What is MCP (Model Context Protocol)? A plain-English answer for small businesses
By SoloWOS teamPublished
IN SHORT
MCP (Model Context Protocol) is an open standard that lets an AI assistant such as Claude or ChatGPT connect to another app, read its data and use its actions, with your permission. Anthropic introduced it in November 2024. For a small business, an MCP connector means asking your chatbot “who owes me?” and getting the answer from your real invoices.
Prices and limits as of .
Key takeaways
- MCP is a protocol, not a product: a business app publishes an MCP server, and an AI app connects to it as a connector after you sign in and choose the access.
- Anthropic introduced MCP in November 2024 and in December 2025 donated it to the Agentic AI Foundation, a Linux Foundation fund co-founded by Anthropic, Block and OpenAI.
- MCP isn't the model's memory or its context window. It's a way to call an app's tools, and the model only sees what a tool returns for that request.
- Give read-only access unless you need the assistant to create things. In SoloWOS, Read can't change anything, and Read and act still can't delete, record payments or send for signature.
- The SoloWOS connector is included on every plan, Basic too, and works with Claude, ChatGPT and other MCP clients that support remote servers.
Before MCP, every pair of AI app and business app needed its own custom integration. MCP gives them one shared way to talk: the business app describes the actions it offers (“list invoices”, “create a draft”), and any AI assistant that speaks MCP can discover and use them. Anthropic's launch post described it as one protocol to replace fragmented, one-off integrations.
How MCP works, in three parts
- The host is the AI app you chat in: Claude, ChatGPT or a desktop assistant.
- The server is published by the business app. SoloWOS's lives at /api/mcp on the SoloWOS domain. You add its URL as a custom connector, sign in, pick a workspace and choose the access.
- The tools are the named actions the server offers, each with a short description the model reads to decide when to use it. SoloWOS has read tools like “get money summary” and write tools like “create invoice draft”.
MCP vs an API vs a context window
| Term | What it is | Who sets it up |
|---|---|---|
| API | An app's interface for other programs, usually REST endpoints | A developer, by writing code |
| MCP | A standard way for AI assistants to discover and call an app's tools | You, by adding a URL and signing in |
| Context window | How much text a model can read at once in a conversation | Nobody: it's a property of the model, not a connection |
An API is for programs and needs code; MCP is for AI assistants and needs a URL. A bigger context window lets a model read more of what you paste, but it doesn't connect it to anything. Many MCP servers, including SoloWOS's, sit on top of an existing API and reuse its permission checks.
A real example: “Who owes me money?”
WORKED EXAMPLE
Example: one question through the SoloWOS connector (illustrative data)
In Claude, with the SoloWOS connector turned on, you type “Who owes me money, and what's overdue?”. Claude reads the tool list, picks solowos_get_money_summary and calls it. SoloWOS checks the connection's access and workspace, then returns the open invoices grouped by currency. Claude answers: “Two invoices are overdue: INV-0031 for $1,800 from Northwind, 12 days late, and INV-0034 for $650 from Lena Ortiz, 3 days late. One more, $2,400, is due Friday.” Nothing changed in your account, and the question didn't use your SoloWOS AI allowance, because the model doing the work is Claude's.
What to let a connector do
| Access | The assistant can | The assistant can't |
|---|---|---|
| Read | See contacts, invoices, who owes you, proposals, bookings, forms and responses, expenses, signatures, time, notes, short links, tasks, the week ahead and the cash flow forecast | Change anything |
| Read and act | Everything in Read, plus create contacts, drafts, forms, expenses, short links, meeting links, tasks and time entries, and send invoices, proposals and emails you confirm | Delete anything, record payments or refunds, send documents for signature, or change your plan or settings |
Before you connect any business app, ask four questions. Which account or workspace will it see? Is there a read-only option? Does sending need your confirmation? Where can you see and revoke connected apps? In SoloWOS the answers are: the one workspace you pick, yes (Read), yes (sends are marked as actions to confirm), and Settings > Advanced > Connected apps. Also know where the data goes: what the assistant reads through a connector goes to that assistant's provider, such as Anthropic or OpenAI, under their terms.
Which AI apps support MCP connectors
Claude's help center says custom connectors using remote MCP work on Free (one custom connector), Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise plans. In ChatGPT, adding a custom MCP server depends on your plan and, on some plans, on turning on developer mode; OpenAI's help article has the current rules. Both companies change these menus often, so check their help pages if you don't see the option.
Connectors aren't only for chat apps. Developers use MCP inside coding tools and agents, and a growing number of business apps publish servers: accounting, calendars, file storage, project boards. For a solo business the practical effect is that one AI app can answer questions across several of your tools in one conversation, as long as each tool offers a connector and you've signed in to each. Every connection is separate, with its own access level and its own place to revoke it, so a connector you add for your invoices sees nothing in your calendar app.
The guide to connect SoloWOS to Claude or ChatGPT has the steps for each app. Inside SoloWOS, the AI assistant uses the same tools, so you can ask the same questions without connecting anything. To track who pays and when, send invoices clients pay by card from the same account.
Questions
Is MCP safe for business data?
MCP itself is a protocol; safety depends on the server and what you allow. Pick read-only access when you only need answers, check that sends need confirmation, and revoke apps you no longer use. Connect only to servers from companies you trust, since AI apps don't verify custom connectors for you.
Do I need to know how to code to use MCP?
No. You paste the server URL into your AI app as a custom connector, sign in to the business app, and choose the access. Developers build MCP servers; users only connect to them.
Is MCP only for Claude?
No. Anthropic created it, but it's an open standard now held by the Agentic AI Foundation under the Linux Foundation. ChatGPT and other AI apps can connect to MCP servers, subject to each app's plan rules.
Does the SoloWOS connector cost extra?
No. It's included on every SoloWOS plan, Basic too. What the assistant creates counts toward your plan limits as if you created it in the app, for example invoices and proposals sent a month.
Sources
Facts checked against these sources on October 24, 2026. Rules and amounts change, so confirm them at the source before you file or sign.
We don't get paid by any brand on this page: no affiliate links, no sponsored placements.
- Anthropic (November 2024): Introducing the Model Context Protocol
- Anthropic (December 2025): Donating MCP to the Agentic AI Foundation
- Model Context Protocol: Specification
- Claude Help Center: Get started with custom connectors using remote MCP
- OpenAI Help Center: Connecting custom MCP servers in ChatGPT
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