Telegram

Telegram is the main way to chat with Colleague. You connect a Telegram bot to your agent, then choose which people and groups are allowed to use it.

You need:

• A Telegram account.
• Access to your Colleague dashboard.
• A few minutes to create or update the bot in @BotFather.

Step 1 — Create a bot with BotFather

Telegram bots are created through Telegram’s official @BotFather account.

1. In Telegram, open a chat with @BotFather.
2. Send /newbot and follow the prompts to name your bot and choose a username (it must end in bot).
3. BotFather replies with a bot token — a long string like 123456789:AAaa.... Keep it private; it’s a credential.

Step 2 — Connect your bot to Colleague

1. Open the Colleague dashboard and unlock it with your vault password.
2. Find Telegram and choose Connect.
3. Paste the bot token into the token field and submit.
4. Send your bot a Telegram message to check that it replies.

Step 3 — Let the bot join groups

If you only want to talk to the agent one-to-one, you can skip this step.

If you want to add the agent to Telegram groups, make sure groups are enabled in BotFather.

1. Open your bot’s profile in Telegram.
2. Open the menu and choose Info.

3. Choose Edit.

4. Choose Change Bot Settings. Telegram opens BotFather.

5. In BotFather, choose Bot Settings.

6. Choose Allow Groups?.

7. If groups are disabled, choose Turn groups on.

Step 4 — Decide how group messages should work

Telegram has two useful group modes:

Mode	Use this when	What to do
Mention-only	You want the agent to answer only when someone mentions it or replies to it.	Leave Group Privacy on.
Always-listening	You want the agent to see normal group messages.	Turn Group Privacy off or make the bot a group admin.

For most groups, start with mention-only. It is quieter and easier to control.

To change the setting in BotFather:

1. Open Bot Settings for your bot.
2. Choose Group Privacy.

3. If you want always-listening mode, choose Turn off.

After changing group privacy, remove the bot from any existing group and add it again. Telegram applies the new setting when the bot joins.

Step 5 — Add the agent to a group

You can add the bot to an existing group or create a new group from the bot chat.

Only add the bot to groups where everyone understands the agent may see messages it is allowed to receive.

To create a new group:

1. Open the bot chat menu.
2. Choose Create Group.

3. Add the people who should be in the group.
4. Send a message in the group. If privacy mode is still on, mention the bot or reply to one of its messages.

Step 6 — Approve the group in Colleague

New people and groups do not reach your agent automatically. You approve them from the dashboard.

Approval gives that person or group a route to your agent. Approve deliberately and review access periodically.

1. Open the Colleague dashboard.
2. Find Telegram.
3. Look under Pending Groups.
4. Choose Approve for the group you want to use.

After approval, the group can talk to your agent.

Optional — Set up Telegram topics

Topics help you manage parallel work streams with your agent, such as Writing, Grants, Meetings or Admin.

In the Telegram group settings, choose Topics and turn them on.

When topics are on, keep each request in the right topic so the conversation stays easier to follow.

Approving individual people

If someone messages your bot directly, they may appear under Pending Requests in the Colleague dashboard. Approve them only if you want that person to talk to your agent one-to-one.

Troubleshooting

• The bot does not respond in a direct chat → confirm the token is connected and your own Telegram account is approved.
• The group does not appear in the dashboard → send a group message that the bot can see, then refresh the dashboard.
• The group appears but the agent is quiet → confirm the group is approved, then mention the bot or reply to one of its messages.
• A group still is not working → check that groups are allowed in BotFather, privacy mode matches the behaviour you want and the group is approved in Colleague.

To remove the bot, disconnect Telegram in the dashboard and remove the bot from Telegram groups where it should no longer appear.