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

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