Users can look up listings by name, topic, username, or keyword, or browse categories including news, technology, business, cryptocurrency, entertainment, education, music, sports, travel, and gaming. The platform brings together millions of channel listings and hundreds of thousands of chats across dozens of subject areas, helping visitors find communities and content that match their interests.

Each listing can provide information such as subscriber numbers, publication reach, audience growth, and recent posts. Search results can be sorted by popularity, views, or date, and filtered by audience size, making it easier to compare options. The site also features rankings, collections, category pages, and a feed of posts.

Search and directory browsing are free. Telegram channel and chat owners can submit their listings for review at no cost, so they can be discovered through the catalog and search. search-t.me also offers promotion options and provides support through its Telegram bot.