AI manager in Telegram Business: replies on your behalf
How to make the Craft AI agent answer customers in your personal Telegram account on your behalf — by your rules and knowledge base — and go quiet when you write yourself.
Yes, you can: connect your Craft bot to Telegram Business and switch on the AI agent for it. The agent then replies to customers right in your personal Telegram account's private messages, on your behalf — briefly, in the customer's language, following your rules and knowledge base.
Who it's for#
- Customers message your personal Telegram — by phone number or username, not the bot.
- You can't reply fast enough, and the questions repeat: price, terms, booking.
- You want hot customers handed to you or a manager while simple questions get answered on their own.
What you need#
- Telegram Premium on the account customers write to. Without it, Telegram has no "Telegram Business" section in settings.
- A bot connected to Craft under Accounts.
- Credits on your balance: every agent reply spends credits.
How to set it up#
- Open @BotFather →
/mybots→ pick the bot → Bot Settings → Business Mode → Turn on. - In Telegram on your account: Settings → Telegram Business → Chatbots. Enter the bot's username and choose the chats: all private chats, all except selected, or only selected.
- Allow the bot to reply to messages.
- In Craft, on the My accounts page, a green line "Works in your personal account" should appear under the bot. Yellow — "without permission to reply" — means go back to Telegram and grant that permission.
- Open Automations → AI agent and pick the bot in the Account list.
- Fill in the Communication rule (who you are, how to talk, what to offer, what not to do — up to 8,000 characters) and the Knowledge base (prices, terms, common questions). You can use the same ones as the Instagram agent — then you edit them in one place and both channels answer the same way.
- Pick a model at the bottom of the page and switch the agent on.
More on connecting your personal account: Funnels in personal Telegram. More on the agent itself: AI agent.
How it behaves in a chat#
- It replies only to people no funnel caught. If someone writes a keyword, the funnel fires and the agent stays quiet.
- It understands voice messages and photos, and can send materials from the bot's funnels on its own: a video, a catalog, a PDF.
- It shows "typing…" before replying.
- You replied yourself — from your personal account, from Dialogs or from the work group — the agent goes quiet in that chat for the pause time. Your own messages don't start funnels.
- A customer ready to buy can be handed to you or a manager with a summary.
⚠️ Telegram lets the bot write on your behalf only in chats where the customer messaged you within the last 24 hours. Messages delayed by more than a day won't arrive in such a chat.
⚠️ Keywords fire in every chat the bot is allowed in. If the bot works in "all private chats", a friend who happens to type a keyword can start a funnel. Pick unusual words or limit the chats in Telegram settings.
🔴 Out of credits — the agent goes silent. New messages stay unanswered until you top up. Craft warns you by email, in Telegram and in the bell — at most once a day.
💡 Start with the recommended 1-credit model — it's enough for questions about price, booking and terms. If replies feel weak, switch models: the conversation isn't lost. Prices per model are in AI agent and Credits.
What it costs#
Every reply that reaches the customer spends credits. The price depends on the model and on the size of the communication rule plus the knowledge base. The agent page shows the exact price as you type. If a reply wasn't sent, the credits come back.
Not available yet#
- Broadcasts into personal chats. That would be mass sending from your personal number — Craft doesn't do it.
- Bot links and
/startdon't work in personal chats: they lead to the chat with the bot. - The agent in VK, MAX and WhatsApp — it replies only in Instagram and Telegram.
- The agent doesn't read stickers or forwards.
FAQ#
Will the customer realize a bot is replying?#
Replies come from your name, in the same chat where the customer wrote to you. How the agent introduces itself and what it says is set by you in the communication rule.
Can I chat myself while the agent is on?#
Yes. Once you reply to a customer, the agent goes quiet in that chat for the pause time and doesn't interrupt.
Do I need Telegram Premium?#
Yes, on the account customers write to. Without Premium there's no "Telegram Business" section.
Can I limit which chats the agent answers in?#
Yes, in Telegram: Settings → Telegram Business → Chatbots — all private chats, all except selected, or only selected.
How do I turn it off?#
Switch the agent off on the AI agent page, or remove the bot in Settings → Telegram Business → Chatbots.