--- title: "Whether to publish an API or an MCP server | Am I Ready for Agents?" description: "Whether to publish an API or an MCP server: the decision, three options with what each one costs, dated facts and the sentence to send your web team." canonical: https://amireadyforagents.com/decisions/publish-api-or-mcp site: "Am I Ready for Agents?" last_updated: 2026-11-04 section: "Decisions" --- # Whether to publish an API or an MCP server | Am I Ready for Agents? > Whether to publish an API or an MCP server: the decision, three options with what each one costs, dated facts and the sentence to send your web team. Source: https://amireadyforagents.com/decisions/publish-api-or-mcp Site: Am I Ready for Agents? Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 # Whether to publish an API or an MCP server ## In short Decide which tasks you want agents to finish directly, such as checking stock, booking, quoting or signing up, and whether to offer them through a documented interface instead of web forms. Agents work web forms the way people do. An interface is a product project with a running cost, so name the task before the technology. ## The decision Decide which tasks you want agents to finish directly (check stock, book, quote, sign up) and whether to offer them through a documented interface instead of your web forms. Who decides: Product or digital leadership names the tasks; engineering picks the interface. ## The options 1. **Offer an MCP server or API for named tasks**Agents can act without clicking through pages; AgentReady makes an MCP server or a CLI a MUST when agents should complete a task. [AgentReady.org guide](https://agentready.org/?utm_source=amireadyforagents.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=decision), read 4 Nov 2026. 2. **Join a network that already offers one**A clinic on Zocdoc, a hotel on a booking platform, a store on Shopify gets an agent interface through the network. [Zocdoc for Agents (markdown)](https://www.zocdoc.com/business/welcome-agents.md), read 4 Nov 2026. 3. **Keep web forms only**Agents work your forms like a person; Ora's report of October 2026 notes that Muse uses a service's API when one exists and opens a browser only when none does. [Ora research: AX is the new AEO (8 Oct 2026)](https://ora.ai/blog/ax-is-the-new-aeo?utm_source=amireadyforagents.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=decision), read 4 Nov 2026. ## What we found - 4 Nov 2026 In the network's own crawl, run of 4 Nov 2026 (13,071 of 13,071 domains from Tranco list 746WX plus Ora leaderboard domains), 2.1 percent of 10,385 sites published an MCP manifest, OpenAPI file, agent card or agents.json at the standard paths. [Scorecard methodology: the crawl of 4 Nov 2026](https://amireadyforagents.com/scorecards/methodology), read 4 Nov 2026 - 28 Oct 2026 Zocdoc gives registered agents an MCP server or REST API to search providers, check insurance and book. [Zocdoc for Agents (markdown)](https://www.zocdoc.com/business/welcome-agents.md), read 4 Nov 2026 - 8 Oct 2026 Ora's report of 8 Oct 2026, citing The New Stack, says Shopify merchants stayed reachable through a declared checkout path when Amazon blocked Muse. Vendor claim. [Ora research: AX is the new AEO (8 Oct 2026)](https://ora.ai/blog/ax-is-the-new-aeo?utm_source=amireadyforagents.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=decision), read 4 Nov 2026 ## How to decide - Name one task and one measure of success before you choose an interface. - Join a network that already has one where you can. A clinic on a booking network or a store on a platform gets an agent interface without building it. - Treat any interface you publish as something to maintain, with an owner and a review each quarter. ## Where this shows up - [Self-check question 9](https://amireadyforagents.com/self-check#q9)Can the main task on your site (buy, book, subscribe or request a quote) be completed with standard web forms and buttons, without a CAPTCHA at every step? - [Self-check question 11](https://amireadyforagents.com/self-check#q11)Do you offer a documented API, an MCP server or WebMCP tools for your main tasks? - [The software guide](https://amireadyforagents.com/for/saas)Agents that read docs and pricing, sign up for trials and open paid accounts. - [The healthcare guide](https://amireadyforagents.com/for/healthcare)Appointment booking through Zocdoc, Gemini and Amazon Health AI, with patient consent rules. - [The professional services guide](https://amireadyforagents.com/for/services)Assistants that call firms, fill quote forms and collect availability. ## Sources 1. [AgentReady.org guide](https://agentready.org/?utm_source=amireadyforagents.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=decision) (agentready.org), read 4 Nov 2026. 2. [Zocdoc for Agents (markdown)](https://www.zocdoc.com/business/welcome-agents.md) (zocdoc.com/business/welcome-agents.md), read 4 Nov 2026. 3. [Ora research: AX is the new AEO (8 Oct 2026)](https://ora.ai/blog/ax-is-the-new-aeo?utm_source=amireadyforagents.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=decision) (ora.ai/blog/ax-is-the-new-aeo), read 4 Nov 2026. 4. [Scorecard methodology: the crawl of 4 Nov 2026](https://amireadyforagents.com/scorecards/methodology) (amireadyforagents.com/scorecards/methodology), read 4 Nov 2026. 5. [Sector scorecards dataset, edition 4 Nov 2026](https://amireadyforagents.com/scorecards) (amireadyforagents.com/scorecards), read 4 Nov 2026. Last reviewed 4 November 2026 Reviewed 4 November 2026. [5 sources](#sources), each with the day it was read. ## Send this to your web team **Take this to your web team**Please tell us which of our main tasks can be done through a documented API today, and what it would take to offer an MCP server for the one task we choose. The full list of sentences is on [ask your web team](https://amireadyforagents.com/ask-your-web-team).