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What is Model Context Protocol (MCP)?

Model Context Protocol

Model Context Protocol, MCP, is an open-source standard for connecting AI applications to external systems. Through it, an assistant such as Claude or ChatGPT can reach data sources, tools and workflows outside the chat — to look information up or carry out a task — through one common interface rather than a custom integration for each system.

How MCP works

MCP has two sides. An MCP server exposes a system’s data and tools — a calendar, a database, a business application. An MCP client is the AI application that connects to servers and uses what they expose when a conversation needs it. The protocol’s own documentation compares it to a USB-C port: one standard socket instead of a different cable for every device.

For a business the useful part is that the connection is to its own systems. An assistant connected over MCP can answer a question from live data, or do something in the application, instead of working only from what someone pasted into the chat.

What to check before connecting one

An MCP connection is as safe as the rules the server enforces. The questions worth asking are whose permissions the assistant acts with, whether reading is separate from changing, whether every action is logged, and whether an administrator can switch it off for everyone.

Orbiz MCP

Orbiz MCP connects Claude, ChatGPT or Claude Code to Orbiz, with 81 actions across 9 tools. A connection belongs to one member in one organisation, and the assistant can see and do only what that member can. Connecting goes through an Orbiz consent page where access is ticked tool by tool, reading separate from changing; every action is on an activity log; and an admin can turn assistants off for the whole organisation.

Some things have no action at all: the Vault, clocking in or out, and anything that deletes. In payroll an assistant can read a member’s own pay summary and payslips. Setup is described on the Orbiz MCP page, and the connection itself is made from Settings → Connected AI apps inside Orbiz.

Related terms

All payroll and HR terms

Glossary · Model Context Protocol (MCP)

More questions about Model Context Protocol (MCP)

What does MCP stand for in AI?

Model Context Protocol. It is an open-source standard that AI applications such as Claude and ChatGPT use to connect to external systems, so they can read data and carry out tasks in them.

Which AI assistants support MCP?

MCP is an open protocol supported by a wide range of clients, including the AI assistants Claude and ChatGPT and development tools such as Visual Studio Code and Cursor. A system built as an MCP server can be used from any of them.

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