Threadline

Connecting Telegram

Telegram is much simpler than WhatsApp — there's no developer app, no business verification, and no dashboard to paste a webhook URL into. Everything happens through a chat with Telegram's own bot.

In plain words

What this is. Connecting a Telegram bot to Threadline. Customers write to the bot, the messages arrive in your Inbox, and the AI can answer them.

Why a bot. Telegram does not let a business connect a personal account. You create a bot, which is a free account made for this purpose.

What you will end up with. One value, the bot token, copied from Telegram into Threadline.

How long it takes. About 5 minutes.

For what a channel is and how to manage one afterwards, see Channels.

1. Create a bot with BotFather

  1. Open Telegram and search for @BotFather (the official bot-creation bot, verified with a blue checkmark).
  2. Send /newbot.
  3. Choose a display name for your bot (shown to customers).
  4. Choose a username ending in bot (e.g. acmesupport_bot) — this must be unique across all of Telegram.
  5. BotFather replies with a bot token — a string like 123456789:AAExampleTokenTextGoesHere. Copy it.

Treat this token like a password — anyone with it can send messages as your bot. If you ever suspect it's leaked, message BotFather with /revoke to invalidate it and generate a new one.

2. Create the channel in Threadline

  1. In Threadline, go to Channels → Add channel.
  2. Choose Telegram, give it a name, and paste in the bot token from BotFather.
  3. Optionally choose an assistant now, or later from the channel's card.
  4. Save.

That's the whole setup. Unlike WhatsApp, there's no separate webhook step — Threadline registers the webhook with Telegram automatically the moment you save the channel. The channel's page shows the webhook URL for reference only; you don't need to paste it anywhere.

3. Test it

Open a chat with your new bot on Telegram (search for the username you chose) and send /start or any message. It should appear in Threadline's Inbox within a few seconds and, if a knowledge base is linked, get an AI reply.

If nothing arrives, check Settings → System for a stale-cron warning first, then see Troubleshooting & FAQ.

Optional: a friendlier bot profile

Still talking to BotFather, you can also set:

  • /setdescription — shown before a user starts a chat
  • /setabouttext — shown on the bot's profile
  • /setuserpic — upload a profile photo

None of these affect how Threadline talks to the bot — purely cosmetic.