Telegram is a fast, privacy-focused messaging platform with a powerful bot ecosystem. By integrating Telegram with Chatmo, you connect a Telegram bot to your inbox and manage all bot conversations alongside your other channels -- right from the dashboard.
How the Integration Works
Unlike WhatsApp or Instagram, Telegram does not connect through a personal account or business page. Instead, you create a Telegram bot -- a special automated account on Telegram -- and link it to Chatmo using its API token. When customers message your bot, those messages appear in your Chatmo inbox. When your agents reply from Chatmo, the customer sees the response as a message from the bot in Telegram.
Despite being called a "bot," your human agents are the ones behind the responses. The bot is simply the delivery mechanism. Customers interact with it just like they would with any Telegram contact.
A Telegram bot can only have one active webhook at a time. If your bot is already connected to another service, you must disconnect it there before connecting to Chatmo.
Prerequisites
Before you begin, make sure you have:
- A Telegram account on your phone or desktop
- A Telegram bot created via BotFather (see the next section)
- The bot token provided by BotFather
- An active Chatmo account with access to the dashboard
- (Optional) An AI Agent configured in Chatmo if you want automated responses
Step 1: Create a Telegram Bot via BotFather
BotFather is Telegram's official tool for creating and managing bots. If you already have a bot and its token, skip ahead to Step 2.
- Open Telegram on your phone or desktop.
- Search for
@BotFatherin the Telegram search bar and open the chat. - Send the command
/newbot. - BotFather asks for a display name for your bot. This is what users see in their contact list. Choose something recognizable, like "Acme Support" or "MyStore Help."
- Next, provide a username for the bot. This must end in
bot(e.g.,acme_support_botormystore_helpbot). The username must be unique across all of Telegram. - BotFather responds with a confirmation and a bot token -- a long string that looks something like
123456:ABC-DEF1234ghIkl-zyx57W2v1u123ew11. This token is your bot's API key.
Keep your bot token private. Anyone with this token can control your bot. If you suspect it has been compromised, use the /revoke command in BotFather to generate a new one, then update it in Chatmo immediately.
Customizing Your Bot (Optional)
While still chatting with BotFather, you can personalize your bot before connecting it to Chatmo:
/setdescription-- add a description that appears when users open the bot's profile/setabouttext-- set the short "About" text visible on the bot's info page/setuserpic-- upload a profile picture for your bot (use your company logo)/setcommands-- define custom slash commands (e.g.,/start,/help)
A bot with a profile picture, clear description, and structured commands looks far more professional and trustworthy than a bare bot with no identity. Take a few minutes to set these up.
Step 2: Connect the Bot to Chatmo
With your bot token ready, connecting to Chatmo takes about a minute.
- In the Chatmo sidebar, click Channel.
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Select Telegram from the channel category sidebar on the left.
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Click the button to add a new Telegram bot. A creation form appears with three fields:
- Channel Name -- Give your channel a descriptive name (e.g., "Support Bot" or "Sales Telegram").
- Bot Token -- Paste the bot token you received from BotFather. This field is masked like a password for security.
- AI Agent -- A searchable dropdown with pagination. Select an AI Agent to handle automated responses, or choose "AI Agent Off" to disable auto-reply.
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Click Create Channel.
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Chatmo verifies the token and establishes a connection to Telegram's API. Once created, the channel appears in your Telegram channel list.
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Click on the newly created channel to open the channel detail page.
Auto-reply is configured through the AI Agent dropdown during channel creation. To set up automated responses, create and configure an AI Agent first, then select it when creating the channel.
Channel Detail Page
After creating a channel, you can manage all its settings from the channel detail page.
Channel Configuration
- Channel Name -- Editable text field. Update the display name for your channel at any time.
- Channel Status -- Toggle between Active and Inactive. When inactive, the channel stops receiving messages.
- Chat Link -- A read-only link in the format
https://t.me/yourbotusername. Share this link so customers can start a conversation with your bot.
Bot Configuration
- Bot Token -- Displayed as a masked password field. Click the Edit Token button to enable inline editing. After making changes, click Save Token to confirm or Cancel to discard.
- Bot Username -- Read-only. Displays the bot's Telegram username.
- Bot Name -- Read-only. Displays the bot's display name as set in BotFather.
