# How to get an AI assistant on Telegram Source: https://appubot.com/guides/ai-assistant-on-telegram By Sarthak Gupta. Published 2026-10-29, updated 2026-10-29. **The short answer:** An AI assistant on Telegram is a Telegram bot whose replies come from an AI. You create the bot by messaging Telegram’s @BotFather with /newbot, choosing a name and a username ending in "bot", and getting a token; an app or server holding that token then receives your messages and answers them with an AI. Keep the token secret, restrict who may talk to the bot, and remember that regular Telegram chats, including bot chats, are not end-to-end encrypted. ## Why Telegram for an AI assistant? Telegram lets anyone create bots for free, and bots can do much of what a person can in a chat: text, photos, voice messages, files, and buttons under a message. That makes it a convenient remote control for an AI that lives elsewhere, such as on your computer: you message it from your phone and it answers wherever you are. ## How do Telegram bots work? - **BotFather makes them.** You open a chat with @BotFather, send /newbot and follow the steps: a display name, then a username, which must end in "bot" and can’t be changed later. - **A token controls them.** BotFather gives you a token, a string that authenticates your bot (not your account). Telegram’s guide says to treat it like a password; anyone with it can control the bot. You can revoke it and get a new one through BotFather. - **Software answers.** Telegram passes messages to whatever program holds the token. That program decides the reply, for example by asking an AI. - **You start the chat.** A bot can’t message someone out of the blue: Telegram’s tutorial notes the user must contact the bot first. - **Files have limits.** Through Telegram’s standard bot service, bots can download files up to 20 MB and upload up to 50 MB. ## What about privacy? Telegram’s FAQ says only Secret Chats are end-to-end encrypted. Regular private and group chats, which is where you talk to a bot, use server-client encryption and are stored encrypted in Telegram’s cloud. Your messages also reach whatever software runs the bot and the AI provider it uses. So think about what you send: everyday tasks are fine for most people; passwords and very sensitive documents are better kept off any chat. A bot’s username is public, so anyone can find it and message it. A good setup ignores everyone except the accounts you’ve approved. ## Your options | Option | Effort | Trade-off | | --- | --- | --- | | A public AI bot made by someone else | None | Your chats go to that bot’s operator | | Code your own bot on a server | High | Full control, but you host and maintain it | | Connect a bot to an app on your computer | Low | Your computer must be on for it to answer | ## Set one up with AppuBot, step by step 1. In Telegram, message [@BotFather](https://t.me/BotFather), send /newbot, and choose a name and a username ending in "bot". Copy the token it gives you. 2. In AppuBot, open Settings › Channels and open the card of the bot you want on Telegram. 3. Paste the token and save. AppuBot gives the Telegram bot your bot’s name, description and picture. 4. Open your new bot in Telegram and press Start. Approve your account with the code shown on your computer; only accounts you approve can talk to it. 5. Send a message, photo, voice note or file. Replies, questions with buttons, approvals and files come back in the same chat. _Commands like /new, /chats, /stop, /model, /memory and /routines appear in the bot’s "/" menu._ ## Where AppuBot fits With [AppuBot](https://appubot.com/features/telegram) the Telegram bot is a window onto a bot that runs on your own computer, with your AI plan, files, apps and [memory](https://appubot.com/features/memory). That means it can do things a cloud chatbot can’t, like fill a spreadsheet in a desktop app through [computer use](https://appubot.com/features/computer-use), and send you the result as a file. Voice notes are heard on your computer and can be answered by [voice](https://appubot.com/features/voice). The catch is the one in the table: your computer needs to be on and AppuBot running for the bot to answer. ## Questions ### How do I create a Telegram bot? Message @BotFather in Telegram, send /newbot, pick a name and a username ending in "bot", and keep the token it gives you secret. ### Can a Telegram bot message me first? Not until you’ve contacted it: Telegram requires the user to start the chat. After that it can reply and send updates. ### Are chats with Telegram bots end-to-end encrypted? No. Only Secret Chats are end-to-end encrypted; bot chats are regular chats with server-client encryption. ### Can others use my AI bot on Telegram? Anyone can find a bot’s username, so restrict it. AppuBot only answers Telegram accounts you approve with a code shown on your computer. ### Can I send files and voice notes? Yes, within Telegram’s bot limits (20 MB to download, 50 MB to upload on the standard service). ## Sources Facts about other products as of 2026-10-29. - [Telegram: Bot features (BotFather, usernames, limits)](https://core.telegram.org/bots/features) - [Telegram: From BotFather to "Hello World" tutorial](https://core.telegram.org/bots/tutorial) - [Telegram FAQ: encryption of cloud and secret chats](https://telegram.org/faq)