MCP vs Meta-Tools vs Skills: Three Ways to Give Your Agent Capabilities (And When to Use Each)
They solve different problems. Most teams pick the wrong one. Here’s how to think about it. The Confusion Is Everywhere Each time someone ask me “Should I use MCP servers or build my own tools?” : it depends on what problem you’re solving. The AI agent ecosystem has converged on three patterns for giving agents capabilities: MCP servers, tools (and what I call Meta-Tools), and skill servers. They solve fundamentally different problems, and mixing them up often leads to architectures that […]