Model Context Protocol (MCP), clearly explained and why it matters

If you’ve wondered why everyone’s suddenly talking about MCP (Model Context Protocol), this episode is your primer. Bryan Helmig, co-founder and CTO of Zapier, breaks down MCP and demoes how you can use it to automate your email and slack: Why Should People Watch This Podcast – 00:00:00 Ads – 00:01:40 What is MCP (Model Context Protocol) – 00:03:08 Does MCP Only Work with Anthropic? – 00:04:38 Why Zapier’s Take on MCP Matters – 00:05:48 Live Demo 1: AI Agent Sends Slack Message via MCP – 00:07:57 The Real Limitations of MCP and LLMs – 00:11:32 Live Demo 2: ChatGPT Drafts Gmail Replies Automatically – 00:16:01 Live Demo 3: Claude-Powered Slack Bot That Responds with Jokes – 00:23:23 Ad – 00:30:11 Why AI Needs Structure (Not Freeform Outputs) – 00:30:58 How Zapier Builds AI Features for the Real World – 00:31:50 How Zapier Structures Teams Around AI Work – 00:36:33 Zapier’s Culture of Fast AI Prototyping – 00:39:08 💼 Brought to you by: Amplitude: Try their 2-minute assessment of your company’s digital maturity - https://bit.ly/4hl25RG Maven: Get $100 off their courses with code AAKASHxMAVEN - http://maven.com/x/aakash Product Faculty: Get $500 off their AI PM certification with code AAKASH25 - https://maven.com/product-faculty/ai-product-management-certification 👀 Where to find Bryan: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryanhelmig Zapier: https://zapier.com Zapier AI agents: https://zapier.com/agents Zapier MCP: https://zapier.com/mcp 👨‍💻 Where to find Aakash: Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/aakashg0 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aagupta/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aakashg0/ 🔔 Subscribe and like the video to support our content! #productmanagement #ai