MxChat Telegram Integration
Connect your MxChat chatbot to Telegram for live agent support. When visitors request human help, conversations are routed to your Telegram supergroup where agents can respond in real-time.
- MxChat plugin installed and activated
- No Pro licence required — the Telegram live agent handoff is part of the free core plugin
- Telegram account (free)
- SSL certificate on your website (https://)
Quick Setup
Follow these steps to connect MxChat to Telegram. The entire setup takes about 5 minutes.
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Create a Telegram Bot
Open Telegram and search for
@BotFather. Send the command/newbotand follow the prompts to name your bot.BotFather will give you a Bot Token that looks like this:
7123456789:AAHxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxSave this token – you’ll need it in step 4.
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Create a Supergroup with Topics
Create a new Telegram group and convert it to a supergroup with topics enabled:
- Create a new group in Telegram
- Add your bot (the one you just created) to the group
- Open group settings and enable “Topics”
- Make your bot an administrator with permission to manage topics
✅ TipWhen creating the group, add your bot immediately. This ensures the bot can see all messages from the start.
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Get Your Group ID
Add
@raw_data_botto your group temporarily. It will display your group’s chat ID, which looks like:-1001234567890Copy this ID, then remove @raw_data_bot from the group.
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Configure MxChat Settings
In your WordPress admin, go to MxChat → Settings → Integrations → Telegram and enter:
Setting Value Bot Token Your token from BotFather Group Chat ID Your supergroup ID (starts with -100) Webhook Secret Any random string (auto-generated) Click Save Settings.
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Set the Webhook
Click the “Set Webhook” button in MxChat settings. This tells Telegram where to send messages from your agents.
You should see a success message. Your integration is now active!
When a visitor requests a live agent on your website, a new topic will be created in your Telegram group. Your agents can reply directly in Telegram and messages will appear on your website in real-time.
Core Features
🗂️ Organized Topics
Each visitor conversation gets its own forum topic. No message chaos – just clean, organized support threads.
🔄 Real-Time Sync
Messages sync instantly between your website and Telegram. Visitors see agent replies immediately.
📱 Mobile Support
Agents respond from the Telegram app on any device. No special software or dashboard needed.
🔒 Secure Webhooks
Secret token verification ensures only legitimate messages from Telegram are processed.
📜 Context Transfer
The last 10 messages of the conversation are shared with agents as readable text, so they have context before they reply.
🤖 AI Fallback
Visitors can switch back to AI assistance anytime by typing “Switch to AI” in the chat.
How It Works
Here’s the flow when a visitor requests live agent support:
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Visitor Requests Help
A visitor clicks “Talk to a human” or types a request for live support in your chatbot.
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Topic Created
MxChat creates a new topic in your Telegram supergroup with the visitor’s session info, the current message, and the last 10 messages of the conversation.
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Agent Responds
Any team member in the Telegram group can reply to the topic. Their message is sent to the visitor.
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Conversation Continues
Messages flow bidirectionally until the conversation ends or the visitor switches back to AI.
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Agent Ends the Conversation
Type
#close,#end,#disconnect, or#donein the topic to end the session. MxChat closes the topic and returns the visitor to the AI assistant. Closing the topic from Telegram itself does the same. If that visitor asks for an agent again, MxChat opens a fresh topic rather than reusing the closed one.
Telegram Setup Details
Bot Permissions
Your bot needs the following admin permissions in the supergroup:
- Manage Topics – Create new topics for each conversation
- Send Messages – Post visitor messages to topics
- Delete Messages – Optional, for cleanup
Converting to Supergroup
If your group isn’t already a supergroup, Telegram will automatically convert it when you enable topics. You can also manually convert by:
- Opening group settings
- Going to “Group Type”
- Selecting “Supergroup”
Topics must be enabled for the integration to work. Regular groups without topics are not supported because we need separate threads for each visitor conversation.
MxChat Settings
| Setting | Description | Required |
|---|---|---|
Bot Token |
The API token from BotFather for your Telegram bot | Yes |
Group Chat ID |
Your supergroup’s numeric ID (starts with -100) | Yes |
Webhook Secret |
Random string for webhook verification (auto-generated) | Yes |
Away Message |
Message shown when no agents are available | No |
Welcome Message |
Initial message when live chat connects | No |
Webhook Setup
The webhook allows Telegram to send agent messages to your website. MxChat handles this automatically when you click “Set Webhook”.
Manual Webhook Setup
If automatic setup fails, you can set the webhook manually using this URL in your browser:
https://api.telegram.org/bot<YOUR_BOT_TOKEN>/setWebhook?url=https://yoursite.com/wp-json/mxchat/v1/telegram-webhook&secret_token=<YOUR_SECRET>
Replace:
<YOUR_BOT_TOKEN>with your actual bot tokenyoursite.comwith your domain<YOUR_SECRET>with your webhook secret
Verify Webhook Status
Check if your webhook is set correctly:
https://api.telegram.org/bot<YOUR_BOT_TOKEN>/getWebhookInfo
Troubleshooting
Messages not appearing on website
Agent replies in Telegram aren’t showing on the visitor’s chat widget.
1. Verify the webhook is set correctly using getWebhookInfo
2. Ensure your site has a valid SSL certificate (https)
3. Check that your webhook secret in MxChat matches what was sent to Telegram
Topics not being created
When visitors request live chat, no topic appears in the Telegram group.
1. Confirm your bot is an admin in the supergroup
2. Verify the bot has “Manage Topics” permission
3. Double-check the Group Chat ID is correct (should start with -100)
Webhook returns 401/403 error
The webhook endpoint is rejecting messages from Telegram.
1. Regenerate the webhook secret in MxChat settings
2. Click “Set Webhook” again to update Telegram
3. If using a security plugin, whitelist the webhook endpoint
Bot not responding in group
The bot was added to the group but doesn’t react to anything.
1. Remove and re-add the bot to the group
2. Make sure the bot is set as administrator
3. Check that “Group Privacy” is disabled for the bot in BotFather (/setprivacy → Disable)
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a paid Telegram account?
+No. Telegram is completely free for personal and business use. Creating bots and supergroups costs nothing.
How many agents can use the Telegram group?
+Unlimited. Anyone in the supergroup can see and respond to visitor conversations. Messages show which agent sent them.
What happens when all agents are offline?
+Visitors see your configured “away message.” They can also type “Switch to AI” to return to chatbot assistance anytime.
Can I use Telegram and Slack at the same time?
+Yes. Slack, Telegram and Webhook are three independent handoffs — each is enabled on its own and each has its own availability schedule, so you can run more than one, and the chatbot only offers a destination that is currently inside its hours. If several are enabled, the bot picks one per conversation.
Are conversations saved?
+Yes. All messages are stored in MxChat conversation history on your WordPress site. Telegram also keeps a copy in your supergroup topics.
Can visitors send images or files?
+Currently, the integration supports text messages. Image and file sharing may be added in future updates.
Download the MxChat Telegram add-on and follow the Quick Setup guide above. Most users complete setup in under 5 minutes!