Comparing Telegram for Intercom
Intercom native Telegram vs Telegram Personal A bot or your own Telegram account?
Intercom now connects Telegram bots natively. Telegram Personal by Octopods connects your own Telegram account instead, so customers keep talking to the person they know and your team replies from Intercom.
- Replies go out from your own account
- 1-1 and group chats
- Works in Intercom and HubSpot
the practical answer
Should an Intercom team use a Telegram bot or a personal account?
Use Intercom's native Telegram channel when customers can message a support bot: it brings bot chats into the Intercom inbox with Fin, Workflows, broadcasts and ticket forms. Choose Telegram Personal by Octopods when customers already message a person's Telegram account, such as an account manager or founder, and you want your team to answer those 1-1 and group chats from Intercom without moving customers to a bot.
Two ways to answer Telegram in Intercom
Intercom native bot
Telegram Personal
Replies go out from your own Telegram account.
Reply as yourself, not a bot
Telegram Personal connects your own Telegram account with a QR code or your phone number. Customers keep messaging the account they know, and your team's replies from Intercom are sent from it.
Your phone and your inbox stay in step
Octopods is one more signed-in session on your account, so messages you send from the Telegram app are recorded in the Intercom conversation. With Intercom's native bots, replies sent in Telegram don't sync to Intercom.
The same account works in HubSpot
Telegram Personal handles 1-1 and group chats in Intercom and in HubSpot. Intercom's native Telegram channel brings bot chats into Intercom only.
choosing a telegram connection
When is a Telegram bot enough for an Intercom team?
A bot is a separate identity that customers find and message. A personal account is the person they already talk to. Which one fits depends on how your customers reach you today.
A bot fits new support conversations
Customers start a chat with your support bot, Fin can answer first, and you can send broadcasts and ticket forms from Intercom.
Telegram Personal fits existing relationships
Customers already message an account manager, founder or sales rep. Your team answers those chats from Intercom without asking customers to switch.
Telegram Personal is for replies
It doesn't start new chats, send broadcasts or import past history, and Telegram channels aren't synced. Use it for genuine conversations.
make the right call
Intercom native Telegram vs Telegram Personal, feature by feature
Intercom's native channel connects Telegram bots. Telegram Personal by Octopods connects a personal Telegram account. These are the differences, from Intercom's help center and Octopods' own documentation.
| What matters | Intercom native Telegram | Telegram Personal by Octopods |
|---|---|---|
| Customers message | Your Telegram bot | Your own Telegram account |
| How you connect | A BotFather bot token in Intercom's channel settings | A QR code or your phone number, in Octopods |
| Where agents reply | Intercom inbox | Intercom inbox, or HubSpot |
| Group chats | Groups the bot is a member of | Groups your account has joined |
| What agents can send | Text, photos and documents; voice and video notes are inbound only | Text, photos, videos, audio and files, up to 20 MB each |
| Replies sent from the Telegram app | Not synced to Intercom | Recorded in the Intercom conversation |
| Broadcasts and new conversations | Broadcasts from a chosen bot | Not available: Telegram Personal is for replies |
| Fin, Workflows and ticket forms | Fin and Workflows supported; hosted ticket forms with Telegram login | Assign, tag and add notes as in any Intercom conversation |
| Several identities | Several bots per workspace, with routing and a brand per bot | Each connected account is one channel |
| Price | Intercom's help center doesn't list a separate price | One channel on the Omnichannel plan ($49/month, or $39 as an additional channel); not in the free trial |
Intercom facts are from Intercom's help center (Setting up Telegram in Intercom and How Telegram conversations work in Intercom), checked 29 October 2026. Features and pricing can change; see the links below.
how it works
Your next three steps
- 1step 1
Decide who customers talk to
A support bot for new conversations, or the personal accounts your customers already message.
- 2step 2
Connect your account
Add Telegram Personal in Octopods and scan the QR code from Telegram, under Settings, Devices.
- 3step 3
Reply from Intercom
Answer a 1-1 chat and a group message from Intercom, then check that your reply arrived from your own account.
before you connect
What do you need to connect Telegram Personal?
An Intercom workspace
Telegram Personal conversations arrive in your Intercom inbox. Octopods adds no Intercom plan requirement.An existing Telegram account
The account must already exist and you must control it. Octopods never creates a Telegram account.Telegram Personal on your account
The 7-day free trial doesn't include Telegram Personal. If you don't see it when you add a channel, contact us.
go deeper
Read the setup details
keep exploring
Find your next answer
Answer your Telegram chats in Intercom as yourself.
Tell us how customers reach you on Telegram today and we'll help you choose.