Telegram has been the messaging app on the rise in 2022. It carries a lot of useful features that are quite company-friendly. An increasingly popular one is the bot function. As there are a lot of different Telegram bots available now, we'll explain what they do and how to use them, and examine some of the best bots for Telegram.Â
Telegram is the fastest growing messaging app in the world. 700 million people worldwide are using it, and the numbers keep going up every year. For companies and organizations, Telegram is an advantageous communication channel with many useful features.
For instance, users can search for accounts via search bar in the “Discovery" area. This makes it easier to find business accounts. Furthermore, there are no costs involved in sending out a newsletter or notification. However, there is another big reason to use the messaging service for your business: Telegram bots.
They are already established in common private use, and there are quite a few of them. Businesses are already catching on though, and more corporate accounts are starting to use bots in their own channels or groups... and they're really great! This is why we have put together a list (in no particular order) of the top ten Telegram bots.
What's a Telegram bot?
A Telegram bot is a program that offers functions and automations that Telegram users can integrate in their chats, channels, or groups. They can be set up either by using Telegram's own bot builder, the Botfather, or the Telegram bot API. The latter offers more possibilities for developers.
Classic use cases for Telegram bots are:
- Automated newsletters
- Pushing content from social media or blogs to Telegram
- Real-time information system
- Pre-qualification / first-level support for customer service
- FAQs
- Virtual Storefront
- File management
- Translations
Let's jump right into it! These are our top ten Telegram bots.
The ten best Telegram bots right now
1. Skeddy (@SkeddyBot): conversational reminder tool
The Skeddy bot is a reminder tool that you can talk to. It's pretty straight forward. Add your notes for the reminder you want to set inside the Telegram chat, enter a time and date, and lean back. Skeddy then automatically sets your alarm, and you will receive a Telegram chat notification when the time has come.
2. Botfather (@botfather): a bot to create bots
The Botfather is an official bot provided by Telegram. Users can create Telegram bots with it according to their own specific needs. This makes the Botfather the one starting point for most of the bots on the platform.
3. IFTTT (@IFTTT): link your group to 360 external services
IFTTT or IfThisThenThat is a platform that focuses on connecting different web services and create automations for users. Their Telegram bot can link your group or channel to 360 external services like Instagram, Twitter, and many more. Moreover, the bot allows you to set actions that are triggered by conditions. An example may be, to automatically post twitter updates of certain accounts in the Telegram group or post messages to Telegram, whenever you are mentioned on Twitter.
4. File Converter (@newfileconverterbot): convert almost everything
With the File Converter bot, you have a real Swiss army knife at hand. It can convert pretty much any file format into another. Just send a file from your device into the chat, and the file converter will recognize the format and give you conversion options via in-chat buttons. After choosing the correct format, the file is converted, and you can download it.
5. DropMail.me (@DropMailBot): disposable e-mail addresses
For people who don't want to share their e-mail address with everyone and get rid of spam mails, the DropMail bot provides disposable e-mail addresses. You can receive confirmation or activation mails to complete your process. Ten minutes after using the e-mail to sign up on platforms, it'll be deleted.
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6. Babelgram (@BabelgramBot): simultaneous translator
Babelgram is a very useful bot for translations. By adding the bot to a group and activating the translation you want, the bot is translating your input text to the target language. Other users in the group can use the bot as well by simply typing /enable <language code of input> <language code of translation> into the chat. The translation happens simultaneously, so the chat flow can go on naturally.
7. AirTrack (@airtrack_bot): find and track flights
Another very interesting use case of a Telegram bot is AirTrack. Users can use AirTrack as an application to find flights without having to search the internet yourself, or even open an internet browser. All you have to do is enter the airport of departure, your destination, and the dates of the two flights (or one flight if you choose the one-way option) and AirTrack will provide you the cheapest offers.
All information on the flights and a purchase link are provided in the Telegram app. And the best thing about the bot: you can track routes and will be notified when there is a cheaper flight available.
8. Combot (@combot): moderation, analytics and more
Combot promises to “turn your Telegram group into a full-fledged community”. The bot provides moderation, analytics, anti-spam, and more. It is free of charge for smaller Telegram groups, and helps the administrators a lot in moderating.
Combot is quite popular among group admins of bigger groups. It takes a lot of work off the admins shoulders by moderating and explaining rules, preventing spam, and much more. For groups that have more than 2,500 members, the company behind the bot offers monthly subscriptions for a charge.
9. File to bot (@filetobot): free cloud storage
File to bot can be understood as an external cloud for saving files. From there, you can organize your saved files, create QR-codes and share them on social media. You only need to post the file in the chat, and the bot takes care of the rest.
10. Trello (@trello_bot): create and manage boards via Telegram bot
If you use Trello and Telegram, the Trello bot is perfect for managing your or your team's tasks. By adding your Trello boards to the bot, you can not only create new cards and edit them, but you also get notifications for changes. Simply put, you can fully manage your Trello board within the Telegram messenger.
Of course, the possibilities to create Telegram bots are nearly inexhaustible, as the vast diversity of Telegram bots shows. So, how can your company utilize them for your customer communication? Let's check out a few examples!
How can companies use a Telegram bot
As mentioned before, especially for newsletters and notifications, Telegram's a very handy messenger app. But with the help of bots, companies can elevate their public Telegram channels to yet another level. For different goals in customer communication, bots can step in and work their magic.
The Federal Agency for Civic Education in Germany (Bundeszentrale fĂĽr politische Bildung/bpb) for example, utilizes their bot to the fullest extent. Daily explanations on political terms, news, and offers are the basis, supported by the possibility of asking questions on politics. On top of that, users can even take quizzes on specific topics.
By entering keywords like “quiz”, users can start the quiz and test their knowledge. For every answer, they also receive a link to dive deeper into the topics. This way, awareness on relevant topics can be increased by the federal organization.
Another great example of a simple but very useful function for corporate chatbots is the bot of German News Agency and famous TV show “Tagesschau”. During the Covid-19 pandemic, most Germans always kept an eye on the most recent Covid numbers.
As the rules and regulations in each state depended on the number of infections or incidences in a certain area, everyone was forced to search online to find out what rules applied to their location. The Tagesschau bot delivers a smart solution, as users could get a daily status update via Telegram. It simply needs you to type in your area code, and you are instantly provided with the right information. The chatbot draws the daily Covid-19 numbers from their servers using the Telegram bot API.
Telegram displays the power of bots
The way Telegram is inspiring the use of bots just shows you how much potential they have. The use cases, especially for messaging apps, are extremely diverse. They are simple to use and private users as well as admins and companies benefit from them.
Looking at the pace Telegram is growing and the variety of chatbots that are accessible for everyone, it'll most likely just be a matter of time for bots to find their way into other messaging services as well.
Unite Telegram, WhatsApp, and other messaging apps on one platform
One of the easiest ways to combine all your messenger services and chatbots onto one platform is Sinch Engage. Here you can integrate the most relevant messaging platforms, such as Telegram, WhatsApp, Messenger from Meta, Instagram Direct Messages, iMessage, and many more, in just one interface!
You can integrate your CRM systems, and gain full control of all messaging activity around your company. There are also interesting automation options, like a drag-and-drop chatbot, that are set up in minutes, so you can get started right away!
