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Telegram Integration

Transform your Telegram presence with Chat Data's powerful AI chatbot integration. This comprehensive guide will walk you through creating your own Telegram bot and connecting it to Chat Data, enabling intelligent automated conversations with your users across Telegram's global messaging platform.

By integrating Chat Data with Telegram, you'll unlock AI-powered capabilities that work 24/7, handle multiple conversations simultaneously, and provide instant responses to your users. Whether you're building a customer support bot, an information assistant, or an interactive service bot, this integration delivers enterprise-level AI directly through Telegram's familiar interface.

Key Benefits of Telegram Integration

Before diving into the setup process, here are the main advantages of connecting your Chat Data chatbot to Telegram:

  • Your Own Bot: Create and control your own branded Telegram bot with custom name and username
  • Instant Setup: Connect your bot to Chat Data in minutes with a simple token-based integration
  • Global Reach: Telegram works worldwide without phone number restrictions
  • Secure & Official: Uses Telegram's official Bot API for secure, reliable communication
  • Multi-language Support: Serve users in their preferred language with Chat Data's AI capabilities
  • Rich Media Support: Handle text, images, documents, and other file types seamlessly
  • No Infrastructure Required: Chat Data handles all the backend complexity

Prerequisites and Important Notes

Before you begin the integration process, please be aware of these important considerations:

Telegram Bot Limitations

  • Each Telegram bot requires a unique bot token from BotFather
  • Bots cannot initiate conversations - users must message the bot first
  • One bot token can only be connected to one Chat Data chatbot at a time
  • Bot usernames must be unique across all of Telegram and end with "bot"

Security Considerations

  • Keep your bot token secure and never share it publicly
  • The token provides full control over your bot
  • If your token is compromised, regenerate it immediately through BotFather
  • Chat Data encrypts and securely stores your bot token

Requirements

  • A Telegram account (personal or business)
  • Access to your Chat Data dashboard
  • Basic understanding of messaging bots (helpful but not required)

Step-by-Step Integration Guide

Step 1: Create Your Chat Data Chatbot

Before connecting to Telegram, ensure you have created and configured your chatbot in Chat Data. Follow the Chatbot Creation guide to:

  • Set up your chatbot's knowledge base
  • Configure AI responses and behavior
  • Test basic functionality

Step 2: Create Your Telegram Bot

Creating a Telegram bot involves interacting with BotFather, Telegram's official bot creation tool. Here's the detailed process:

Finding BotFather

  1. Open Telegram on any device (mobile or desktop)
  2. Search for BotFather in the search bar
  3. Look for the verified account with a blue checkmark ✓
  4. Alternatively, visit directly: t.me/botfather

BotFather Search - Placeholder

Creating Your Bot

  1. Start a conversation with BotFather by clicking "Start" or sending /start
  2. Send the command /newbot to begin creating a new bot
  3. Choose a display name for your bot
    • This is the name users will see
    • Example: "Customer Support", "AI Assistant", "Help Bot"
    • Can be changed later
  4. Choose a username for your bot
    • Must be unique across all of Telegram
    • Must end with "bot" (lowercase)
    • Examples: mycompany_bot, support_assistant_bot, help_ai_bot
    • Cannot be changed later, so choose carefully

Bot Creation Process - Placeholder

Obtaining Your Bot Token

After successfully creating your bot, BotFather will provide you with:

  1. A confirmation message with your bot's details
  2. Your bot token - a string like 1234567890:ABCdefGHIjklMNOpqrsTUVwxyz
  3. A link to your bot - t.me/your_bot_username

Important: Copy and save your bot token immediately. You'll need it for the next step.

Step 3: Connect Your Bot to Chat Data

Now that you have your Telegram bot and token, let's connect it to Chat Data:

  1. Navigate to Integrations

    • Log into your Chat Data dashboard
    • Select your chatbot
    • Click on the "Integrations" tab

  2. Select Telegram Integration

    • Find the Telegram integration card
    • Click "Configure" or "Add to Telegram"

Telegram Integration Card - Placeholder

  1. Enter Your Bot Token

    • Paste the bot token you received from BotFather
    • Ensure there are no extra spaces or characters
    • Click "Connect Bot"

  2. Verify Connection

    • Chat Data will verify your token with Telegram
    • Upon successful connection, you'll see:
      • Bot name and username
      • Connection status (green indicator)
      • Direct link to test your bot
      • QR code for easy mobile access

Step 4: Test Your Integration

After successful connection, it's important to test your bot:

  1. Open your bot using the provided link or QR code
  2. Send /start to initiate conversation
  3. Send a test message to verify AI responses
  4. Check response quality and timing

Advanced Configuration Options

Chat Data provides several advanced features to customize your Telegram bot's behavior:

Group Chat Support

Your Telegram bot can respond in group chats and supergroups, not just direct messages. Each group member gets their own private conversation context with the bot — others can see the replies, but the bot never mixes one person's history with another's.

