Document Apify AI (early July 2026 launch) and how Actors rank in it

[marcel-rbro]

What needs to change

Apify AI — the new conversational AI interface within Apify Console — is launching at the beginning of July 2026. Two docs updates are proposed:

1. MCP server docs — add a mention of Apify AI to https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp and explain the relationship: MCP and Apify AI share the same search/run backend; MCP is the programmatic interface for external agents, Apify AI is the Console UI for non-developer users.
2. How Actors surface in Apify AI — creators will ask "How do I make my Actor appear in Apify AI?". Because the mechanic is the same as Store search and the MCP server (Actor quality score / ActorIQ), expand https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/publishing/quality-score with this guidance, and link to it from https://docs.apify.com/academy/actor-marketing-playbook/store-basics/ rather than duplicating.

Feature scope (from the Notion brief)

• Phase 1 (launch): search Actors, view Actor detail, run Actor, fetch dataset.
• Phase 2 (later): tasks, schedules, publishing Actors, external integrations.
• Entry points at launch: Store search bar (long, intent-heavy queries route to "Ask AI"; short keyword queries stay on regular search), Dashboard widget. A dedicated sidebar tab follows in a later phase.
• Audience: primarily Console-first non-developer users (citizen integrators); secondary = Actor creators as a new activation channel.
• Ranking: same backend powers regular Store search, Apify AI, and the MCP server — improving ActorIQ (clear README, well-documented input schema, user retention) lifts visibility across all three.

Why

Launch is in ~3 weeks; docs should be ready so creators have a clear answer the moment Apify AI ships.

Resolved

• Naming: "Apify AI" (resolved in the Slack thread on 2026-06-09). Earlier working names "Apify Agent" / "Apify agent" were dropped because "Agent" collides with "Actor" and the agents-in-Store category; Apify+AI is treated as the full product, like Notion AI.

Open questions

• Apify AI doesn't need a usage tutorial (chat UX is intuitive), but the docs should clearly introduce the feature, distinguish it from MCP, and explain how to rank in it. Confirm this framing with Daniela before writing.

Source

• Slack thread: https://apify.slack.com/archives/CQ96RHG2U/p1780993920266569 (participants: Daniela Ryplova, Jan Curn, David Barton, Tomas Nosek, Natasha Lekh, Lukas Bekr; cc Marek M., Honza Kuzelik)
• Notion page: https://app.notion.com/p/apify/Apify-Agent-launch-368f39950a22808f9b70f6a583c6c962