Telegram is one of the fastest and most secure messaging apps available. It also has a very well designed and user-friendly interface. You can sync it across devices and use it to create short videos, send messages and stickers to your friends.
Telegram also has bots. If you’re new to Telegram, you might be wondering what they do. In essence, these are third-party apps that run inside Telegram. There are many things bots can be used for. But first, let’s see how to add bots to Telegram.
Adding Bots to Telegram
Before going any further, make sure you have the updated version of Telegram. You can find it on both Android and iOS. If you have never added a bot to Telegram before, the first thing you should do is introduce yourself to BotFather.
Telegram describes this bot as one bot to rule them all. You should use it to create new bot accounts and manage existing ones. So how do you add BotFather? It’s easy, just follow these steps:
- Open the Telegram messaging app.
- Tap the search button (the magnifying glass in the upper right corner).
- Type @BotFather and select.
- Tap on “Start” at the bottom of the screen.
Now you’ve done most of the work. Once you’ve selected “Start”, you’re on your way to creating your own bot. This process works like this:
- BotFather lists all the commands you can use, the first being /newbot.
- When you tap /newbot, you will be prompted to specify the name of your bot. Make sure the name ends with -bot. Example: If your bot is named John, it would be Johnbot or John_bot.
- You will receive a token to access the bot’s HTTP API. Make sure you store and store it safely.
Your bot needs some coding knowledge to work. You can do it yourself or ask someone to do it for you. You can get Bot Code samples on Telegram and see if you can solve it.
After that you can add a description and a profile picture to your bot. You can also ping Bot Support on Telegram to see if you can get a better username. But first, you have to make sure the bot is fully operational.
What Can Telegram Bots Do?
You can use bots to get customized notifications and news. You can have the bot send you relevant content as soon as it goes live. You can also use a Telegram bot to integrate it with other services. You can add a Gmail Bot, IMDB bot, Wiki bot and others.
You can also use bots to create single and multiplayer games. Everything from arcades to puzzles and 3D shooters. However, many Telegram users use bots to create custom tools. You can have bots do everything from translations to weather forecasts.
There are lots of public bots and many companies use them to promote their business. If you know about a particular bot and want to add it to your Telegram, all you have to do is go to “Search” and type the username. For example, if you want to add a PollBot that allows you to create simple polls within Telegram, type and select “PollBot”.
Separating Bots from People
You can easily tell the difference between humans and bots in Telegram. Bots have no online status and no “last seen” stamps. Also, the interface shows the label “Bot”. Additionally, bots have limited Cloud storage, which means old messages will be quickly removed by the server.
Another important distinction is that bots cannot initiate conversations with humans. You need to add them to a group or be the one to message them first. The reason they are added to groups is to make conversations flow better.
You get tons of notifications from outside sources that can be helpful especially in business groups. You can keep some information encrypted by running the bot in Privacy Mode. A bot with privacy mode enabled cannot receive all messages people send to the group.
Making the Boots Well
The word “bot” oozes with a negative connotation, mostly due to their malicious use on social media. But bots are only as good as their creators. A chatbot can make the conversation livelier and remind people of something they want to talk about. Telegram is a great place to explore the possibilities of bots. Now you know how to add them, you can also create your own if you’re up to the task.
Have you ever created a bot? Which ones would you add to Telegram? Let us know in the comments section below.
