How to Set Up a Telegram Chatbot for Sales and Support

Telegram is one of the main channels where customers ask questions, learn about your offer, and decide whether to buy. A chatbot takes over the repetitive conversations and frees you from handling every enquiry manually. Let's look at how to set it up — and why combining two modes, sales and support, makes sense.

Why a Telegram Bot Needs Two Modes — Sales and Support

A sales scenario guides a new customer step by step: introduce, explain the value, address common questions, and offer a clear call to action. Support works differently — it answers specific questions from someone who has already bought something or got stuck somewhere along the way.

Combining both modes in a single bot is convenient: one token, one entry point, one conversation history. The customer does not switch between different contacts — the bot understands what stage the person is at and responds accordingly.

How to Connect the Bot and Build a Base Scenario

1. Create a bot via @BotFather in Telegram and get a token. This takes a couple of minutes.
2. Add the token in Talvio settings — after that, the platform receives messages through your bot.
3. Build a welcome scenario in the visual editor: an opening message, buttons for the main sections (about the programme, pricing, booking, support).
4. Set up the key branches — at minimum: "I want to buy" → steps to payment, "I already bought" → instructions and FAQ.

You do not need a perfect scenario at launch: covering the dozen most common questions you currently handle manually is enough to start.

Where to Enable AI Replies

An AI chatbot is useful where customers write in their own words — not pressing a button, but asking a question freely. The AI parses the meaning of the message and replies based on your materials: course description, FAQ, terms of service.

The most reliable setup is this combination: free-form messages handled by AI, while key steps — booking, plan selection, payment — follow a fixed scenario where every transition is predictable. This matters for the sales funnel: critical steps must not depend on whether the AI correctly understood a particular message.

AI is not a replacement for an expert and not a live manager. Its zone is the standard questions you already know how to answer — you just do not have time to handle them at scale manually.

When to Hand Off to a Human

An unusual case, a complaint, a disputed situation — the bot should not try to resolve any of these on its own. The "better to ask than to get it wrong" principle works both ways: if the AI is not confident in an answer, it should acknowledge that and pass the conversation to a manager.

Set up an explicit escalation point in the scenario — a button or a keyword that sends a live person a notification and brings them into the conversation. This protects trust: the customer sees that there are real people behind the bot, ready to help.

How to Get Started on Talvio

Talvio connects your Telegram bot and gives you a visual editor for building scenarios without code. You can start on the free plan (no card required); advanced features — AI replies, segmentation, analytics — are available on the Pro plan at 2990 ₽/mo. Personal data is processed under 152-FZ: the operator is a sole proprietor (ИП) listed in the Roskomnadzor register.

Build your first scenario in an hour and see how the AI chatbot works on Talvio.