AI Search Tool - MCP Server

An Apify MCP Server that provides real-time web search capabilities for AI agents via the Model Context Protocol (MCP).

Standby Mode

This Actor uses Standby mode, a new, lightweight method for using Actors. Instead of starting an Actor for each input and waiting for results, the Actor remains ready in the background to handle arbitrary HTTP requests, just like any web or API server. Learn more.

Actor URL

Send an HTTP request to this URL, and wait for the response:

https://abotapi--ai-search-mcp-server.apify.actor?token=YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN

The MCP endpoint is available at /mcp:

https://abotapi--ai-search-mcp-server.apify.actor/mcp?token=YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN

About this MCP Server

To understand how to connect to and utilize this MCP server, please refer to the official Model Context Protocol documentation at mcp.apify.com.

How It Works

This MCP server does not require any input query at startup. Instead:

1. The server starts and exposes 5 search tools via MCP protocol
2. MCP clients (Claude, GPT, etc.) connect to the server
3. When the AI needs to search, it calls a tool with the query parameter

Example tool call from an MCP client:

{
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "name": "search_web",
    "arguments": {
      "query": "latest AI news",
      "max_results": 5
    }
  }
}

Features

• 5 Search Tools: Web, Images, Videos, News, and Books search
• Multi-Backend: Uses DuckDuckGo, Bing, Brave, Google, Yahoo with automatic fallback
• Real-Time Data: Breaks through LLM knowledge cutoffs with current web data
• MCP Compatible: Works with Claude, GPT, and other MCP-enabled clients
• Configurable: Region, safe search, time filters, and result limits

Available Tools

search_web

Search the web for current information. Returns titles, URLs, snippets, and domains.

Parameters:

• query (required): Search query string
• max_results: Maximum results (1-100, default: 10)
• region: Region code (default: "us-en")
• safe_search: Filter level ("off", "moderate", "strict")
• time_range: Time filter ("d", "w", "m", "y")

search_images

Search for images. Returns image URLs, thumbnails, dimensions, and sources.

Parameters: Same as search_web

search_videos

Search for videos. Returns video URLs, thumbnails, duration, and publisher info.

Parameters: Same as search_web

search_news

Search for recent news articles. Returns headlines, URLs, dates, and sources.

Parameters: Same as search_web

search_books

Search for books. Returns titles, authors, publishers, and links.

Parameters:

• query (required): Search query string
• max_results: Maximum results (1-100, default: 10)

Configuration

The server accepts the following configuration options:

Option	Type	Default	Description
defaultRegion	string	"us-en"	Default region for searches
defaultMaxResults	integer	10	Default max results per search
defaultSafeSearch	string	"moderate"	Default safe search level
proxy	object	null	Proxy configuration

Region Codes

Common region codes:

• us-en - United States (English)
• uk-en - United Kingdom (English)
• de-de - Germany (German)
• fr-fr - France (French)
• jp-jp - Japan (Japanese)
• es-es - Spain (Spanish)
• it-it - Italy (Italian)

Time Range Filters

• d - Past day
• w - Past week
• m - Past month
• y - Past year