Oracle NetSuite has announced its NetSuite AI Connector Service, a protocol-driven integration service supporting Model Context Protocol (MCP). In case you haven't heard of MCP, it is emerging as a critical standard for structured communication between large language model (LLM)-powered agents and other systems.

While NetSuite calls it an integration service, it is more than that — it is a foundational step in making NetSuite the most intelligent, extensible and AI-ready ERP system. The NetSuite AI Connector Service gives customers a secure, flexible and scalable way to connect their own AI to NetSuite. This is important because it:

• Enables developers to define exactly what their AI system can see and do, with full permissions and role-based access
• Supports multiple assistants and agent platforms in a standards-based way, allowing for a "bring-your-own-AI" model
• Turns complex AI-ERP integrations into modular, reusable SuiteApps, streamlining deployment and life-cycle management
• Aligns AI integrations with NetSuite's existing extensibility model, eliminating the need for risky workarounds or shadow IT
• Allows partners and ISVs to build, package and monetize AI-driven SuiteApps, creating a new category of intelligent ERP extensions

What is more, the NetSuite AI Connector Service will enable NetSuite users to engage with NetSuite data via the user interfaces of popular AI assistants.

Here are more details on why we're so excited about the new NetSuite AI Connector:

• Sets a new industry standard for AI-ERP integration: While most ERP vendors are adding AI as fixed, embedded features, we are taking a platform-first approach by introducing a protocol-based, extensible architecture. This allows structured, governed and developer-defined interactions between ERP and external AI systems. It establishes a new benchmark for what enterprise AI integration should look like — secure, flexible and open — and puts pressure on other vendors to rethink their approaches.
• Opens ERP to the agent ecosystem: By enabling integration with third-party AI agent platforms, NetSuite becomes one of the first major ERP systems to support agent-based automation across systems and reinforces our position at the forefront of the agent-driven enterprise software.
• Empowers the SuiteCloud developer and partner ecosystem: Instead of bypassing technical teams with closed AI features, NetSuite is putting power into the hands of developers through Custom MCP Tools and the SuiteCloud MCP Server. This creates a new category of intelligent ERP extensions and a new frontier of opportunity for the NetSuite ecosystem.
• Provides customers with long-term flexibility and choice: With support for bring-your-own-AI and an extensible, protocol-based design, NetSuite is ensuring its customers gain the freedom to select the AI models and platforms that best align with their evolving needs. This approach enables customers to adapt quickly as technologies advance, ensuring continuous innovation on their terms.

For all these reasons and more, this is a big deal as it reflects a fundamental architectural shift. By exposing ERP data, context and logic to external AI systems through secure, governed interfaces, we are laying the groundwork for true AI-native ERP: systems that not only automate tasks, but also collaborate with AI to reason, take action and drive business outcomes.