Enabling Group Chat Support

  1. Go to My Chatbots > [Your Chatbot] > Integrations > Telegram
  2. Expand the Group Chat Support section
  3. Toggle it ON
  4. Optionally customize the welcome message — this is sent when the bot first joins a group. You can use the {{botName}} placeholder to insert the bot's display name.

How Members Interact in Groups

Once the bot is added to a group, members can interact with it in three ways:

  • @mention the bot — Type @yourbotname followed by a question
  • Reply to a bot message — Reply directly to any message the bot sent. The bot sees the quoted text for context, so it can give a relevant answer even if the replier has no prior conversation history.
  • Use a slash command — Type /ask (or any custom command you've configured) followed by the question

Privacy Mode

The bot respects Telegram's Privacy Mode by default. This means it only sees messages that are directly addressed to it (@mentions, replies to its messages, and slash commands). It does not read every message in the group.

Group Chat Behavior Notes

  • Suggested-question buttons are hidden in groups to prevent one member from accidentally triggering a response in another member's context. CTA link buttons still appear normally.
  • Existing DMs are unchanged. Enabling group support has no effect on your bot's direct-message behavior.
  • Billing works the same way. Group responses consume message credits from the bot owner's plan, just like DMs.
  • Live chat escalation works in groups. Agents can take over a group member's conversation from the dashboard and reply as the bot.

Bot Commands

Bot commands are the slash commands (e.g. /ask, /hours, /pricing) that appear in Telegram's / autocomplete menu. They help users discover what your bot can do.

When you first connect a Telegram bot, Chat Data automatically registers a default /ask command. You can add, edit, or remove commands at any time from the integration panel.

Managing Commands

Telegram Bot Commands panel

  1. Go to My Chatbots > [Your Chatbot] > Integrations > Telegram
  2. Expand the Bot Commands section
  3. Each command has three fields:
    • Command name — Lowercase letters, numbers, and underscores only (1–32 characters). The / prefix is added automatically.
    • Description — A short description (3–256 characters) that appears in Telegram's autocomplete menu.
    • Scope — Controls where the command appears:
      • All chats — Visible in both DMs and groups (default)
      • Groups only — Only visible in group chats
      • DMs only — Only visible in direct messages
  4. Click the checkmark button to save changes, or the X button to discard.

How Scopes Work

Telegram uses a hierarchical override system for command visibility. When you set a command to "All chats", it appears everywhere. When you set a command to "Groups only", it appears only in groups — it does not inherit commands from the "All chats" scope. Chat Data handles this automatically by expanding "All chats" commands into every scope's menu.

For example, if you have:

  • /ask scoped to All chats
  • /start scoped to Groups only

Then in group chats, users will see both /ask and /start. In DMs, they will only see /ask.

Command Behavior

Commands only register the name and description in Telegram's menu — they do not define the bot's behavior. To make the bot respond to a command, describe the desired behavior in your chatbot's system prompt. For example:

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

Limits

  • Maximum 100 commands per scope (Telegram API limit)
  • Command names must be unique within each effective scope — you cannot have /ask scoped to "All chats" and another /ask scoped to "Groups only", since both would appear in the groups menu.

Response Format Configuration

Control how your bot delivers responses to users:

  • Text: Text input → Text output (traditional text-based messaging)
  • Audio: Voice input → Voice output (audio-only conversations)
  • Mix: Supports both modes - text input → text output AND voice input → voice output

Auto-Off Functionality

Configure automatic AI pause for human takeover:

  • Time-based: Pause AI for a specified duration after human intervention
  • Keyword-triggered: Pause when specific keywords are detected
  • Manual control: Pause/resume through the dashboard
  • Schedule-based: Set operating hours for AI responses

AI Re-engagement

Timely follow-ups are crucial for ensuring customer satisfaction. If you want the AI chatbot to follow up with customers after their last interaction, you can customize three key aspects of the AI follow-up:

  1. Time window for follow-up - Set when the bot should check back after the last message
  2. Trigger conditions - Define specific conditions that warrant a follow-up
  3. Re-engagement message style - Customize the tone and content of follow-up messages

AI Agent Follow up setup

When the specified time arrives, the AI evaluates whether the conversation meets your defined re-engagement criteria. If the conditions are met, it sends a contextually appropriate follow-up message based on the previous conversation, helping to:

  • Re-engage inactive users
  • Complete unfinished conversations
  • Provide additional assistance
  • Gather feedback on previous interactions

Conclusion

You've successfully integrated your Chat Data chatbot with Telegram! Your bot is now ready to engage with users, provide intelligent responses, and handle conversations 24/7. Remember to:

  • Regularly monitor performance and user feedback
  • Keep your bot's knowledge base updated
  • Test new features before deploying
  • Maintain security best practices
  • Engage with the Chat Data community for tips and support

For additional help or advanced configurations, consult the Chat Data documentation or contact our support team.

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