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Telegram Business — Reply as Your Own Account

Let your agent answer customers from your own Telegram account, not just from a separate @bot. When a customer messages your personal or business Telegram, the agent replies under your name — and steps aside the moment you take over the chat yourself.

What You'll Achieve

By the end of this guide, you'll have:

  1. Business mode turned on for your bot in @BotFather
  2. Your bot connected as a chatbot in Telegram's Business settings
  3. Reply permission granted so the agent can answer on your behalf
  4. The right audience scoped so the agent answers customers — not your friends and family

The Goal: Customers who write to your Telegram get instant, on-brand answers from your agent, while you keep full control to jump in at any time.

Before You Start

  • You need a Telegram Business account. Business features are available in Telegram's own app settings — no separate app is required.
  • Your agent must already have a Telegram bot connected in Brilio (the standard bot connection on the agent's Integrations → Telegram page). Business mode rides on that same bot.
  • These steps happen in Telegram and @BotFather — Brilio cannot perform them for you, because only you can grant a bot access to your account.

Two ways your agent can answer

  • Bot chat (@yourbot) — customers message the bot directly. This is the standard Telegram connection.
  • Business mode (this guide) — customers message you, and the agent answers as your account. The two can run side by side.

Step 1 — Turn On Business Mode in @BotFather

  1. Open a chat with @BotFather in Telegram.
  2. Send /mybots and select your bot.
  3. Open Bot Settings → Business Mode.
  4. Turn it On.

This is a one-time setup step. It allows your bot to be added as a chatbot inside Telegram's Business settings.

Step 2 — Add the Bot in Telegram Business

  1. In the Telegram app, open Settings → Business → Chatbots.
  2. Add your bot by its @username.

Your bot is now linked to your account. Brilio receives the connection automatically — no codes to copy.

Step 3 — Allow It to Reply

When you add the bot, Telegram asks which permissions to grant.

  • Turn on "Reply to messages".

Without reply permission, the agent stays silent

If "Reply to messages" is off, your agent can see incoming messages but cannot answer. Brilio's Telegram page shows a warning until you turn this on. Re-open Settings → Business → Chatbots, select the bot, and enable it.

Step 4 — Choose Who the Agent Answers

In the same Chatbots screen, Telegram lets you pick which conversations the bot applies to (for example all chats, only new chats, or specific people), and lets you exclude chats.

Recommended: answer customers, not contacts

Set the chatbot to handle new and existing chats but exclude your saved contacts. This keeps the agent focused on customers reaching out to your business, so it never auto-replies to friends and family. You control this entirely in Telegram — Brilio only recommends it.

You're In Control

  • Take over any time. When you send a message yourself in a customer's chat, the agent automatically pauses in that chat for a short window so you can handle it personally. It resumes afterward.
  • 24-hour window. Telegram only lets the agent reply within 24 hours of the customer's last message — the same rule that applies to you.
  • Turn it off any time. Remove the bot under Settings → Business → Chatbots, or disable Business Mode in @BotFather.

Troubleshooting

Symptom What to check
Brilio shows "Replies are turned off" In Telegram → Settings → Business → Chatbots, enable Reply to messages for the bot.
The agent replied to a personal contact Adjust the chatbot's recipients in Telegram to exclude your saved contacts (Step 4).
No reply to an old conversation Telegram blocks replies after 24 hours of customer silence — this is expected.
Brilio shows no Business connection Confirm Business Mode is On in @BotFather and the bot was added under Telegram → Settings → Business → Chatbots.

Next Steps

  • Review your agent's knowledge so its answers are accurate before customers reach it.
  • Send yourself a test message from another account to confirm the agent replies as expected.
  • Keep the standard bot connection too, so customers who prefer messaging @yourbot directly are still covered.