# The Telegram step only you can do

_Connect an AI assistant · 2 min read · Updated 2026-10-28 · https://lanachat.ai/guides/ai-telegram-human-step/_

Your assistant can save the bot and wait for it. It cannot link the bot to her Telegram account: that switch lives in the Telegram app, on her phone. It takes two minutes.

## 1. Create the bot (if it does not exist yet)

1. In Telegram, open **@BotFather** and send `/newbot`.
2. Give the bot a name, then a username that ends in `bot`.
3. BotFather sends the bot token. It is a secret: give it only to the assistant's tool, or paste it yourself in **Studio › Telegram Accounts**.
4. Turn on **Secretary Mode**: send `/mybots`, pick the bot, then **Bot Settings › Secretary Mode › Turn on**.

## 2. Link the bot to her account

On the Telegram account she sells from:

1. Open **Settings › Telegram Business › Chat Automation**.
2. Add the bot by its username.
3. Keep **All Private Chats Except…**.
4. Under **Bot permissions**, turn on **Manage Messages**.

Telegram Premium is not required for this.

## 3. Tell your assistant

Write "done" in the chat. The assistant calls `list_workspace_telegram` until the account shows **connected**. In the Console, **Studio › Telegram Accounts** shows **Connected as @username**.

## If it stays on "Waiting for Telegram"

- Check the bot is added and **Manage Messages** is on.
- Send a message to her account from another Telegram account: the first message wakes the connection.
- Ask the assistant: "Resync her bot." It calls `resync_workspace_telegram_bot`.

More details on statuses in [Connect Telegram accounts](https://lanachat.ai/guides/connect-telegram/).

## Related

- [Connect Telegram accounts (and what a business connection is)](https://lanachat.ai/guides/connect-telegram/)
- [The setup prompt: copy, paste, answer](https://lanachat.ai/guides/ai-setup-prompt/)
- [Telegram Accounts: accounts, pool load and stories](https://lanachat.ai/guides/telegram-accounts/)