How to connect a Telegram group to Intercom

Telegram groups are useful when your customers, community members, or team already use Telegram. With Interchat, messages from a Telegram group can appear in the Intercom Inbox. Your team can then read and reply from Intercom.

You can connect a Telegram group in two ways:

with a Telegram bot
with a regular Telegram account

For most teams, a Telegram bot is the better choice. Bots are built for business use, automation, and high message volume.

Before you start

You need:

an Intercom workspace
the Telegram app installed in the workspace
admin access to the Telegram group
either a Telegram bot or a regular Telegram account

If you are new to Telegram, a bot is a special Telegram account made for apps and automation. You create it with @BotFather. A regular account is a normal Telegram user account with a phone number.

Option 1: Connect with a Telegram bot

Use this option if you want the most stable setup.

Open Telegram and start a chat with @BotFather.
Create a bot with the /newbot command.
Copy the bot token. Keep it private.
Go to Interchat Connect.
Choose Telegram Bot and paste the bot token.
Open your Telegram group.
Add the bot to the group.
Make the bot an admin in the group.

After that, new group messages should appear in Intercom.

Why the bot should be an admin

Telegram bots in groups often run in Privacy Mode. In this mode, a bot may only see commands, replies, and a few service messages.

To let Interchat receive all group messages, use one of these options:

make the bot an admin in the group
or turn off Privacy Mode for the bot in @BotFather

Making the bot an admin is usually easier. It also helps avoid missed messages.

Option 2: Connect with a regular Telegram account

Use this option only if you need a normal Telegram account instead of a bot. It can work well for small private groups, but it is not the best choice for high message volume.

Go to Interchat Connect.
Choose Telegram Account.
Sign in with the Telegram phone number.
Open the connected account settings in Interchat.
Enable Forward Telegram group chats.
Make sure the Telegram account is a member of the group.

By default, regular Telegram accounts do not forward group messages to Intercom. The Forward Telegram group chats setting must be turned on.

What appears in Intercom

When the setup is done:

group messages are sent to the Intercom Inbox
replies from Intercom are sent back to the Telegram group
each Telegram group can have its own Intercom conversation
Telegram group topics can appear as separate conversations

This lets your support team work from Intercom while customers keep using Telegram.

Which option should you choose?

Choose a Telegram bot if:

you want a reliable business setup
you expect many messages
you use Intercom workflows, automation, or Fin AI
you want support agents to reply only from Intercom

Choose a regular Telegram account if:

the group is small
you need messages to come from a normal Telegram account
you already use that Telegram account with customers

If you are not sure, start with a Telegram bot.

Troubleshooting

Messages do not appear in Intercom

Check these items:

The bot or account is connected in Interchat.
The bot or account is still in the Telegram group.
For bots, the bot is an admin or Privacy Mode is turned off.
For regular accounts, Forward Telegram group chats is enabled.
A new message was sent after setup was completed.

Replies from Intercom do not appear in Telegram

Check that the bot or account is still a member of the group. If you use a bot, make sure a group admin did not remove or block it.

The group has too many messages

For busy groups, use a Telegram bot. You can also use Intercom assignment rules, teams, tags, and workflows to keep the inbox organized.

You want to stop receiving messages from a group

Remove the bot or account from the Telegram group. If you use a regular Telegram account, you can also turn off Forward Telegram group chats.