AI Agent Assignment
- AI Agent -- A searchable dropdown with pagination. Change the assigned AI Agent at any time, or select "OFF" to disable AI-powered auto-replies.
After making any changes, click Save Changes to apply them.
Share your bot's chat link (https://t.me/yourbotusername) on your website, social media, email signatures, and marketing materials. Customers cannot use your bot if they do not know it exists.
Supported Message Types
Telegram supports a wide variety of message types. Here is what works with the Chatmo integration:
| Message Type | Incoming (from customers) | Outgoing (from agents) |
|---|---|---|
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | Yes | Yes |
| Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Audio | Yes | Yes |
| Voice Messages | Yes | Yes |
| Documents / Files | Yes | Yes |
| Stickers | Yes | No |
| Location | Yes | No |
| Contact | Yes | No |
| Polls | Yes | No |
Stickers, location sharing, contacts, and polls sent by customers are received and displayed in your Chatmo inbox. However, agents cannot send these types back through Chatmo.
Bot Commands
Telegram bots support commands -- special messages starting with / that trigger specific actions. Commands appear as a menu when customers type / in the bot chat, providing a structured way to interact.
Setting Up Commands via BotFather
- Chat with @BotFather on Telegram.
- Send
/setcommands. - Select your bot.
- Provide a list of commands in this format:
Code
- BotFather confirms the commands are set.
Handling Commands in Chatmo
When a customer sends a command, it appears as a regular message in your Chatmo inbox. Your agents (or your AI Agent, if assigned) can then respond accordingly. For example:
/start-- the agent greets the customer/human-- the agent knows the customer wants to speak with a person/status-- the agent looks up the customer's order
Group Chat Handling
Telegram bots can be added to group chats. When your bot is in a group, messages from that group appear as a conversation in your Chatmo inbox.
By default, bots in groups only see messages where they are directly mentioned (using @yourbotname) or messages that are replies to the bot's messages. This is controlled by Telegram's privacy mode.
Enabling Full Group Message Access
To receive all group messages (not just mentions):
- Chat with @BotFather.
- Send
/setprivacy. - Select your bot.
- Choose Disable (this disables privacy mode, meaning the bot sees all messages in the group).
Disabling privacy mode means every message in the group flows into your Chatmo inbox, which can be overwhelming for active groups. Only disable it if you genuinely need to monitor all group messages. For most support use cases, keeping privacy mode enabled and requiring @ mentions is the better approach.
Troubleshooting
| Issue | Likely Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Bot token rejected | Token is incorrect or expired | Copy the token from BotFather again. Use /token in BotFather to view it, or /revoke to generate a new one. |
| Messages not appearing in inbox | Bot connected to another service | A Telegram bot can only have one webhook. Disconnect the bot from other services first. |
| Cannot send images or files | File exceeds the API size limit | Telegram's bot API supports files up to 50 MB for sending. Compress or reduce the file size. |
| Group messages not visible | Privacy mode is enabled | Use /setprivacy in BotFather to disable it, or instruct group members to mention the bot with @. |
| Channel not receiving messages | Channel status set to Inactive | Go to the channel detail page and toggle the status to Active. |
| Auto-reply not working | No AI Agent assigned | Assign an AI Agent from the channel detail page or during channel creation. |
| Bot shows as offline | Token revoked or network issue | Check the channel status in Chatmo. If disconnected, update the token via the Edit Token button on the detail page. |
Best Practices
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Give your bot a professional identity -- Upload a company logo as the bot's profile picture, write a clear description, and choose a recognizable name. First impressions matter.
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Define useful commands -- A well-structured command menu helps customers help themselves. Include commands for common queries like business hours, FAQs, and order status.
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Use an AI Agent for auto-reply -- Assign an AI Agent to your Telegram channel so customers always receive a prompt response, even when your team is unavailable or during off-hours.
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Keep privacy mode enabled for groups -- Unless you specifically need to monitor all group messages, leave privacy mode on. It reduces noise in your inbox and respects group members' privacy.
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Promote your bot -- Share your bot's chat link on your website, social media, and marketing materials. Customers cannot use your bot if they do not know it exists.
Next Steps
- To set up automated responses, learn how to configure an AI Agent and assign it to your channel.
- Connect Web Chat for website visitors, or review all channel options in the Channels Overview.