Tool routers and data networks: what agents need
Two ways to connect AI agents to outside data: a router that offers many paid tools behind one key, and a data network that returns the record behind each value.
Overview
A tool router gives an agent one key and a single bill for many third-party tools, and leaves the choice of tool, and the reading of its output, to the agent. A data network starts from the data you need: it chooses sources by a policy, reconciles what they say, and returns each value with its record and anything it could not establish. They solve different problems, and many agents will use both.
Key points
- Tool routers put many APIs behind one connection, one key and per-call billing. The agent picks the tool and interprets what comes back.
- A data network takes a request for data, chooses sources by policy, reconciles them, and returns values with their records and their unknowns.
- Routers are about access and payment; data networks are about evidence. Neither replaces web search, and MCP can carry either.
- IKAG is building a data network for AI agents, opening to early users and data partners first.
AI agents need two things from the outside world: the ability to act, and facts to act on. Over the past year a crowd of services has grown up to connect agents to third-party APIs, and they tend to describe themselves in the same words. Underneath, there are two different ideas. One is a tool router. The other is a data network. Knowing which one you need saves a lot of glue code and a lot of wrong answers.
Two ways to give an agent outside data
Both put one connection between an agent and many providers. The difference is what they promise about the result.
- A tool router promises access. It lists many tools, handles keys and billing, and passes each call through. What comes back is whatever the tool returns.
- A data network promises evidence. It accepts a request for specific data, decides which sources to ask, and returns each value tied to the record that states it, with the gaps named.
What a tool router does
A router is a catalogue with a single front door. An agent browses or searches the catalogue, picks a tool, and calls it through the router, usually paying per call from a single prepaid balance instead of signing up with each provider.
That is genuinely useful. One key replaces dozens, billing is in one place, and an agent can try a new tool without new paperwork. The trade-off is that the router leaves the hard questions to the agent: which tool is the right source for this question, whether its output is current, and whether two tools that disagree are describing the same thing.
What a data network does
A data network starts from the data, not the tool. The request says what is needed, such as a company’s legal name, its identifiers and where it is incorporated, and optionally which sources are acceptable, how fresh the data must be and what it may cost. The network then:
- Chooses sources by policy, for example primary registries first and community data only as support.
- Calls them within their terms, pacing requests and respecting each source’s limits.
- Reconciles the answers, keeping conflicts as conflicts rather than picking a winner silently.
- Returns each value with its record, and lists what it could not establish, with the reason.
Side by side
| Question | Tool router | Data network |
|---|---|---|
| What do you ask for? | A tool | The data you need |
| Who chooses the source? | The agent | The network, by a visible policy |
| What comes back? | The tool’s raw output | Values, each with the record behind it |
| What happens to gaps? | Usually silent | Reported as unknown, with a reason |
| What happens when sources differ? | The agent has to notice | Kept as a conflict, with both records |
| Best for | Actions and broad tool access | Facts an answer has to rest on |
Which one do you need?
If your agent mostly acts, sending messages, generating media or calling a long tail of utilities, a router is the convenient choice. If your agent mostly answers, and the answers have to be checkable, you need something that returns records and unknowns, or you will end up building that layer yourself. Many agents will use both: a router for doing, a data network for knowing.
Where MCP fits
The Model Context Protocol is how many agents now connect to either kind of service. Anthropic introduced it on 25 November 2024 as an open standard for connecting AI tools to data sources. On 9 December 2025 Anthropic donated it to the Agentic AI Foundation, a directed fund under the Linux Foundation co-founded by Anthropic, Block and OpenAI, and reported more than 10,000 active public MCP servers and more than 97 million monthly SDK downloads across Python and TypeScript.
MCP standardises the connection. It does not decide which source is right for a question, and it does not make a value checkable. Those are properties of the service behind the connection, which is why the router or network question matters even when everything speaks MCP.
Where IKAG fits
IKAG is building a data network for AI agents: one connection through which the AI people already use can reach specialist data sources, with each value tied to the record it came from where the source supports it. It is opening to early users and data partners first. Its first capability covers company legal identity from official registries, and you can inspect real output from it.
Questions
Is a tool router the same as an MCP server?
No. MCP is a protocol for connecting AI applications to tools and data. A router can offer its catalogue through an MCP server, and so can a data network or a single API. The protocol is the plug, not what sits behind it.
Does a data network replace web search?
No. Web search finds pages about a question. A data network goes to the sources that hold the record itself, such as official registries, and is the better fit when you need a specific, checkable value.
Which should I use for company research?
If you need many different tools and are happy to interpret their output yourself, a router is convenient. If you need values you can check, such as a company’s legal name and where it is incorporated, look for something that returns the record behind each value and reports what it could not find.
Can one agent use both?
Yes. An agent might use a router for actions such as sending a message or generating an image, and a data network when an answer has to rest on records.
Sources
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