Telegram MCP Agent

Put your Apify tools — and any MCP server — inside any Telegram chat. Message the bot in plain language and it runs your tools and answers right there in the chat.

If you've built or rented an Apify Actor — or any other MCP server — the people who'd actually use it don't live in the Apify Console. They live in Telegram. So we wired a small AI bot into the chat: it understands plain language, calls the tools you connect, and replies in the thread. Your users need no Claude or ChatGPT account — they just talk to the bot.

Point it at one MCP server, several, or none — with no tools connected it works as a plain AI chat assistant. When tools are connected, the bot (Claude) figures out which to call, runs it, and writes back the answer.

🧪 Early access. Pricing is kept lean while we learn how people use it. Your feedback shapes the roadmap — tell us what's missing. 🙏

Who it's for

• Teams with Apify tools — let everyone trigger your scraper or automation from a group chat. "@bot find new Prague listings under €1,500"
• MCP builders — ship your MCP server to non-technical users without coding or hosting a bot — just create a free Telegram bot token and connect it.
• Anyone who lives in Telegram — a personal assistant wired to exactly the tools you choose. "what about the second one"
• Privacy-minded teams — it runs on your Apify account with your credentials; your keys and tools never leave it.

How to set it up

🎬 Prefer to watch? 2-minute setup video walkthrough

You'll need a free Apify account and a Telegram bot. Five steps.

1. Create a Telegram bot. Open @BotFather, send /newbot, pick a name and a username ending in bot, and copy the token. For group use, also set Bot Settings → Group Privacy → OFF, then remove and re-add the bot.
2. (Optional) Connect MCP server(s). Authorize them in Apify Console → Settings → API & Integrations → MCP Connectors, then pick them in this Actor's MCP server(s) field. Skip this entirely to use the bot as a plain AI chat assistant.
3. Add an Apify token. Paste an Apify API token in the Apify API token field — best practice is one scoped to running just this Actor. Without it the bot starts but never receives a single message.
4. (Optional) Tune the AI. Pick Haiku (default) or Sonnet, bring your own Anthropic key (BYOK) to skip the AI charge, add a persona, or restrict it to specific chats.
5. Save as a Task, turn on Standby, and Start it — once. The bot registers its own webhook and stays reachable, scaling to zero when idle. Then @mention it in a group, or just DM it.

What you get

• Plain-language answers in the chat — the bot picks and runs the right tools and replies in Telegram, splitting long answers across messages automatically.
• Group-aware — in a group it replies only when @mentioned or replied to (so it never spams), and everyone shares one assistant and one memory.
• Conversation memory — it remembers the last several messages per chat, so follow-ups like "what about the second one" just work.
• Zero accounts for your users — they need nothing but Telegram.

Costs

You pay only for what you use, all on your own Apify account — fully transparent. Three pieces:

Charge	When	Price
Standby compute	Keeps the bot reachable; scales to zero when idle	Apify's usual compute rate
Actor start	Each time the bot wakes from idle — about once per run, not per message	$0.05
AI tokens (built-in key)	Per reply, by model — Haiku $1 / $5 per 1M tokens (in / out), Sonnet $3 / $15	metered per use

Greetings and un-addressed group chatter make no AI call and cost nothing. Bring your own Anthropic key (BYOK) and the AI tokens drop to zero — you pay Anthropic directly; only the start fee and compute remain. The built-in key is available on paid Apify plans; on a free plan, add your own key.

Tip: set a Max cost per run on the Task to cap spend. Lower Conversation memory and Max tool rounds for cheaper, snappier replies.

Notes

• It reads only the messages sent to it and calls only the tools you connect — it logs into nothing on its own and never reveals your keys. Respect the terms of the services your tools reach.
• Runs in Standby mode on your Apify account, and must be saved as a Task (a bare Actor run gets no input and won't receive messages). After changing any Task setting, Stop and Start the Actor so the bot reloads it — a running bot keeps the settings it read at boot.
• Found a bug, want a tweak? Open an issue on the Issues tab — custom tweaks on request. 🙏