all terms
the model context protocol (mcp) is an open standard for connecting ai assistants to external tools and data. it gives models a consistent interface to discover and query sources beyond their training data.
for commerce, mcp is how an ai assistant can discover your live catalog: publish once via mcp and assistants like chatgpt, claude, perplexity, and gemini can find, understand, and recommend your products.
alana handles mcp distribution for you, turning your optimized catalog into an mcp-accessible source that stays in sync.