How to connect a Telegram bot to BotB2B
Once you have a token from BotFather, connecting takes a minute: paste the token in Front Desk, create an AI bot and assign it to the account. From that moment the bot replies to customers 24/7, keeps the conversation on your script and collects leads. This guide covers the connection, assignment and the first test.
No token yet? Create the bot first: How to create a Telegram bot in BotFather.
Connect the bot
- 1
Open Front Desk → Accounts and click Add account
In the left menu choose Front Desk, open the Accounts tab and press Add account. The catalog of channels opens. Pick the Telegram card with the description "Telegram bot: chats and leads".
The second Telegram card, Telegram (personal number), connects your own account by QR code instead of a bot. See Connect a personal Telegram number.
- 2
Paste the API token and press Connect
In the Connect Telegram bot dialog paste the token into API Token of the bot and press Connect. The dialog reminds you where to get the token: the bot owner sends /mybots to @BotFather, selects the bot and presses API Token.
- 3
Account connected: create a chat reply bot
BotB2B checks the token with Telegram and shows Account connected with the bot's name and username. Under What's next? press Chat reply bot: it "replies to customer messages 24/7, clarifies details and hands you ready-to-work leads". The bot builder opens.
- 4
Describe your business and save the bot
Name the bot, choose Smart mode and your category (Items, Services, Online services or Other) and answer the questions in your own words: who you are, what you sell, prices, delivery, what to ask the customer. Or switch to Professional and write the prompt yourself. Every field is explained in Bot settings: every field.
Assign the bot to the account
A connected account and a saved bot are two separate things: the bot starts replying only when it is assigned to the account. Open the account in Front Desk → Accounts, the Bot assignment tab. In the Answer to messages block press Assign bot, pick the bot in the Select bot dialog and press Assign.
After assignment the block shows the bot's name and the beginning of its prompt, with Change bot, Start bot and Knowledge base buttons. If the status says Bot is inactive, press Start bot. The same bot can be assigned to several accounts; to stop it in one account only, use Change bot → Disable current.
Check the first conversation
Open your bot in Telegram and send /start or any question. The reply comes from the AI within the Answer delay set in the bot. The conversation appears in Front Desk → Chats: the client's messages, the bot's replies, the token cost and the Lead forming block on the right. When the customer leaves a phone number, email or Telegram handle, a lead appears in Leads.
Need to answer yourself? Type in Write to chat: the bot goes quiet in that conversation and you continue. Switch Bot answers in this chat back on to return the conversation to the AI.
Stop list: people the bot must not answer
On the account's Stop list tab you can exclude specific people, for example colleagues or partners you talk to personally. The tab's description says it all: "Prevent the bot from answering users who you answer manually". Find the person by name and press Add to stop list.
What to set up next
Notifications and CRMLeads and help requests in Telegram, email or your CRMTelegram Business: bot in your DMsLet the same bot reply in your personal chats on your behalfTelegram says the account is already connected to another user
One bot token can be connected to one BotB2B account. Disconnect it in the other account or create a new bot in BotFather.
The account shows "Bot unavailable"
Telegram rejected the token: it was revoked or the bot was deleted in BotFather. Get a fresh token with /mybots → API Token and press Reconnect on the account card.
Does the bot reply in groups?
A regular Telegram bot answers private chats with customers. To reply in groups and channel comments, connect a personal Telegram number instead.
See also
Try BotB2B for free
Sign-up takes a minute and starter tokens are on us. Set everything up with this guide.