Integrations
Telegram for your contact center
Telegram connects to CONTACT.WORK in three ways: through your company bot, a business account, and channel comments. Agents handle all of these chats next to calls, and an AI agent can answer first. If customers also message you on WhatsApp, the platform merges both apps into one history.
BotHi! How can we help?My ordersAgent
Can I move order #1024 delivery to tomorrow?
Agent AnnaMoved to tomorrow, 10am-2pm. We will remind you here the day before.
Capabilities
What you get with Telegram
Examples
Where customers message you on Telegram
Customers can reach a company on Telegram in three places. Connect the ones your customers already use: the bot, a direct message to a rep, or comments under a channel post.
Bot with buttons and a queue
The customer finds the bot from a link or QR code, picks a topic with a button, and types a question. The chat arrives in CONTACT.WORK, an AI agent or the next available agent replies, and the customer sees the answer from your company bot.
- Topic buttons
- Replies as the bot
- Chat goes straight to the right team
BotHi! How can we help?My ordersAgent
Can I move order #1024 delivery to tomorrow?
Agent AnnaMoved to tomorrow, 10am-2pm. We will remind you here the day before.
Conversations with your company account
Many people message your company account instead of a bot, as if it were a live rep. Through Telegram Business, the platform's bot connects to that account: an AI agent or a live agent handles messages, and replies go out from the account. The account needs Telegram Premium, and the bot can reply only in chats where the customer wrote in the last 24 hours.
- Customers message you as they would a person
- Replies from your company account
- Requires Telegram Premium
ReminderTomorrow at 3pm: haircut with Anna. Still on?ComingReschedule
Reschedule
Agent AnnaThursday 4pm or Friday 11am – which works?
1,240 reminders sent · 87% repliedQuestions in comments
Followers ask about prices and terms under your channel posts. The platform's bot joins the channel's discussion group, and questions from comments go to the queue. An AI agent or a live agent replies right in the thread under the post.
- Questions under posts don't get lost
- Replies in the comment thread
- You see which post the question is about
Marina, Main St officeTill 2 does not print receipts, customers are waiting
Oleg, warehouseWho confirms shipment for order #1024?
Ticket #1287 created · owner: Igor, ITIgor, ITMarina, on it. Restart the till – I will check remotely in 5 min
Put links to the bot and account on your website, in email signatures, and in the channel description so customers know where to message you.
How it works
What your contact center gets
With WhatsApp
Telegram and WhatsApp in one history
Many customers use both Telegram and WhatsApp. Connect both, and the platform merges the conversations into one history, so the agent sees the whole conversation no matter which app the customer used.
- Both apps in one queue
- Shared conversation history
- Customers message wherever they like
- Call 3:12 · Anna · recording
- Telegram, company bot: "Move my delivery to tomorrow"
- Missed call → task "Call back"
- Deal #1024 moved to "Contract"
AI agent
Telegram replies without the wait
The CONTACT.WORK AI agent handles bot messages, business account chats, and comments first. Working from your knowledge base, it understands the question however it's phrased. If a surcharge, a cancellation, or another decision needs a person, the AI agent hands the chat to a live agent with a short summary.
- Answers after hours too
- Understands questions in the customer's own words
- Language model billed separately
Wrong size delivered and I leave tomorrow. What now?
AI agentWe can exchange it without a visit: a courier picks it up today by 9pm and brings the right size. OK?
Yes, great
Needs a person – the chat goes to an agent with a summaryControl
Telegram chats in reports
Reports split chats by source – bot, account, channel – and show how many minutes customers waited for a reply and what share of chats the AI agent resolved.
- Chats by connection type
- First response time
- Chats resolved by the AI agent
Setup
How we connect Telegram
- 01Choose the setupWe decide what to connect: the bot, the business account, channel comments, or all three.
- 02BotYou create a bot with @BotFather, give it a name and avatar, and send us the token.
- 03Account and channelYou connect the bot in Telegram Business and add it to the channel's discussion group.
- 04ConnectionWe connect the bot to CONTACT.WORK, split chats by team, and turn on the AI agent.
- 05TestingWe message the bot, the account, and a post, and check that messages reach agents and the CRM.
- 06LaunchWe add links to the bot and account on your website and channel and track response times for a week.
Requirements
What you need to connect Telegram
- Bot
- Created with @BotFather; you have the token
- Business account
- A company account with Telegram Premium – if you want this option
- Channel
- A channel with comments and a discussion group enabled
- Platform
- CONTACT.WORK cloud or your server with access to the Telegram API
- CRM
- If you use one: Telegram chats on the customer record
- Cost
- No fee for Telegram; setup comes out of your support hours
Preparation
What to prepare for Telegram
Q&A
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between a bot and a business account?
A bot is a separate account with buttons that people find through a link. A business account is your regular company profile that customers message like a person. You can connect both to the platform.
Can we connect several bots and channels?
As many as you need – for example, a bot or channel for each location. All chats come together and can be split between teams.
Do we need Telegram Premium?
Only for the business account: connecting a bot to it through Telegram Business requires a Premium subscription. The bot and channel comments don't need it.
Does the business account have limits?
A bot connected through Telegram Business replies only in chats where the customer wrote in the last 24 hours. If the customer has been quiet longer, you can't message them first through the business account.
Can we message customers first?
The bot can message people who have already started a chat with it: a reminder, an order status. Telegram doesn't let you message someone who never started the bot.
What about Telegram calls?
Bots can't make or take Telegram calls. For a voice conversation, an agent calls the customer back on a regular phone line.
Does the platform understand Telegram voice messages?
Voice messages are transcribed: the agent reads the text right away and can play the recording, and the AI agent understands a voice message just like text.
What does the agent know about a Telegram customer?
Their name, @username, and whatever they put in their profile – Telegram profiles are simple and usually say little. So the AI customer summary is built mostly from conversations and past inquiries: what they asked about, booked, or bought.
Will Telegram work if the platform runs on our server?
It will, as long as the server can reach the Telegram API.
How much does Telegram cost?
Telegram as a channel costs nothing from us; configuring it uses your plan's support hours. You pay extra only for the AI's language model and, with a business account, for Telegram Premium.
Glossary
Terms on this page
- CRM – customer relationship management
- Where a company keeps its customers, deals, and full communication history. Learn more →
- Knowledge base
- All answers, policies, and prices in one place – for agents and AI. Learn more →
- Large language model (LLM)
- A neural network that understands questions asked in everyday words and answers the same way. Learn more →
- API (application programming interface)
- The way programs exchange data with each other without a person in the loop. Learn more →
- Cloud deployment (cloud)
- The platform runs on the vendor's servers, and agents connect over the internet. Learn more →
- Customer record
- The screen of customer data an agent sees during a conversation. Learn more →
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