This MCP resolves 99% of your search problems. And it can pay you money.

I usually build my own research tools.

If I need to scrape a site, collect a dataset, or track something over time, I just build the thing and move on.

But a member of my program pushed back on that instinct.

Building a custom tool every time is too much overhead when you just need an answer today.

They were right.

So instead of building, I was also exploring the research-tool space.

Five rose to the top. Each has an MCP server, a small connector that plugs a tool straight into Claude so I can call it in plain language. Each does one job well enough that together they cover almost any research task:

Tavily, Exa, Firecrawl, Perplexity, Apify, etc.

If you’re tight on time and want results today instead of a weekend build, that stack is the shortcut.

Today, I want to draw your attention on Apify.

Because it isn’t just a tool. It’s a place where tools get bought, and the buyer doesn’t have to be human.

I tried the tools (they call them actors) there, the results were genuinely good. That trial inspired me to build one too. Put it up where those other tools live.

Then I pointed my own AI at this tool and watched the AI session pay me two-tenths of a cent. No checkout, nobody approving anything.

I was on both sides of that transaction, which allowed me to watch every part of it.

That tiny payment is the clearest look I’ve gotten at how product gets bought when the customer is an agent.