What is MCP?

MCP, the Model Context Protocol, is an open standard for connecting AI tools to data and services. It was first published by Anthropic in 2024 and is now supported by many AI tools, including Claude and ChatGPT.

Without MCP, an AI tool only knows what it learned in training and what you paste into the conversation. With MCP, it can look things up for you while it answers: it asks a connected service for exactly the data the question needs, and answers with that.

How it works#

MCP has two sides:

A remote MCP server, like Odyssey's, runs on the internet at an address such as https://mcp.odysseysignal.app/mcp. You add that address to your AI tool once. When the tool connects, you sign in with your own account (OAuth), so the server knows who is asking and what they may see.

What happens when you ask a question#

1. 1

   Step 1: You ask in plain language

   For example: "How has awareness of our brand developed this year?"

2. 2

   Step 2: The AI tool picks the tools it needs

   It reads the descriptions of the tools the server offers and calls the ones that answer your question, with the inputs it needs, such as the Signal, the metric and the period.

3. 3

   Step 3: The server answers

   The server checks that you have access, looks up the data and returns it to the AI tool.

4. 4

   Step 4: The AI tool answers you

   It writes its answer from what the server returned. If something is unclear, such as which market you mean, it asks you first.

You never call a tool yourself, and you don't need to know their names. Most AI tools show you which tools they called, so you can see where an answer came from.

Why Odyssey has an MCP server#

• Your data where you already work. Ask about your Signals in the AI tool you use every day, without exporting reports or copying figures from the portal.
• Figures straight from the source. The AI answers with the figures the server returns, with their base and any warnings, and does not compute new ones. See What the MCP server does.
• The same access as in the portal. You sign in with your Odyssey account, and the AI sees exactly what you can see: your organization's Signals, with your permissions.
• Read only. The server cannot change your Signals, your settings or anything else in Odyssey.

Next steps#

• Install the MCP server in Claude, ChatGPT or another AI tool.
• See every tool the server offers in the MCP tools reference.
• Read what applies when you use the MCP server and the API: API and MCP Access in the Platform and AI Services User Terms.