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MCP server (Model Context Protocol)

An MCP server is a program that lets an AI assistant, such as Claude or ChatGPT, read data from another system or act in it through the Model Context Protocol.

How it works

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open-source standard for connecting AI applications to outside systems, released by Anthropic in November 2024. Each server declares what it offers: tools the assistant can call, data it can read and ready-made prompts. The assistant decides when to call a tool, and the result goes back into the conversation. A server runs on your own computer or as a remote service.

What an assistant can do in an ad account depends on the tools the server offers and the access level of the Google user it signs in as. Google publishes its own Google Ads MCP server. Its current release is read-only, with three tools: list the accounts the user can reach, describe a resource and its fields, and run a query. It cannot change bids, pause campaigns or create assets.

Google Ads records changes made through the API with the user who made them and the client type, such as API or web interface. You can check them in the account’s change history.

Connecting the server step by step: Google Ads MCP server. Guardrails for assistants that make changes: AI agents in your Google Ads account.

Not to be confused with

  • Google Ads API — Google’s programming interface to ad accounts. A Google Ads MCP server is one more program that calls it, on the assistant’s behalf.

Right and wrong readings

  • Wrong: “The server is read-only, so the credentials behind it are harmless.” Right: the Google Ads API uses the same sign-in permission (OAuth scope) for reading and writing; read-only comes from the tools this server offers. In another program, the same credentials can change whatever the user’s role allows.
  • Wrong: “We signed in through the agency’s manager account, so the assistant sees only our store.” Right: a role granted at manager level is inherited by every account below it.

Sources