Telegram

Create a Telegram bot for your business, and your agent answers everyone who messages it. Customers find the bot by its name in Telegram and chat with it like with any contact.

Where to find it: open your agent and go to Channels → Telegram.

What customers see

Customers search for your bot's @username in Telegram, or open a link to it. They send a message, and the agent replies in the same chat, under the name and picture you chose.

The bot also works in Telegram groups. Add it to the group, and people mention it by its username to ask a question.

How it works

You don't need to copy any codes or tokens. Hourzero and Telegram create the bot together, and Hourzero connects it automatically.

1. 1ConnectSign in to Telegram and create your bot.
2. 2Choose the agentMake sure this agent answers the bot.
3. 3PublishTurn on replies and set the bot's name and picture.
4. 4TestMessage the bot and check the reply.

Before you start

• You're a workspace owner or admin in Hourzero. Other members can't see the setup buttons.
• You have a Telegram account and the Telegram app on your phone or computer.
• Your agent has the name you want. Hourzero suggests the bot's name and username based on your agent's name.

Connect Telegram and create your bot

1. Go to Channels and find the Telegram row.
2. Select Connect Telegram. If a bot is already connected, the button says Add bot instead. Telegram opens in a new tab, and the button changes to Waiting for Telegram….
3. In the new tab, sign in with your Telegram account and approve the connection to Hourzero.
4. Telegram then shows a screen to create your bot, with the suggested name and username. Check them, and confirm.
5. Go back to the Hourzero tab. It updates by itself: first Finishing your bot connection…, then the message "Telegram connected. Publish Telegram to start replies."
6. Your bot appears under the Telegram row with its @username, and the badge says Connected.

While Hourzero waits, you can select Continue in Telegram to reopen the bot screen, or Cancel connection to stop.

Choose which agent answers

When you create a bot from an agent's Channels page, Hourzero assigns it to that agent. Each bot has exactly one agent.

To check or change it:

1. Under your bot, select Reply settings.
2. Turn on Use this agent for this bot. Turn it off to keep the bot connected but unassigned.
3. Select Save choices. A message confirms: "Choices saved. Publish Telegram to apply them."

If another agent already answers the bot, the dialog says Currently assigned to that agent and the switch is locked. To move the bot, open the other agent, turn the switch off in its Reply settings, and save. Then assign it here, and publish Telegram on both agents.

People who are already chatting stay with the agent that started their conversation, even if you move the bot later.

Set the bot's name and picture

1. In the Telegram row, select Edit agent. The Playground opens with Telegram selected.
2. On the Display tab, set the Display name, up to 64 characters. Leave it blank to use the agent's name.
3. Under Avatar, select Upload image and choose a JPG, PNG, or WebP file up to 5 MB.
4. Select Save draft, then publish Telegram.

Telegram shows the new name and picture after you publish.

Publish Telegram

1. In the Telegram row, select Edit agent. The Playground opens with Telegram selected.
2. On the Overview tab, make sure Agent replies says Replies on after publishing. Select Save draft if you changed anything.
3. Select Publish → Telegram. The Publish Telegram dialog shows whether the draft is saved and the connection is ready.
4. Select Publish saved draft. The next time, the button says Publish latest draft.

A message confirms "Telegram published". The bot now answers new messages.

Test it for real

1. In Telegram, search for your bot's @username (it's shown under the Telegram row in Hourzero) and open the chat.
2. Select Start if Telegram shows it, then ask a question, for example "Where is my order 48213?".
3. Check that the agent replies.
4. Optional: add the bot to a group, and send a message that mentions its @username, like "do you ship to Canada?".
5. In Hourzero, open Activity → Conversations and select Visitors. The chat appears with the Telegram label.

Stop or disconnect

To pause the agent but keep the bot connected, open the Playground for Telegram, turn off Agent replies on the Overview tab, save, and publish.

To remove the bot from Hourzero:

1. In Channels, select the trash icon next to your bot.
2. Read the warning and select Disconnect.

All agents stop replying through that bot right away. Your past conversations stay saved in Hourzero.

Troubleshooting

The Hourzero page keeps saying "Waiting for Telegram…"

Finish both steps in the Telegram tab: approve the sign-in, then confirm the new bot. If you closed that tab, select Continue in Telegram. To start over, select Cancel connection.

"Telegram could not be connected. Finish or cancel any other Telegram connection"

Only one bot creation can be in progress at a time for your Telegram account, even across agents. Finish or cancel the other one, then try again.

"Telegram published, but its name or photo could not be updated"

Your answers are live, but Telegram didn't accept the new name or picture. Publish Telegram again to retry.

The bot doesn't answer in a group

Mention the bot by its username in your message. In groups, Telegram only passes messages addressed to the bot by default.

The bot doesn't answer at all

• Did you publish Telegram after connecting?
• Does the bot show This agent is selected for the bot, and is Agent replies on?
• Does your workspace have credits left? Check the Usage page.

The button says "Telegram is not available yet"

Telegram isn't ready to connect in Hourzero yet. Contact your workspace administrator.

Next steps