What Is MCP (Model Context Protocol) — And Why It’s a Game-Changer for Retail AI

Retailers: What if your systems could speak agent?

In this episode of AI Academy for Commerce, Vivek Farias, MIT professor and Co-Founder & CTO of Cimulate, explains what Model Context Protocol (MCP) is—and why it’s foundational for agentic commerce.

MCP is often called “the USB-C of the agent world”—but what does that actually mean? In plain English, it allows AI agents powered by large language models (LLMs) to plug into different tools, APIs, and systems—without custom code. That’s the key to unlocking real-time, personalized shopping experiences driven by AI agents, both online and in-store.

If you’re a CTO, Chief Digital Officer, or innovation lead at a commerce brand, understanding MCP is a must.

🧠 In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What MCP (Model Context Protocol) actually is
• How agentic systems use it to talk to enterprise tools
• Why it matters for LLM-based commerce and search
• Real-world examples of agent-to-retailer communication (like Perplexity → West Marine)
• Why MCP is essential for the future of agent-native infrastructure in retail