Telegram Business adds customer-service tools to an account: opening hours, a location, saved replies and automated greetings. Start with these if you answer similar questions by hand. Connect a bot only when you know which conversations it should handle.
An older restriction has changed. The May 2026 announcement says every user can connect a bot through Settings → Chat Automation. Do not buy Premium solely because an older guide says connecting a bot requires Business. The original Business announcement describes the wider bundle as included for Premium subscribers. Check the feature and purchase screen for your account rather than assuming every business tool is now free.
Set up the customer-facing details
Open Settings and look for Telegram Business. This is the documented entry point; translated labels and available controls can differ between clients. Add real opening hours and a location only if customers should visit it. An online-only service need not publish a home address.
Customize the start page shown in an empty chat. Telegram documents text and a sticker here, not a miniature website with an arbitrary set of buttons. Explain what customers can ask and when a human usually answers. Do not promise booking or order tracking unless you provide it.
Separate quick replies from automatic messages
Quick replies are saved messages you choose to send. They can contain several messages, formatting, links, media and files. Type / in a private chat to open the reply panel. Telegram says this feature does not work in groups.
Prepare delivery information, a returns-policy link and a request for an order reference. Review each before sending: yesterday's delivery estimate can be wrong today. Never ask customers for payment-card details or login codes.
Greetings can go to people who contact you for the first time; you can set an inactivity period after which the greeting is sent again. Away messages explain when you are closed or on holiday. Exclude friends and staff from the recipient list.
For example: “We answer on working days. Please send your order reference and a short description, without payment-card details.” Avoid a response deadline nobody can meet.
Connect a bot with a narrow scope
For the newer connection flow, use Settings → Chat Automation in an updated client. Select a compatible bot and inspect its permissions. Telegram documents excluding contacts or responding only to new chats. A bot that works in its own chat is not necessarily compatible with account automation.
The privacy policy says a connected business bot can access messages, media and files in the private chats assigned to it. With permission, it can act on your behalf. Read the operator's policy and arrange human handoff before connecting it. Revoke access in connection settings when you stop using it; the privacy document also describes the older Telegram Business → Chatbots path.
Before launch, ask a consenting colleague to check a first contact, a repeat message, an excluded chat and an out-of-hours message. These are suggested acceptance checks, not tests performed for this article.
What about Telegram Web?
A working Web inbox does not prove every Business setting is available there. This documentation review did not establish a Web/mobile feature matrix. If a control is missing, check an updated official mobile app and your account's entitlement. Do not install an unknown client or hand over a Telegram session to unlock a setting.
Use chat folders to separate customer queues. Read the Premium guide before paying. Neither folders nor a subscription creates a CRM, assigns agents or guarantees sales.
Sources and verification
Documentation and public profiles checked on 28 September 2026. This article does not report hands-on testing.