email for each.”
Or paste in a messy block of shorthand notes after a client meeting and say: “Parse these notes. Update the deal stage to ‘Proposal’, change the close date to next Friday, and log a task to follow up on Tuesday.”
In Summary
MCP stands for Model Context Protocol. It provides a standard way for AI applications to connect with external data sources and tools, including CRM platforms. For the user, the experience can be as simple as asking a question or giving an instruction in plain English. Behind the scenes, the AI agent selects from the approved capabilities exposed by the CRM.
For businesses, the potential benefits include faster access to information, more consistent updates, less repetitive administration and a more conversational way to work with CRM data. Those benefits depend on thoughtful implementation, strong permissions, good data quality and the right level of human oversight.
That Sounds Great, But How Well Does It Work?
To be honest, we are still in the early stages of finding out. Our own MCP server for Core is under active development and we are currently testing it internally. Look out for announcements of it going live soon. To find out more about our CORE Software and book yourself a live demo contact us today!
