Model Context Protocol (MCP) Explained: It’s Not What You Think

MCP is everywhere right now — but it is often confused with APIs, tools, function calling, plugins, and connectors. In this video, we break down what MCP actually is, why it matters for AI agents, and what problem it solves. We look at MCP as a standard connection layer between AI apps and external tools, data, and systems. We cover MCP architecture, host-client-server roles, tools, resources, prompts, tool discovery, tool execution, local vs remote MCP, and when you should — or should not — use MCP in real projects. 👇 Chapters 00:00 - Intro 00:30 - MCP confusion 01:30 - Before MCP 02:41 - After MCP 03:38 - MCP concepts 06:40 - MCP lifecycle 08:11 - Tool discovery 10:23 - Tool execution 12:39 - MCP vs APIs vs function calling 15:27 - Local vs remote MCP 16:55 - Enterprise reality 18:08 - When to use MCP 📺 Playlists → Prototype to Production with Google ADK →    • Prototype to Production with Google ADK   → Building AI Agent with Google ADK Playlist →    • Building AI Agents with Google ADK   → Function calling Playlist →    • Function Calling with LLMs   #MCP #ModelContextProtocol #AIAgents #AgenticAI #FunctionCalling #AIEngineering #GenAI