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By the end of this, messages people send you on Telegram will land in Olanna. Your agent will answer them. This is the easiest channel to connect. There is no Meta account, nothing to approve, and no waiting. Here is the whole job:
  1. Make a Telegram bot.
  2. Copy two things from Telegram into Olanna.
Set aside about 5 minutes.

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Before you start

You need Telegram. It is free. You can use the app on your phone, or go to web.telegram.org on a computer. If you do not have an account, signing up takes a minute and only needs your phone number.

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What a Telegram bot is

On Telegram, customers cannot message a business directly. They message a bot. A bot is a Telegram account that no person types into. A program answers instead. In your case that program is Olanna, so your agent does the talking. To your customer it looks and works like any other Telegram chat. You make the bot once, using Telegram’s own bot-making assistant. It is called BotFather.

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Part 1: Make your bot

1

Search for BotFather

Open Telegram. In the search bar at the top, type BotFather.
2

Open the real one

Tap the result with the blue tick beside it. The tick means it is the real one. There are copies pretending to be it.
Telegram search results showing the official BotFather account with its verified badge

The blue tick is how you know it is the real BotFather.

3

Start the chat

Tap Start, or type /start.
4

Ask for a new bot

Type /newbot and send it.
5

Give your bot a name

This is what customers see at the top of the chat, like “Willow Spa”. Type it and send.
6

Give it a username

This one has to be different from every other bot on Telegram, and it has to end in the word bot. Something like WillowSpa_bot. If it is taken, BotFather tells you and you try another.
The BotFather conversation showing the newbot command, name entry and username entry

BotFather asks for the name first, then the username.

7

Copy down your token

BotFather replies with a long line of letters and numbers. That is your bot token. Note it down along with the username you just chose, with no @ in front of it.
BotFather's success message showing the bot token

The token is the long line after your bot is made.

Keep this token private. Anyone who has it can control your bot and read its messages. Do not share it or post it anywhere public. If you think someone else has seen it, send BotFather /revoke for that bot and make a new one.

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Part 2: Paste it into Olanna

1

Open Channels

In Olanna, choose Channels in the left menu.
2

Choose Connect on the Telegram row

A form opens with two boxes.
3

Type in your bot username

With no @ in front of it.
4

Paste in your bot token

Exactly as BotFather gave it to you.
5

Choose Install

Olanna's Telegram connect form with the bot username and token filled in

Two boxes. That is the whole form.

That is the setup finished. In the next couple of seconds Olanna asks Telegram to confirm the token is real and belongs to that username, then tells Telegram where to send your messages. Other channels make you do that last part by hand. Telegram lets Olanna do it for you, which is why this guide is short. Telegram then shows as Active in your connected apps. If something is wrong, the message tells you what. Troubleshooting is at the bottom of this page.

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Part 3: Test it

1

Open a chat with your bot

On Telegram, search for your bot’s username.
2

Start it and send a message

Tap Start, then send any short message.
3

Check your Olanna inbox

It should be there within a few seconds.

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Questions

No. Any free Telegram account can make bots through BotFather.
Yes, as long as you have its username and token. Be aware that connecting it to Olanna changes where its messages go. If something else is already using that bot, it will stop working.
Message BotFather again. Send /mybots, pick your bot, then choose API Token to see it. You can also choose Revoke current token to make a brand new one, but then you have to update it in Olanna.
Yes, through BotFather, using /setname and /setusername. If you change the username, update it in Olanna too so the two match.

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Troubleshooting

The token was probably mistyped, or it was replaced in BotFather after you copied it. Message BotFather, send /mybots, pick your bot, choose API Token, and copy the current one carefully into Olanna.
The username you typed belongs to a different bot than the token does. Check you copied the exact username BotFather gave you, with no @ in front. This happens easily if you made more than one bot while trying things out.
This is usually a brief problem on Telegram’s side. Wait a minute and try connecting again. If it keeps failing, check in BotFather that the bot has not been deleted.
The token is damaged, or the bot no longer exists. Make a fresh bot with /newbot in BotFather and use its new token.
Check you are messaging the bot you actually connected. Usernames are easy to mix up if you made more than one. Check the channel says Active in Olanna.
Contact support. Tell us the exact words of the error you saw after choosing Install.
Last modified on September 14, 2026