MCP versus API. Which one is right for me?

There are two ways to connect something to Lovelio. The 'permanent' connection, and the 'case by case' basis.

API is a full-time connection

Think of it as a permanent connection. You wire it up once and it runs on its own, all day, every day, with no one watching. Your careers page sends every application into Lovelio. Your finance tool pulls placement fees overnight. It's always on, always connected, always there.

Example; You have a call recording and transcript service that you use on most of your recruitment calls. You want that always connected to Lovelio, and pre-taught what it needs to do. The connection is made once, then it doesn't need to be done again - from that point onwards the two systems are connected.

MCP is for agents (AI, not recruiters) that pop in and out

Think of an AI agent as being like a honey bee. If you use AI agents, like Claude's Co-work or OpenAI's Codex agents - they will sometimes need permission to pop in and out of your Lovelio account in order to do things you ask. You don't always know exactly what they will need, but they need to be able to buzz in and get something, then buzz back out again. It doesn't want or need a full-time connection, it just needs to come and go as required.

Example: you might have an agent whose job is to raise invoices. It pops into Lovelio, grabs a placement record it needs, pops back out, and builds the invoice. That's it. It doesn't need a live connection running to Lovelio all day. It only needs the door open when it comes knocking. That's what MCP is for.

The simple test is this. Does it need to be connected all the time, or does it just need to visit? If it's all or most of time, it's probably an API use case - if it is just visiting, it is probably MCP.

Which one is for you?

MCP is for agents. If you or your team run AI agents that need to reach into Lovelio now and then, to grab a record, build an invoice, or pull a shortlist, MCP lets them come and go without a permanent connection.

API is for the things that need to stay wired up. Your own website feeding applications straight in to Lovelio, a placements dashboard you build in Lovable and have running on a big tv in the office, a reporting dashboard staying current on its own, a mobile interview form you build, etc. Anything that has to be connected all the time uses the API.

Third party systems you use a lot, like a call recording system, is an example of an API job. A call recorder has to catch every call, every day, and file it against the right candidate without fail. It needs a permanent, always-on connection, not an agent that drops by now and then. API every time.

In Summary

API is the full-time connection two systems rely on. MCP is the door that lets agents pop in, do the job, and pop out. Lovelio is a fully open platform and has both API and MCP server built in, so please start experimenting today and share the awesome things you build with us.