Connect Telegram accounts (and what a business connection is)

LanaChat answers fans through a bot added to each Telegram account with Telegram's Business chatbot feature. That link between an account and its bot is what we call a business connection: it lets the bot read and answer the account's private chats. By default every account gets a bot of its own; a bot can also be shared by several accounts of the same creator.

Before you start #

• Access to the Telegram account to connect.
• Telegram Premium is not required for the bot; the Business chatbot settings are in the Telegram app.

Add an account, step by step #

Open Studio › Telegram Accounts and click Add account. The assistant has four steps:

1. Creator: pick the creator the account belongs to. A search box filters the list by name. The last card, Create a new creator, creates her right there (name, main language, optional default market) and moves on to the next step with her selected.
2. Details: give the account a name (for example *Julia IT Meta Ads 5*). Only the name is required: the market and the traffic source are optional, you can set them now or later from Edit (until then the row shows *Not set* and the account is in no pool). The reply language follows the market (else the creator language); to answer in another language, customize it later in Edit, tab Edit pool details.
3. Create the bot: four points, one box to tick each. (1) In Telegram, open @BotFather and send /newbot: give the bot a name, then a username ending in bot. (2) Enter that username. (3) Turn on Secretary Mode (BotFather's new name for Business Mode): in @BotFather send /mybots, pick the bot, then Bot Settings → Secretary Mode → Turn on. BotFather confirms with "Secretary Mode is currently enabled for @your_bot". This one is required: without it the bot cannot be added to a Telegram account. (4) Paste the token BotFather sent: it is checked, then never shown again. A bot the creator already has can be picked behind Use an existing bot; a bot that already runs an account means the Stars of both accounts land on the same bot balance.
4. Connect in Telegram: the assistant shows the very screen you see on the phone. On the Telegram account to connect, open Settings → Telegram Business → Chat Automation, add the bot (use Copy on its @) and keep *All Private Chats Except…*. Under Bot permissions, turn on Manage Messages (required: Read Messages, Reply to Messages, Mark Messages as Read, Delete Sent Messages, Delete Any Message; LanaChat cannot reply without it). Manage Profile, Manage Gifts and Stars and Manage Stories are optional, recommended; inside Gifts and Stars, leave Transfer Stars and Transfer and Upgrade Gifts off unless you want LanaChat to move money. Telegram reminds you that the bot can only reply in chats that were active during the last 24 hours.

Screenshot

The window then waits for Telegram and switches to Connected as @username on its own. Press Done. If nothing happens within a minute, check that the bot is added and Reply is on, or send the account a message from another Telegram account: the first message wakes the connection. Finish later keeps the row as Waiting for Telegram; Finish connecting in the row's ⋮ menu brings this step back.

Statuses you may see #

• Waiting for Telegram: Telegram hasn't confirmed the connection yet.
• Connection issue: the reason is written under the chip. *Reply permission is off in Telegram*: in Chat Automation, turn on Manage Messages with Reply to Messages. *Bot stopped: webhook not reachable*: press Reconnect. *Telegram hasn't confirmed the connection yet*: add the bot again, then Reconnect.
• Paused: you paused the AI on this account. Press Resume AI replies.