MCP: Overhyped, Misunderstood, and Actually Useful

This article clarifies that Model Context Protocol (MCP) isn’t revolutionary, but a standardization effort for connecting Large Language Models (LLMs) to tools and data. While connecting LLMs to APIs was already possible through methods like OpenAI’s function calling, MCP provides a unified protocol—a consistent way to describe tools and exchange information—across different LLM providers. Ultimately, MCP aims to reduce vendor lock-in, simplify development, and enable more complex interactions with LLMs by establishing a common "language" for tool integration.