> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.insitechat.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Telegram

> Deploy your AI chatbot as a Telegram bot. Users message your bot and get instant answers from your knowledge base.

## Overview

Deploy your InsiteChat chatbot as a Telegram bot. Visitors message your bot on Telegram and receive instant AI-powered answers drawn from the same knowledge base as your website chatbot — same training data, same quality.

## Setup

<Steps>
  <Step title="Create a bot via botfather">
    Open Telegram and search for **@BotFather**. Send `/newbot`, give it a name and username. BotFather will give you a **bot token** (looks like `123456789:ABCdefGHI...`).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Connect in InsiteChat">
    Go to your chatbot → **Webhooks** tab → find the **Telegram** card. Paste the bot token and click **Connect Telegram Bot**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Start chatting">
    Your bot is live! Send it a message on Telegram at `t.me/your_bot_username`. It will respond using your chatbot's trained knowledge base.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## How it works

When a user messages your Telegram bot:

1. Telegram sends the message to InsiteChat via webhook
2. InsiteChat runs the full RAG pipeline (hybrid search + context retrieval)
3. The AI generates a response using your trained knowledge base
4. The response is sent back to the user on Telegram

All messages count toward your plan's monthly message quota — same as website chat messages.

## Features

* **Same knowledge base** — uses the exact same training data as your website chatbot
* **Conversation history** — maintains context across messages (10-turn window)
* **Auto-greeting** — sends your chatbot's greeting message on `/start`
* **Plan quota enforcement** — respects your billing plan limits
* **Lead + conversation webhooks** — fires the same webhook events as website chat

## Disconnecting

Click **Disconnect** on the Telegram card. The bot will stop responding to messages immediately.

## Limitations

* Responses are text-only (no rich formatting like the web widget)
* No lead form — use a different channel for lead capture
* Bot must be messaged first by the user (Telegram policy)