How to add an AI bot to a Telegram group
A step-by-step guide to putting an AI assistant in your Telegram group: adding the bot, making it admin, giving it your knowledge, and getting it answering members in minutes.
Adding an AI assistant to a Telegram group takes a few minutes and no code. The steps below use LaPoe, which can run on a shared assistant so you do not need to create a bot token at all.
What you need before you start
Only two things: a Telegram group you administer, and the ability to promote a member to admin. A bot token from Telegram's @BotFather is optional — on the free plan you use the shared @LaPoe_bot instead, and on a paid plan you can connect your own branded bot.
Step 1 — Add the assistant to your group
Open your group, choose Add members, and search for @LaPoe_bot. Telegram will add it like any other member.
Step 2 — Promote it to admin
A bot that is not an admin cannot delete messages, restrict members or read every message reliably — Telegram's privacy mode hides most messages from non-admin bots. Promote the assistant and give it permission to delete messages and restrict members if you want it to help with moderation.
Step 3 — Connect your account
Open lapoe.app, go to Settings, then Telegram, and tap Connect via Telegram. This links the group to your workspace so you can configure it from the dashboard.
Step 4 — Give it something to know
In the dashboard, open Knowledge and add what the assistant should answer from: a page URL, an FAQ, or pasted text. This is the part that decides whether the bot is useful. An assistant with no knowledge can only make small talk; one pointed at your docs answers real questions.
Step 5 — Check when it should speak
By default the assistant replies only when it is mentioned, replied to, or when a message matches your group's trigger rules. It stays out of ordinary conversation between members. You can test it privately first in the dashboard Playground, which does not count against your monthly replies.
If it is not replying
Three things account for almost every case:
- The bot is not an admin, so Telegram is hiding messages from it.
- Nobody has addressed it — it does not answer messages that are not directed at it.
- There is no knowledge to answer from, so it records the question instead of guessing.
Common questions
Do I need a bot token to add an AI bot to my Telegram group?
Not on the free plan. LaPoe's shared @LaPoe_bot works without any token — you add it to the group and promote it to admin. A token from @BotFather is only needed if you want your own branded bot, which is available on paid plans.
Does the bot need to be an admin?
Yes, for anything beyond basic replies. Telegram's privacy mode hides most group messages from non-admin bots, and deleting messages or restricting members requires admin rights.
How long does setup take?
A few minutes. Adding the bot and promoting it is under a minute; the time that matters is adding your knowledge, which is what makes the answers useful.
Source: https://lapoe.app/guides/add-ai-bot-to-telegram-group
Start free: https://lapoe.app/auth?mode=signup
How to add an AI bot to a Telegram group · LaPoe