Telegram Bot Setup

How it works

AnswerLoops uses Telegram's webhook API — no persistent process required. Telegram pushes updates to your AnswerLoops instance via POST /api/telegram/webhook. The platform triage, embeds, and AI answer the question, then replies in the same chat.

1. Create a bot with BotFather

1. Open Telegram and search for @BotFather
2. Send /newbot and follow the prompts
3. Copy the bot token — format: 123456789:AAHdqTcv...

2. Configure in AnswerLoops Settings

Go to Settings → Telegram and enter:

• Bot Token — from BotFather
• Chat IDs (optional) — group/supergroup IDs to monitor. Leave blank to monitor all chats the bot is added to. Group chat IDs are negative numbers (e.g. -1001234567890). Forward a message to @userinfobot to get the chat ID.
• Escalation username (optional) — @mentioned when AI confidence is below threshold
• Confidence threshold — 0–1, default 0.8

Click Connect to save.

3. Add the bot to your group

In Telegram, add your bot to the group or supergroup you want to monitor. The bot needs permission to read messages.

For a supergroup: go to Group Info → Edit → Administrators → Add Administrator → search your bot name.

4. Register the webhook

After saving the token, click Register webhook in Settings. This calls Telegram's setWebhook API and points it at your AnswerLoops instance.

You can also call this endpoint directly:

POST /api/telegram/register

Requires an active session (dashboard login).

5. Verify

Send a message in your monitored group. A new ticket should appear in /tickets within a few seconds.

Environment variables

No additional env vars are required beyond the token saved in Settings. For a platform default (before any org configures their own token):

TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN=123456789:AAHdqTcv...

Notes

• Telegram group chats IDs are negative integers. Supergroup IDs start with -100.
• The bot only processes text messages. Stickers, photos, and media are silently ignored.
• Messages under 10 characters are ignored (too short to be a support question).
• The webhook secret is auto-generated per org and verified on every incoming update — Telegram cannot spoof messages.
• Unlike Discord (persistent gateway), Telegram is fully stateless — webhook delivery is Telegram's responsibility.