# When to use API vs MCP

In short

* using the API is for human developers who need to integrate MadKudu with a service
* using the MCP is for LLMs and AI Agents

## What is the difference between API and MCP

MCP is a new protocol to connect to AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor, Dust, or your own GPT agents.

* Your AI agent sends a natural language query like: *“Give me a brief about Walmart"*
* The **MCP server translates** that into API calls to MadKudu
* We send back structured responses the AI can use to take action or reply

In short, the MCP is just a AI-tool-friendly way to interact with the API.

## When to use API and MCP

**API Integration**

Perfect for developers or systems that want to call specific endpoints (like "get account info") using standard REST calls.

* You authenticate with API credentials
* You get a structured JSON response from your request to the API endpoint

**MCP  (Model Context Protocol) Integration**

Perfect for AI Agents and users of AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor, Dust, or your own GPT agents.