Connect Gleap with Telegram

This guide explains how to integrate Telegram with Gleap. By connecting a Telegram bot, you can leverage Gleap's AI bots and live chat features directly on Telegram — all managed from a single inbox.

Prerequisites

• A Telegram account

• Admin access to your Gleap project

Step 1: Create a Telegram Bot

1. Open Telegram and search for @BotFather

2. Send /newbot

3. Choose a display name for your bot (e.g., "Acme Support")

4. Choose a username for your bot (e.g., acme_support_bot) — must end in bot

5. BotFather will reply with your bot token — copy it

Tip: You can customize your bot's profile picture and description with /setuserpic and /setdescription in BotFather.

Step 2: Connect the Bot to Gleap

1. In Gleap, navigate to Settings → Channels → Telegram

2. Click "Add bot"

3. Paste your bot token and click "Connect bot"

4. Your bot is now connected and ready to receive messages

Step 3: Share Your Bot

Share your bot link with customers so they can start conversations:

• Direct link: https://t.me/your_bot_username

• You can also add a "Message us on Telegram" button to your website

Features

Conversations: Every private message to your bot creates a ticket in your Gleap inbox. Reply from Gleap and the message appears instantly in Telegram.

Media support: Customers can send images, documents, videos, voice notes, stickers, locations, and contacts. All media is automatically uploaded and attached to the ticket.

AI bots & workflows: Set up workflows specifically for the Telegram channel. Kai (Gleap's AI bot) works with Telegram, including interactive button responses for guided conversations.

Typing indicators: When an agent starts typing a reply in Gleap, the customer sees a "typing..." indicator in Telegram.

Operator name: Optionally prefix outgoing messages with the agent's name (e.g., [Sarah] How can I help?). Enable this in the channel's message settings.

Ticket creation rules: Configure when new tickets are created:

• Time-based: Create a new ticket if the last one is older than X hours

• Reply after closure: Automatically create a new ticket when a customer messages after their ticket was closed

Troubleshooting

Messages not arriving in Gleap?

• Verify the bot token is correct in Settings → Channels → Telegram

• Make sure the channel is enabled (toggle is on)

• Only private messages (1:1 chats) create tickets — group messages are ignored

Bot not responding?

• Check that your Gleap server is accessible over HTTPS

• Try deleting and re-adding the bot in Gleap to re-register the webhook

Buttons not showing?

• Inline keyboard buttons are sent for workflow actions with up to 8 options

• For more than 8 options, a numbered text list is sent instead