Telegram Integration
Deploy your own Telegram bot for customer chats. Staff alerts use a different Telegram setup, and connecting the bot does not start live replies.
Telegram#
This page covers the customer bot under Deploy → Telegram Bot. It does not set up staff alerts, and it does not import old chats.
A connected bot can be online in Telegram while AI replies are still off. Teach the business and try a private question before customers rely on it.
What connecting does#
| Included | Not included | |
|---|---|---|
| Connect your bot | Customers can open that bot | Live AI replies until you turn them on |
| AI replies on | The agent answers in the bot chat | Staff notifications |
| Welcome, starters, and commands | The menu and first message customers see | Chat-history import |
| One customer bot | The bot username is shown after connect | Several customer bots on the same agent |
Staff notifications, approvals, and scheduled reports belong under Settings → Team Channels. Keep that chat separate from the public customer bot. See Settings.
Only Messenger and Instagram supply past chats for setup.
Connect the bot#
- In Telegram, open BotFather and create a bot if you do not have one.
- Copy the bot token BotFather gives you. Treat it like a password.
- In AlonChat, open Deploy → Telegram Bot, click Connect, and paste the token.
When it succeeds, the page shows the connected username, such as @YourBusinessBot. You do not
configure a separate address in Telegram. To replace the bot, disconnect this one and connect the
other token.
What you can set#
| Setting | What the customer gets |
|---|---|
| Welcome message | The message sent when someone starts the bot |
| Suggested starters | Up to six buttons under the welcome |
| Quick reply buttons | Up to eight buttons during the chat |
| Bot commands | Shortcuts in Telegram's "/" menu |
| Telegram-specific guidance | Extra instructions on top of the agent's base style |
| Read customer photos and files | The agent can read photos and PDFs the customer sends. This uses credits |
Use the preview before you share the bot. AI replies have their own control on the Telegram connection. Leave them off if a person should answer manually.
Chats appear in Activity under Messages. Use AI on and Disable AI replies for a period when a person needs the thread.
Before customers rely on it#
- Add the business answers in Sources.
- Ask a private question in Test.
- Send
/startto the connected bot from a test account. - Turn AI replies on only after that private answer is right and Deploy allows it.
- Read the live reply in Activity.
If the bot is silent#
- Deploy shows the correct
@username. - AI replies are on for that Telegram connection.
- The private test can already answer the question.
- You are chatting with this bot, not with the staff alert channel.
Disconnect from Deploy whenever you want this bot to stop. The token can then be connected again.