How Ping Uses WebMCP to Let AI Agents Send Messages

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an emerging standard that allows AI agents to discover and use tools provided by external services. WebMCP extends this concept to the web: any service can expose an MCP-compatible endpoint that AI agents can discover, authenticate with, and invoke. Ping has adopted WebMCP to make its messaging capabilities natively accessible to AI agents.

What Is WebMCP?

WebMCP (Web Model Context Protocol) is a specification that allows web services to describe their capabilities in a machine-readable format. Think of it as an API documentation standard specifically designed for AI agents. Instead of reading human-written docs and writing custom HTTP calls, an AI agent can query a WebMCP endpoint, discover available tools (e.g., "send_sms", "send_email", "send_whatsapp"), understand their parameters, and invoke them directly.

How Ping Implements WebMCP

Ping exposes a WebMCP manifest at a well-known URL. This manifest describes every messaging action available: sending SMS, sending WhatsApp messages (both template and session), sending emails, and checking delivery status. Each tool description includes its parameters, required authentication, and expected response format.

{
  "name": "ping-messaging",
  "description": "Send SMS, WhatsApp, and email messages via Ping",
  "tools": [
    {
      "name": "send_sms",
      "description": "Send an SMS message to a phone number",
      "parameters": {
        "to": { "type": "string", "description": "Recipient phone number in E.164 format" },
        "message": { "type": "string", "description": "Message text (max 1600 chars)" },
        "senderId": { "type": "string", "description": "Registered sender ID (optional)" }
      },
      "authentication": { "type": "api_key", "header": "x-api-key" }
    },
    {
      "name": "send_email",
      "description": "Send a transactional email",
      "parameters": {
        "to": { "type": "string", "description": "Recipient email address" },
        "subject": { "type": "string", "description": "Email subject line" },
        "htmlBody": { "type": "string", "description": "HTML email body" },
        "from": { "type": "string", "description": "Sender email address" }
      },
      "authentication": { "type": "api_key", "header": "x-api-key" }
    }
  ]
}

Why This Matters for AI Agents

Without WebMCP, every AI agent that wants to send messages through Ping needs custom integration code: HTTP client setup, authentication handling, parameter formatting, and error parsing. With WebMCP, the agent framework handles all of this automatically. The agent simply declares an intent ("send an SMS to this number with this message"), and the framework discovers the right tool, constructs the request, and handles the response.

Getting Started

• •Generate a Ping API key with the permissions your agent needs.
• •Point your MCP-compatible agent framework to Ping WebMCP manifest URL.
• •The agent will automatically discover available messaging tools.
• •Configure authentication by providing your API key to the agent framework.
• •Your agent can now send SMS, WhatsApp, and email as part of its workflow.

Security Considerations

When giving AI agents access to messaging APIs, security is paramount. Use API keys with minimal permissions (e.g., SMS-only if the agent does not need email). Set rate limits appropriate for the agent expected volume. Monitor usage patterns for anomalies. And always use secret keys (sk_live_*) rather than public keys when the agent runs server-side.