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MCP and skills: give your AI new abilities

Connect an AI assistant to your apps with MCP, and teach it a repeatable task with a skill. No programming needed.

9 minUpdated: November 14, 2026

A chat assistant on its own only knows what you type into it. Two add-ons change that: MCP connects it to your apps and files, and skills teach it how to do a particular job well.

MCP: a plug for AI

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is an open standard for connecting AI assistants to other programs. Think of a USB-C port: any device with the plug fits any computer with the socket. In the same way, one MCP server for Notion works in Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor and other apps.

An MCP server is a small add-on that gives the assistant a few new actions. For example:

  • Notion or Google Drive: “Find last month’s sales report and summarise it.”
  • GitHub: “Show me which issues were opened this week.”
  • A browser (Playwright MCP): “Open our site and check that the contact form works.”
  • draw.io: “Draw a diagram of how an order moves from the shop to delivery.”

The assistant asks for your permission before it uses a new action, so you stay in control.

Skills: a recipe card for AI

A skill is a folder with instructions (a file called SKILL.md) and sometimes small helper files. It teaches the assistant a task it should do the same way every time: how to make a PowerPoint in your company style, how to check a contract, how to write a product description.

The assistant reads only the skill’s short description at first. It opens the full instructions when your request needs them, so you can install many skills without slowing it down.

Skills follow an open format, so the same folder works in Claude, Codex, Gemini CLI, Cursor and other agents.

Try it: three steps

1. Turn on a ready-made connector. In the Claude app (web or desktop), open the settings and find Connectors. Connect one service you use every day, such as Google Drive or Notion. Then ask:

Find my most recent document about [topic] and give me the three main points.

2. Add a skill. In the same settings, open Skills and switch on one of Anthropic’s built-in skills, for example the one for PowerPoint. Then ask:

Make a 5-slide presentation about our new menu. Use simple language and one picture idea per slide.

3. Find more. Browse the catalogue: the MCP servers and Agent skills tabs list trusted options, plus big directories like the Official MCP Registry and Smithery.

Stay safe

  • Install only from sources you trust: the company that makes the app (GitHub, Notion, Google) or well-known projects. An MCP server or skill can read and change whatever you connect it to.
  • Give the smallest access needed. If a server only needs to read, don’t give it permission to delete.
  • Read what it is about to do. Before you approve an action, check what the assistant wants to send or change.
  • Keep secrets out. Never paste passwords or bank details into a skill file.

Exercise

Pick one task you repeat every week, such as a report, a post or a reply to customers. Write down the steps you follow in plain words. That list is already the start of a skill: ask Claude to “turn these steps into a SKILL.md file” and try it on next week’s task.

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