“MCP acts like a secure ‘universal adapter’ for connecting AI agents (like Copilot) to external tools, databases, code search engines, or deployment pipelines, so there are no more one-off integrations for every service,” Walter said.

“MCP helps connect to internal company tools securely, meaning that enterprise users can blend public AI advancements with proprietary processes while keeping sensitive data inside company boundaries,” Walter added.

Developers can leverage the MCP integration in Visual Studio, Walter said, by, for example, using the AI assistant in the IDE to query internal bug tracking systems, automate repetitive testing tasks across custom infrastructure, or fetch metrics from production databases, without switching context or custom scripting.