Every agent-to-tool request.
Inspected before it touches your data.
Real-time data security for the Model Context Protocol
Metomic's MCP Gateway sits between your AI agents and every tool, database, or model they call over the Model Context Protocol. It reads the content of each request in real time, discovers the Shadow AI your other tools can't see, and redacts sensitive data before it reaches an external model or an unapproved tool. Metomic's MCP Gateway inspects every agent-to-tool request in real time and redacts sensitive data before it reaches an external model.
Deploys in minutes · No agents on endpoints · SOC 2 Type II
Metomic reads what is inside each MCP request, not just where it came from, and removes what shouldn't leave before the call completes.
The control point between your agents and everything they can reach
An MCP Gateway is the control point that sits between your AI agents and every tool, database, or model they call over the Model Context Protocol. It reads the content of each request as it happens, not just the metadata, and it can allow the request, redact what's sensitive, hold it for a person to review, or block it, all before anything reaches an external model or an unapproved tool.
MCP is the standard that lets an agent reach outside its own conversation and call something real: a database, a file store, a ticketing system, an internal API. That speed is also the problem. The same standard that makes it easy for an approved AI initiative to connect a useful tool makes it just as easy for anyone to connect an agent to something sensitive, often without telling security first.
None of your existing controls were built to watch a tool call moving at machine speed. That's the gap Metomic's MCP Gateway closes.An API Gateway misses it
It asks whether the caller can reach an endpoint, not what the request actually carries. Routing and authentication aren't a content check.
DLP misses it
Built for files and email. It never sees the payload leaving inside an agent's tool call.
A CASB misses it
It governs sanctioned SaaS logins, not the MCP servers your engineers wired up last sprint.
A Secure Web Gateway misses it
It filters browser traffic to the wider internet. It generally isn't in the path of an agent's own tool call at all.
See the full breakdown in MCP Gateway vs. API Gateway and AI Gateway vs. Secure Web Gateway.
None of these tools inspect the content of an agent's request. An MCP Gateway is built to.
That's the whole job: read what a request actually carries, then decide what happens to it, before it reaches an external model.
A content-aware decision, not an identity-and-routing one
An API Gateway and an MCP Gateway sit in a similar position in the architecture. They answer different questions.
| API Gateway | DLP / CASB | Metomic MCP Gateway | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary question | Is this caller allowed to reach this endpoint? | Did a file or a sanctioned app move data? | Given what this request contains, should it be allowed through? |
| What it inspects | Caller identity, route, rate limits | Managed apps, sanctioned networks, file movement | The content of the request itself |
| Typical traffic | Service-to-service API calls | File transfers, email, SaaS logins | Agents calling tools, data, and models over MCP |
| Decision it makes | Authenticate, route, throttle, reject | Alert, quarantine, block a transfer | Allow, redact, hold for approval, or block |
| Sees inside a live MCP tool call | Not built to | Not built to | Yes, that is the job |
Most businesses running AI agents over MCP need more than one of these. Read the full comparisons: MCP Gateway vs. API Gateway, What Is an MCP Gateway?
Five capabilities. One request path.
Miss any one of these and a gateway either becomes a dashboard nobody acts on, or a blunt instrument that blocks too much and pushes AI use further into the shadows.
See every agent and MCP server touching your data
Metomic maps the agents, MCP servers, copilots, and browser AI in use across your business, approved or not. No agents on endpoints and no traffic-mirroring projects: visibility arrives on day one, before you write a single policy.
- Inventory of every agent and MCP server, with owners
- Browser AI usage surfaced alongside agent traffic
- Risk context on every connection: scopes, data reach, last activity
Keep a living registry, scoped to least privilege
A living registry of the agents, MCP servers, and AI tools your teams are cleared to use, each with least-privilege scopes attached rather than broad, standing access. When someone needs a new tool, approval takes minutes instead of weeks, so nobody has a reason to go around you.
- Approved-AI policy enforced at the gateway
- Least-privilege scopes per agent, tool, and team
- New requests held for review, not lost in a queue
Decide every MCP request, in the moment
Every request passes through the gateway before it reaches a tool or a model. Policy runs inline, in the request path, not as an after-the-fact alert: allow it, redact it, hold it for human approval, or block it, in milliseconds. This is "govern, not block" in practice: most requests are low risk and should go through untouched.
- Inline enforcement on every Model Context Protocol request
- Approved-AI and least-privilege rules per team
- Human approval for the calls that warrant a pause
Strip out the sensitive part, not the whole request
Metomic reads what is inside each MCP request, not just where it came from. Content-aware detection weighs the payload in context and removes what shouldn't leave: customer records, credentials, financials, health data, before it reaches any external model. This is the core of Metomic's data security wedge: most requests carry a small amount of sensitive content inside a much larger, legitimate task, so redacting is usually a better outcome than blocking the whole thing.
