How to connect a Telegram bot to an agent

An O-Key agent is an AI assistant that talks to your clients. You can connect different channels to the same agent, including website chat, WhatsApp, and Telegram. When a client writes to your Telegram bot, the agent replies automatically and the conversation appears in CRM.

Before you start: create a bot in Telegram

You need three values before opening CRM:

• the bot token;
• the bot username;
• your personal Telegram username.

If you already have a Telegram bot, skip to the checklist at the end of this section.

Step 1. Find @BotFather

Open Telegram on your phone or computer, search for BotFather, and open the official verified bot.

Step 2. Start BotFather

Click Start or send /start. BotFather will show the available commands.

Step 3. Create a new bot

Send:

/newbot

BotFather will ask for a display name. Enter any clear name, for example:

My O-Key assistant

Then BotFather will ask for a bot username. The username must be unique and must end with _bot or Bot, for example:

MyCRM_AssistantBot

✅ Save this username. You will need it in CRM.

Step 4. Copy the bot token

After the bot is created, BotFather sends an HTTP API token. It looks like this example:

1234567890:AAHdqTcvCH1vZJf7LJ1c6s9xXmN0zYxE

Copy the full token and keep it private.

❌ Never share the real token in chats or screenshots. Anyone with the token can control the bot.

Step 5. Find your personal Telegram username

Open Telegram settings and find Username. If it is empty, create and save one. Use it without @, for example ivan_petrov.

At the end of this step you should have:

1. the bot token;
2. the bot username, for example MyCRM_AssistantBot;
3. your personal Telegram username, for example ivan_petrov.

Open the agent in O-Key CRM

Step 6. Sign in to O-Key CRM

Open the CRM URL provided to you and sign in.

Step 7. Open Agents

You will see a list of agents. To connect Telegram to a new agent, click Create agent. To connect Telegram to an existing agent, click that agent’s name.

Fill in the required agent settings

Agent channels

The page shows available channels such as Telegram, website card, and WhatsApp. We will configure Telegram in the next section.

Agent name

Enter an internal name that is clear to you, for example Telegram support assistant or Telegram sales. Clients do not see this internal name.

Knowledge base

A knowledge base is optional at this step. You can add it later, but it is recommended for production use.

Meeting Avatar

This is not needed for Telegram.

Agent task

Choose what the agent should do: FAQ answers, lead generation, product consulting, support, or another available role. If you are unsure, choose consulting and adjust it later.

✅ Do not save yet if you still need to connect Telegram on the same setup page.

Connect the Telegram channel

Step 8. Open the Telegram block

In Channel connections, select Telegram to expand the form.

Step 9. Fill in the Telegram fields

Bot token

Paste the token from BotFather. Remove extra spaces before or after it.

Telegram bot username

Enter the bot username without @. If BotFather gave @MyCRM_AssistantBot, enter MyCRM_AssistantBot.

Your Telegram account username

Enter your personal Telegram username without @, for example ivan_petrov.

Step 10. Review the warnings

The Telegram instruction note is only a reminder. The WhatsApp and website-card warnings do not affect this Telegram connection.

Save and test

Step 11. Save the agent

Click Save at the bottom of the page. O-Key checks that the bot exists, the token matches the username, and the owner username is valid. If everything is correct, the agent becomes active.

Step 12. Test the bot in Telegram

Find your bot by username, click Start, or send Hello. The bot should reply, even if the answer is a default fallback.

If there is no reply, wait one or two minutes and refresh CRM.

Step 13. Check the dialog in CRM

Open the agent again and check Dialogs or Chats. You should see the message you just sent.

Troubleshooting

Problem	Likely cause	What to do
The bot does not reply in Telegram	Wrong token	Copy the token again from BotFather: /mybots → select bot → API Token.
CRM says the bot username is invalid	Username was entered with @ or wrong capitalization	Enter the exact bot username without @, preserving case.
CRM says owner was not found	Your personal username is wrong or empty	Open Telegram settings, confirm your username, and enter it without @.
The bot replies incorrectly	Knowledge base or task is not configured	Update the agent task and connect a knowledge base.
Saving hangs	Temporary connection issue	Refresh the page and click Save again.

Quick checklist

1. In Telegram, create a bot through @BotFather and copy the token and username.
2. Make sure your personal Telegram username exists.
3. In CRM, create or open an agent.
4. Fill in the agent name and task.
5. Open Telegram in channel connections.
6. Paste the token, bot username, and your username.
7. Save.
8. Send a test message to the bot and confirm the dialog appears in CRM.