/ glossary

What is MCP? A plain-English glossary for marketers.

The Model Context Protocol is the standard ChatGPT and Claude use to call external tools. You don't need to be a developer to use it — but the words around it are a maze. Here's the short version, no jargon.

/ terms

MCP (Model Context Protocol): An open protocol introduced by Anthropic in late 2024 that lets AI assistants like ChatGPT, Claude and Cursor call tools and read data from external systems through a single standard interface. Think USB for AI: one plug, many devices.
MCP server: A program that exposes tools and resources over the MCP protocol. A Google Ads MCP server, for example, exposes tools like `account_summary`, `wasted_spend_report` and `run_gaql` that an AI assistant can call.
MCP client: The AI side that calls an MCP server's tools. ChatGPT (via Connectors), Claude Desktop, Claude.ai, Cursor and Continue.dev are all MCP clients.
Tool: A single callable function exposed by an MCP server, with a name, description and JSON-schema input. The assistant decides when to call it based on the conversation.
Resource: A piece of context the server can hand the assistant (a file, a row, a report). Less common than tools in marketing connectors.
Transport: How the client talks to the server. The two relevant ones today are `stdio` (local processes) and `streamable HTTP` (hosted URLs). connector.wtf uses streamable HTTP so it works in ChatGPT and Claude without installing anything.
Remote MCP server: An MCP server hosted at a URL, authenticated with OAuth or a bearer token, that any MCP client can add by pasting the URL. Every connector on connector.wtf is a remote MCP server.
Local MCP server: An MCP server you install and run on your machine, usually via `npx` or `uvx`. Common in Cursor/Claude Desktop dev workflows; less common for marketing data.
OAuth (in MCP): The handshake that lets an MCP server prove who you are at the upstream provider (Google, Meta, LinkedIn, HubSpot) without seeing your password. The AI assistant never touches your credentials either.
Read-only scope: An OAuth permission that allows the connector to read data but not change anything. Every connector.wtf MCP is read-only — no bid changes, no campaign edits, no deal updates.
ChatGPT Connectors: OpenAI's name for the in-app MCP client. You add a remote MCP server URL once in ChatGPT settings and it shows up alongside web search and code interpreter.
Claude custom connector: Anthropic's name for the same thing in Claude Desktop and Claude.ai. Same MCP URL works in both ChatGPT and Claude.

/ marketing connectors

MCP servers built for marketing

The connectors below are remote MCP servers you can add to ChatGPT or Claude with one URL. All read-only, all free during beta.

See the full directory on MCP connectors for marketing.

/ faq

Do I need to install anything to use MCP?+

No — for remote MCP servers (the kind connector.wtf ships) you paste a URL into ChatGPT or Claude and you're done. Local MCP servers are a separate, more developer-oriented workflow.

Is MCP the same in ChatGPT and Claude?+

Yes. The same MCP URL works in ChatGPT (Connectors), Claude.ai, Claude Desktop and Cursor. That's the whole point of the protocol.

Can an MCP server change my data?+

It can if it asks for a write scope — connector.wtf's connectors specifically don't. The OAuth scopes are read-only and the tools simply don't expose mutations.

Where do I see what tools an MCP server exposes?+

Most MCP clients show the list of available tools when you add the server. Each tool has a name, a short description and an input schema.

/ ready