Questions about Octopods?Schedule a call
Telegram Personal accounts for Intercom

Answer your personal Telegram chats in Intercom

Connect the Telegram account your customers already write to. Their 1-1 and group messages arrive in your Intercom inbox, and your team replies from your own account, not a bot.

Replies go out as you, not a bot
Connect with a QR code
Telegram Personal
Intercom

Telegram Personal → Intercom

Your customers already know your Telegram account

Many teams run their business from a personal Telegram account. The chats live on one phone, so nobody else can see them or step in.

  • Only one person can see and answer each chat
  • Customer history stays on a phone instead of in your support tool
  • Chats sit outside the inbox where the rest of your support happens
  • Asking customers to message a bot instead means starting the relationship over

Connect your personal Telegram account to Intercom

Octopods signs in to your account as a linked device, then brings your chats into Intercom.

1. Scan the QR codeIllustration with sample content, not a product screenshot

Your Telegram chats, handled like any other Intercom conversation

Customers see the same account they have always messaged. Your team gets the shared inbox.

Your account, not a bot

Customers keep talking to the person they already know. Replies come from your own Telegram account.

Group chats, as a member

Messages in Telegram groups your account belongs to arrive in Intercom, and your team replies to the group from Intercom. It works as if you had joined the group yourself.

Text and media, both ways

Customers can send text, photos, files, videos, audio and voice messages. Your team can reply with text, photos, videos, audio and files up to 20 MB.

Normal Intercom conversations

Each person becomes an Intercom contact, with their Telegram name and username when they have one. Assign, tag and add internal notes as you always do.

Your phone still works

Keep using Telegram on your phone. Messages you send from the Telegram app are recorded in the same Intercom conversation, so your team sees the whole thread.

Clear delivery notes

If Telegram rejects a message, or Octopods can't confirm it arrived, a note appears in the conversation so nobody has to guess.

Connection status

The channel page shows whether your account is connected. If Telegram ends the session, it tells you the account needs reconnecting.

What it supports, and what it doesn't

Telegram Personal is built for answering people who write to you. Check the list before you connect.

Supported

  • 1-1 chats with people who message your account
  • Group chats your account is a member of, switched on in the channel settings
  • Text, photos, files, videos, audio and voice messages from the people you talk to
  • Text, photos, videos, audio and files from your team, up to 20 MB each
  • Connecting by QR code or phone number, including two-step verification
  • Intercom, with each connected account as its own channel

Not supported

  • Starting conversations, broadcasts or bulk messages
  • Telegram channels, and Octopods joining groups for you: your account has to be a member already
  • Importing past Telegram history: only messages after you connect appear
  • Edits and deletions made in Telegram after a message arrives
  • Stickers, locations, polls and contact cards: your team sees a note saying what was sent, not the content
  • HubSpot: Telegram Personal works with Intercom only

Telegram Personal or Telegram Bots?

Octopods offers two ways to bring Telegram into Intercom. Choose the one that matches how your customers reach you.

Comparison of Telegram Bots and Telegram Personal
 Telegram BotsTelegram Personal
What customers seeYour botYour own Telegram account
Chat types1-1 chats, and group chats the bot has been added to1-1 chats, and group chats your account is a member of
How you connectA bot token from BotFatherA QR code, or your phone number and a login code
Connection to TelegramTelegram's official Bot APIYour account, signed in as a linked device
PlatformsIntercom and HubSpotIntercom
Best whenYou want a dedicated support identityCustomers already message you personally

Built for replies, not outreach

A personal account is yours, and Telegram expects it to be used like one. Octopods is designed to help you answer people who write to you, and nothing more.

Replies only

Octopods never starts a Telegram conversation, joins a group for you or sends bulk messages.

You confirm first

Before connecting, you confirm that you control the account and that you won't use it for bulk or unsolicited messages.

Telegram's limits are respected

When Telegram asks Octopods to wait before sending, it waits. Telegram can still restrict accounts it considers spam, so use the channel for genuine conversations.

You stay in control

Octopods appears in Telegram under Settings, then Devices. Disconnecting the channel signs the account out of Octopods, and you can end the session from Telegram at any time.

Where teams use it

Examples of conversations that start on a personal Telegram account

Founder-led support

Keep answering customers on the account they already know, while your team joins in from Intercom.

Account management

Give account managers a shared record of the 1-1 and group Telegram conversations they handle.

Sales conversations

Let sales and support see the same Telegram conversations with a customer.

Frequently asked questions

Common questions about Telegram Personal for Intercom

Telegram Personal connects a personal Telegram account to Intercom. People message your account as they normally would, and your team answers from Intercom. It is separate from Telegram Bots, which connect a bot that your customers message.

Add the Telegram Personal channel in Octopods and confirm that you control the account. Then scan the QR code from your Telegram app (Settings, Devices, Link Desktop Device). If you can't scan, enter your phone number and type the login code Telegram sends to your Telegram app. Telegram may also ask for your two-step verification password or an email code. The account must already exist: Octopods never creates a Telegram account.

Yes. If your Telegram account is a member of a group, messages in that group appear in Intercom, and your team can reply to the group from Intercom. It works the way groups work for Telegram Bots, except that the account in the group is yours, as if you had joined it yourself. Octopods doesn't add your account to groups, so join them in Telegram as you normally would. You choose in the channel settings whether group chats come into Intercom. Telegram channels are not supported.

No. Telegram Personal is for replying to people who message you. Octopods doesn't start chats, import contacts, join groups for you or send bulk messages.

Customers can send text, photos, files, videos, audio and voice messages. Your team can reply with text, photos, videos, audio and files, up to 20 MB each. Several photos sent together arrive as separate messages. Stickers, locations, polls and contact cards appear as a note saying what was sent.

Yes. Octopods is one more signed-in session on your account. Messages you send from the Telegram app are recorded in the Intercom conversation.

Octopods adds a note to the conversation. If Telegram rejects the message, the note says so, and the message is not retried automatically. If Octopods can't confirm delivery, the note asks you to check before sending again, so the customer doesn't get a duplicate. If Telegram asks Octopods to wait, the reply is sent after the wait.

The channel page shows that the account needs reconnecting, and replies stop sending. To fix it, disconnect the channel and connect the account again. There is no way to sign back in from the channel page.

Deactivate the channel in Octopods. Message sync stops and Octopods signs out of your Telegram account. You can also end the session yourself in Telegram under Settings, Devices.

Yes. Telegram sets its own rules for accounts and can restrict any account it considers to be sending spam. Octopods connects as a linked device and only replies to messages sent to you. It doesn't send bulk or unsolicited messages, and you confirm that you won't either. Use the channel for genuine conversations.

No. Telegram Personal works with Intercom. HubSpot teams can connect Telegram Bots instead.

Each connected Telegram account counts as one channel on your Omnichannel plan. See pricing for current plans. The 7-day free trial doesn't include Telegram Personal. If you don't see Telegram Personal when you add a channel in Octopods, contact us and we'll help.

Related

Telegram Bots for IntercomContact matchingAll Intercom channelsPricing

Ready to answer your Telegram chats in Intercom?

Connect your account, or talk to us first.

Available on the Intercom App Store