Femke Plantinga (@femke_plantinga)
2025-04-17 | โค๏ธ 1928 | ๐ 419
Confused about the difference between MCP and Function Calling lately?
Are they competing standards at all? (Letโs break it down!)
The short answer: ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฒโ๐ซ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ฒ, not competing.
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐๐ป๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ฒ๐: ๐ญ. Enables LLMs to identify when to use external tools ๐ฎ. Structures parameters for tool execution ๐ฏ. Works within a single application context ๐ฐ. Leaves the process of running the tool and figuring out how to do so, to you
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ ๐๐ฃ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐: ๐ญ. Standardizes how tools are exposed and discovered ๐ฎ. Creates a consistent protocol for tool hosting ๐ฏ. Enables ecosystem-wide tool sharing ๐ฐ. Separates tool implementation from consumption
โ๏ธ ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ: Function calling is about WHAT and WHEN to use a tool. MCP is about HOW tools are served and discovered in a standardized way.
๐ง๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ธ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐: โก๏ธ Function calling: โI need to search the web nowโ โก๏ธ MCP: โHereโs how any tool can be consistently available to any AI systemโ
๐ช๐ต๐ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐: MCP could become the โREST of AI toolsโ - a ubiquitous standard that prevents ecosystem fragmentation. It allows developers to focus on building great tools rather than reinventing hosting patterns.
๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐ด๐ต๐๐: โ๏ธ At the end of the day we are still serving tools for LLMs VIA MCP โ๏ธ As AI systems grow more complex, we need standardized protocols like MCP for interoperability โ๏ธ The future is not about choosing between them, but using them together effectively โ๏ธ Companies that embrace both will build more robust AI systems faster
Ready to try MCP yourself? We just launched our open-source MCP server for Weaviate! Makes adding vector search to any AI system super simple. Check it out here: https://github.com/weaviate/mcp-server-weaviate
Now Iโm curious: Are you implementing MCP in your projects, or sticking with basic function calling?
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