API or MCP? Wrong question. Every Retail Media Network call I'm on eventually ge
By Jeffrey Cohen · July 22, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
API or MCP? Wrong question. Every Retail Media Network call I'm on eventually gets here. Usually framed as an either/or. It isn't.
Here's the real problem: an RMN launches a new ad product, and your team can't touch it for months.
Why? Because if you're only integrated through APIs, someone has to map the endpoint, build it, test it, ship it. You're stuck behind a backlog you don't control.
MCPs kill that lag. A well-built MCP describes its own tools as it goes, so an agent picks up new capability the second it exists. No code, no ticket, no wait.
That doesn't mean APIs are done.
They're still the right tool for historical performance, budget pacing, and cross-channel reporting. That work isn't going anywhere.
At Skai, we've build with both. APIs move the data. MCPs move the agents. Retailers and advertisers are already asking for this kind of infrastructure, whether they're calling it that or not.
If you're wrestling with the same question, check out this blog post that gets deeper into the discussion. https://lnkd.in/eJwyPJe2