Telegram Bot
Last updated: February 16, 2026
A Telegram bot is an automated account on the Telegram messaging platform that interacts with users through the Telegram Bot API. Bots can send and receive messages, respond to commands, handle inline queries, and participate in group conversations, making them an ideal channel for deploying AI assistants.
Why It Matters
Telegram has over 900 million monthly active users and offers one of the most developer-friendly bot APIs available. For AI assistant deployments, Telegram provides a zero-friction interface: users simply search for your bot's username, tap Start, and begin chatting. There is no app to install beyond Telegram itself, no website to visit, and no account to create. This makes Telegram bots an excellent front door for AI assistants, especially for personal use, small teams, and rapid prototyping.
How It Works
Telegram bots are created through BotFather, Telegram's official bot management tool. BotFather issues a bot token that your AI gateway uses to authenticate with the Telegram Bot API. There are two methods for receiving messages: long polling, where your server periodically asks Telegram for updates, and webhooks, where Telegram pushes new messages to a URL you specify.
Webhook mode is strongly preferred for production deployments because it reduces latency and resource usage. Your AI gateway registers its public URL with Telegram, and each incoming message triggers an HTTP POST to your endpoint. The gateway processes the message through the AI model and sends the response back via the Bot API.
In Practice
When configuring a Telegram bot for your AI assistant, you need only the bot token from BotFather. The gateway handles webhook registration automatically using your deployment's public URL. Telegram bots support rich formatting with Markdown, inline keyboards for interactive responses, and file sharing for documents and images.