Build a Research Agent Using MCP

MCP can unify several research sources behind reusable servers while the agent decides which source to query and synthesizes the result.

Preserve provenance

Tool results should include source IDs, URLs, document names, or timestamps so final answers can cite where claims came from.

Separate retrieval from synthesis

MCP servers should retrieve accurate source material; the agent runtime should synthesize. Avoid server tools that return unsupported “final conclusions” with no provenance.

Control breadth

Set limits on result counts and query fan-out. Research agents can otherwise create expensive recursive search behavior.