In today's fast-paced and connected world, consumers expect instant support and seamless communication. Telegram, known for its robust security features and user-friendly interface, has emerged as a popular choice for businesses seeking effective communication channels. 

With the integration of an AI bot, companies can further enhance customer experience with fast and accurate responses, while lowering their customer support costs. In this blog, we delve into the world of Telegram AI bots, exploring how they can improve the way companies and communities can engage with their audience and optimize workflows. We will also provide a detailed guide on how to implement your own customer support AI bot.
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What are Telegram Bots?‍

Telegram allows developers to create a wide variety of bots. At its core, a bot interacts with users when users initiate a conversation with them. This interaction can take various forms: from providing static information like a restaurant's operating hours and menu, to dynamically responding to external triggers such as receiving a new email (as seen in the Gmail bot). Bots can even generate responses randomly, perfect for hosting quizzes, or allow users to make online purchases. 

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What are Telegram AI Bots?

As the name suggests, Telegram AI bots use artificial intelligence to generate responses. While it’s a new category, there are already numerous AI bots available in Telegram, ranging from Telegram AI girlfriends, to language learning AI bots and personal assistants. 

In this post, we will focus specifically on AI bots for customer service. The purpose of these AI bots is to answer customer queries. Whether you’re running a store, a software business or a gaming company, AI bots can be useful for almost any type of business which requires customer support. 

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How to create a Telegram AI Bot for customer support

To create a Telegram AI bot for customer service, you have 2 main options. You can either build your own bot from scratch, or work with a customer support platform providing customizable Telegram AI bots.

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Developing your own Telegram bot 

Building your bot from scratch is an option if you have ample developer resources. Here are the key considerations:

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1. Training your AI: Training your AI: Most companies utilize large language models (LLMs) such as OpenAI’s GPT-4, Meta’s LLaMA-3, or Mistral’s Mixtral. The LLMs form the basis of your AI bot. For an experienced developer, it’s fairly straightforward to work with the APIs these companies provide, and integrate them. A more challenging aspect is designing prompts that prevent errors (hallucinations) and automatically updating training data.

2. Telegram Bot: You can develop your own bot following the bot documentation. Define features such as welcome messages, clickable buttons, and triggers for AI conversations.

3. Support Platform: One thing to consider is that your AI bot won’t integrate seamlessly into any customer support platform. If providing broader customer support on Telegram is a priority, you will still need to pay for and integrate with a separate platform.

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Pros

• Offers full flexibility tailored to your company's needs.
• Potential integration into existing support infrastructure with custom development work.

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Cons

• Requires significant developer resources for building and maintenance.
• Any changes, such as updating AI training data or modifying welcome messages, requires developer assistance.
• Operates solely as an AI assistant without seamless integration into a support platform for human agent intervention.

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Using a support platform with Telegram integration

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The second option is using a customer support platform such as Mava, which offers Telegram integration, Telegram ticketing bots, and Telegram AI bots.

These platforms typically require zero coding knowledge, and setting up and customizing your bot can be done via drag-and-drop interfaces or text input fields. 

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1. Training your AI: Customer support platforms that offer AI will have ready-made integrations available with providers, such as OpenAI. Training your AI is simplified, often requiring only the upload of links to Google Docs or other knowledge bases.

2. Telegram Bot: With a support platform offering direct integration with Telegram, there is no need to code your own Telegram bot. Simply set up your bot through /BotFather, pick a name, generate a code, and paste it into the support platform to establish the connection.

3. Support Platform: The benefit of having a support platform connected to your AI bot is that when users need human assistance, they can easily be transferred to a support team. The support team will then have access to a shared inbox that enables them to keep on top of open issues and access support metrics such as response time and CSAT.  

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Pros

• No development assistance required, enabling a quick setup
• Access to a comprehensive support platform alongside the AI chatbot.
• Cost-effective. In most cases, SaaS subscription fees are lower compared to internal development and ongoing maintenance costs.
• In the case of Mava, can be used for both ticketing, as well as answering questions in public groups

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Cons

• Migration may be necessary if transitioning from an existing support platform.

In conclusion, leveraging Telegram AI bots can help businesses streamline customer support operations and enhance efficiency and user satisfaction. The choice between developing a Telegram AI bot in-house or utilizing a support platform with Telegram integration hinges on factors such as resource availability, technical expertise, and cost analysis. 

While building a custom bot offers great flexibility, it demands significant developer resources and ongoing maintenance. On the other hand, leveraging a support platform streamlines setup, provides access to a robust support platform, and facilitates smooth transitions between AI-driven interactions and human assistance. 

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