- Content-aware detection inside the request payload, not a keyword list
- In-context decisions on full tool call arguments and results
- Clean data out, every redaction logged for the record
Hand the auditor the record, not a reconstruction
Every agent action is recorded: who called what, which data it touched, and what the gateway decided. The full trail streams to your SIEM, so when the auditor or the regulator asks what your AI touched, the answer is already written.
- Full audit trail of every agent action
- Streams to your SIEM, no new console to live in
- Only findings and metadata retained, never source content
Live before your next security review
Metomic is hosted and preconfigured for the MCP clients you already run. Nothing to stand up, no agents on endpoints, and value before you write a single policy.
Route your MCP clients through the gateway
Point Claude, Cursor, or any agent that speaks the Model Context Protocol at Metomic's gateway. Hosted and preconfigured, done in minutes.
Watch real MCP traffic from day one
Shadow AI findings and live agent activity arrive before you configure anything. Know what is normal before you decide what is allowed.
Turn on policy at your pace
Enable approved-AI rules, least privilege, and redaction when you are ready. Tighten as you learn, without breaking anyone's workflow.
Source content is inspected in flight. Only findings and metadata are retained, for your audit trail. Read the MCP Security guide for CISOs →
DSPM and SSE vendors are adding MCP features. Metomic built the gateway first.
A growing number of data security and network security vendors are bolting agent- and MCP-facing features onto platforms that were built for something else. Worth understanding before you evaluate one as a gateway.
vs. Cyera
Cyera's core product is DSPM for cloud, SaaS, and database stores, recently extended into AI and agent-facing features. Metomic was built as an MCP Gateway from day one. Full comparison →
vs. Netskope
Netskope productized MCP security as Agentic Broker, a module inside its larger Security Service Edge platform. Metomic is a dedicated MCP Gateway, not a module. Full comparison →
vs. Aikido Security
Aikido secures code and cloud infrastructure for developers: SAST, secrets detection, cloud posture. Metomic governs what AI agents can see and send once they're live. Most teams evaluating one eventually need the other. Full comparison →
Questions security teams ask about MCP Gateways
What is an MCP Gateway?
An MCP Gateway is a control point that sits between AI agents and the tools, data, and models they call over the Model Context Protocol. It inspects every request in real time, enforces least-privilege access, and can allow, redact, hold for human approval, or block a request before sensitive data leaves the business.
What does MCP stand for?
MCP stands for Model Context Protocol, the open standard that lets AI agents like Claude, Cursor, and ChatGPT call external tools, databases, and APIs in a consistent way, instead of through one-off custom integrations.
How is an MCP Gateway different from an API Gateway?
An API Gateway routes and authenticates service-to-service traffic between known systems, generally without looking at what a request contains. An MCP Gateway reads the content of an agent's request, understands what data it carries, and makes a real-time governance decision on it, which is a different job even when the two sit in a similar architectural position.
Do I need an MCP Gateway if I already have DLP or a CASB?
Most likely yes, if AI agents in your business call tools and data over MCP. Traditional DLP and CASB tools were built to watch managed apps, sanctioned networks, and file movement. They were not built to see inside an agent's tool call, so agent-to-tool traffic is a blind spot for most existing stacks until an MCP Gateway is added in front of it.
Can an MCP Gateway redact data instead of blocking the whole request?
Yes. Metomic's MCP Gateway reads what is inside each request, not just where it came from, and removes the sensitive part, a card number, a customer record, a credential, before the rest of the request reaches an external model or tool. Most requests carry a small amount of sensitive content inside a much larger, legitimate task, so redacting the sensitive part is usually a better outcome than blocking the whole thing.
Does an MCP Gateway stop my teams from using AI tools?
No. Metomic is built to govern Shadow AI, not block it. Teams keep the tools they want while security decides what those tools can access. Requests are allowed, redacted, held for approval, or blocked based on what they actually contain, so a blanket ban is never the only option.
How quickly can an MCP Gateway be deployed?
A hosted, preconfigured MCP Gateway like Metomic can start showing live agent traffic and Shadow AI findings on day one, before any policy is written, since it sits in the request path rather than requiring agents on every endpoint.
What data does Metomic's MCP Gateway retain?
Source content is inspected in flight. Only findings and metadata are retained for your audit trail, and every agent action can stream to your SIEM. Metomic is SOC 2 Type II certified (AICPA).
See what's already calling your tools over MCP
Book a demo and watch Metomic's MCP Gateway inspect your own agent traffic, live, before you write a single policy.