Telegram Integration

Create a Telegram bot with BotFather and connect it to your Chat Data chatbot. Your AI agent then answers people who message the bot, in direct messages and, if you turn it on, in group chats.

Before you start

• A Telegram account (personal or business).
• A Chat Data chatbot that is trained and tested (see Train With Your Data).

Good to know about Telegram bots:

• A bot can't start a conversation. Users must message it first.
• Each bot has its own token from BotFather, and one token connects to one Chat Data chatbot at a time.
• Bot usernames are unique across Telegram and must end in "bot".
• The token gives full control of your bot. Keep it private, and regenerate it in BotFather if it leaks. Chat Data stores it encrypted.

Step-by-Step Integration Guide

Step 1: Create Your Chat Data Chatbot

Train your chatbot and test it in Chat Data first. Its knowledge and settings power every Telegram reply.

Step 2: Create Your Telegram Bot

1. In Telegram, search for BotFather and open the verified account (blue checkmark), or go to t.me/botfather.
2. Tap Start, or send /start.
3. Send /newbot.
4. Enter a display name, such as "Customer Support". Users see this name, and you can change it later.
5. Enter a username that ends in "bot", such as mycompany_bot. It must be unique and can't be changed later.
6. Copy the bot token BotFather sends you. It looks like 1234567890:ABCdefGHIjklMNOpqrsTUVwxyz. The same message has your bot's link, t.me/your_bot_username.

Step 3: Connect Your Bot to Chat Data

1. Open Agents, pick your AI agent and click Integrations.
2. Select the Telegram integration card (Add to Telegram).
3. Paste the bot token, with no extra spaces, and click Connect Bot.
4. Chat Data checks the token with Telegram. When it's connected, the panel shows the bot's name and username, a green status, a direct link and a QR code.

Step 4: Test Your Integration

1. Open your bot with the link or QR code.
2. Send /start.
3. Send a test message and check the AI's reply.

Public bot or Telegram Business mode

Your bot can work in two ways at the same time. Most businesses only need the public bot.

Group Chat Support

Your bot can also answer in group chats and supergroups. Each member gets their own private conversation context: others see the replies, but the bot never mixes one person's history with another's.

To turn it on:

1. Open Agents, pick your AI agent, click Integrations and select the Telegram card.
2. Expand Group Chat Support and switch it ON.
3. Optionally, edit the welcome message the bot sends when it first joins a group. {{botName}} inserts the bot's display name.

Group members can talk to the bot in three ways:

• @mention the bot: type @yourbotname and a question.
• Reply to a bot message: the bot sees the quoted text, so it can answer even without earlier history.
• Use a slash command: type /ask (or another of your commands) and a question.

The bot follows Telegram's Privacy Mode: it only sees messages addressed to it (mentions, replies to it and slash commands), not every message in the group.

Also in groups:

• Suggested-question buttons are hidden, so one member can't trigger a reply in another member's context. CTA link buttons still show.
• Direct messages are unchanged when you turn group support on.
• Billing is the same. Group replies use message credits from the bot owner's plan, like DMs.
• Live chat works. A teammate can take over a group member's conversation from the dashboard and reply as the bot.

Telegram Business Account Integration

With Telegram Business, your Chat Data bot can reply on your behalf in your personal 1:1 customer chats. Customers see your name and avatar, not the bot's. When you reply yourself, the AI pauses for that chat (30 minutes by default; set it with Auto Off). For the product overview, see the Telegram Business Chatbot page.

Requirements

• An active Telegram Premium subscription on the account you connect (Telegram Business is a Premium feature).
• Your bot connected to Chat Data (Step 3). Chat Data registers Telegram Business support every time you connect.
• Business Mode turned on in BotFather (below).

Step 1: Enable Business Mode in BotFather

Bots can't join Business accounts until you switch on Business Mode. Open @BotFather and follow these taps:

When BotFather replies "Business mode is currently enabled for...", the bot can join a Telegram Business account.

Step 2: Add the Bot to Your Telegram Business Account

In your main Telegram app, add the bot under your Business settings:

Under CHATS THE BOT CAN ACCESS on the Chat Automation screen, choose All Private Chats Except... (the default: the bot replies in all your customer chats) or Only Selected Chats. No other permissions are needed; the bot replies as soon as it's added.

Hit "This bot doesn't support Telegram Business yet"?

Your Telegram app is still showing the bot as it was before Business Mode. Telegram caches this per device, and the app needs a full restart to update:

1. Check that Business Mode is On in BotFather (Step 1).
2. Force-quit Telegram completely (swipe it away on mobile, fully quit on desktop).
3. Reopen Telegram and repeat Step 2.

What Happens After You Connect

The AI answers your customer DMs under your name and avatar. Customers won't know it's AI unless your prompt tells it to say so. You stay in control:

• Reply yourself in any chat. The AI notices within milliseconds and pauses in that chat for your Auto Off time (30 minutes by default).
• Pause, revoke or remove the bot any time in Telegram > Settings > Business > Chatbots. No Chat Data change needed.
• Your public bot keeps working. DMs, groups and channels with @yourbot are unchanged.

One bot can serve several Telegram Business accounts at once, for example if you build bots for clients. Each owner connects it in their own Telegram Business settings, and conversations, leads and analytics stay separate per owner.

Business Mode Limitations

• No interactive buttons. Suggested-question and workflow action buttons don't appear in business chats. Text, files, voice messages and photos work normally.
• No follow-ups. The AI never messages customers first under your name; Follow-Up only works for the public bot.
• You may need to disclose AI. In the EU (Article 50 of the EU AI Act, from 2 August 2026) or California (SB 1001), you may have to tell customers they're talking to AI. Chat Data doesn't add this for you: add a line to your base prompt telling the AI to disclose it on first contact or when the customer is about to buy. Ask a lawyer about your jurisdiction.

Bot Commands

Bot commands are the slash commands (such as /ask, /hours, /pricing) in Telegram's / menu. They help users see what your bot can do. Chat Data registers a default /ask command when you first connect.

To manage them:

1. Open Agents, pick your AI agent, click Integrations and select the Telegram card.
2. Expand Bot Commands.
3. Fill in each command:

4. Click the check mark to save, or X to discard.

Scopes: a command set to Groups only shows only in groups, and DMs only only in DMs. All chats commands show everywhere; Chat Data adds them to every menu for you. For example, with /ask on All chats and /start on Groups only, groups show both and DMs show only /ask.

Commands don't add behavior on their own. They only put a name and description in Telegram's menu. Tell the AI what to do in your chatbot's base prompt (Settings > Model), for example:

When the user sends /hours, respond with our business hours: Monday–Friday 9am–5pm EST.

Limits: up to 100 commands per scope (a Telegram limit). A name can appear only once in each menu, so you can't have /ask on both All chats and Groups only.

Reply settings

These settings are in the Telegram integration panel, each in its own section. Click the check mark to save a change.

Live Chat Handover

To reply to a user yourself:

1. Open Dashboard > Live Chats, click Filter > Source, tick Telegram and select the conversation.
2. Reply. The user receives it from your bot, and Auto Off keeps the AI silent in that conversation. To keep the AI off until you say so, switch it off for the conversation.
3. When you're done, switch the AI back on.

In Business mode, you can also just reply in Telegram. See Live Chat Escalation for the full workflow.

Related

• Live Chat Escalation: human handover across channels.
• Customize Voices: the voice used for audio replies.