Telegram AI Assistant with Rate Limiting and Auto-Reset using Google Sheets

Description

Production-ready solution for controlling AI agent usage and preventing abuse while managing costs.

🎯 Problem Solved

Unlimited AI interactions → Excessive API costs
Service abuse → Uncontrolled resource consumption
No built-in limits → Need for usage quotas

✅ Solution Overview

Two-Part System:

Main Flow: User interaction tracking + AI responses
Reset Flow: Automated counter resets

🔄 How It Works

User Message → Track Counter → Check Limit → Allow/Block → AI Response

🛠️ Core Components

Main Workflow

📱 Telegram Trigger - Receives user messages
📊 Google Sheets Counter - Tracks messages per user
🔀 Switch Logic - Checks limits (default: 3 messages)
🤖 AI Agent - Processes allowed interactions
💬 Smart Responses - Delivers AI answers or limit warnings

Auto-Reset System

⏰ Schedule Trigger - Runs every configurable interval
🔄 Bulk Counter Reset - Resets all users to 0

⚙️ Configuration

Message Limits
Modify Switch Node conditions:

> 3 messages → Block silently
= 3 messages → Send limit warning
< 3 messages → Allow AI response

Reset Schedules

Testing: Every 1 minute
Hourly: 0 * * * *
Daily: 0 0 * * *
Weekly: 0 0 * * 0

📋 Setup Requirements

Credentials Needed:

🤖 Telegram Bot Token
📊 Google Sheets API
🧠 AI Model

*Google Sheets Structure:
*Column A: User ID (Telegram chat.id)
Column B: Message Counter

🎯 Perfect For

💰 Cost Control - Prevent runaway API costs
🛡️ Demo/Trial Bots - Limited interactions
🏢 Customer Service - Usage quotas
🎓 Educational Bots - Daily limits
🚫 Anti-Abuse - Fair usage policies

🚀 Key Benefits
✅ Cost Management - Control AI API expenses
✅ Fair Access - Equal usage for all users
✅ Production Ready - Robust error handling
✅ Flexible Limits - Easy adjustment
✅ Auto-Reset - No manual intervention
✅ User-Friendly - Clear limit messages

📝 Quick Customization

Adjust Limits: Change Switch node values
Reset Timing: Modify Schedule Trigger
Custom Messages: Edit Telegram response nodes
User Tiers: Add columns to Google Sheets