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By connecting Telegram, you and your team can send messages to your AI assistant directly from the Telegram app — on mobile or desktop. This takes about 5 minutes and requires a Telegram account.

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Step 1: Create a Telegram bot

You create Telegram bots through a special Telegram account called @BotFather.
1

Open BotFather

In Telegram, search for @BotFather (the verified account with a blue checkmark) and start a conversation.
2

Create a new bot

Send the command:
/newbot
BotFather will ask you a couple of questions.
3

Set your bot's display name

When asked “Alright, a new bot. How are we going to call it?”, type a friendly name for your bot. This is the name users will see in chats, for example:
Hellenic Assistant
4

Set your bot's username

When asked for a username, type a unique handle ending in bot, for example:
HellenicAssistantBot
The username must be unique across all of Telegram. If it is already taken, try adding your company name or a number.
5

Copy your bot token

BotFather will confirm the bot is created and show a message like:
Done! Congratulations on your new bot. You will find it at t.me/HellenicAssistantBot. You can now add a description… Use this token to access the HTTP API: 123456789:ABCdefGHIjklMNOpqrsTUVwxyz
Copy the token — you will need it in the next step.
Keep your bot token private. Anyone who has the token can send messages as your bot and read all conversations. Never share it publicly or commit it to a code repository.

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Step 2: Connect to hellenicAI Assistants

1

Go to your instance dashboard

Log in at app.hellenicai.com and open your instance.
2

Open the Channels section

Scroll down to the Channels section on your instance page.
3

Paste your bot token

Find the Telegram card, paste the token you copied from BotFather into the token field, then click Connect.
You should see the Telegram status change to Connected.

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Step 3: Approve your Telegram account

After saving the token, you need to complete a one-time pairing step to link your personal Telegram account to the bot. This is a security measure to ensure only authorised users can chat with your assistant.
1

Open your bot in Telegram

On your phone or desktop, search for your bot by username (for example @HellenicAssistantBot) and tap Start.
2

Receive your pairing code

The bot will send you a message like this:
OpenClaw: access not configured.

Your Telegram user id: 1234567890
Pairing code: GC5CC9FK

Ask the bot owner to approve with:
openclaw pairing approve telegram GC5CC9FK
Copy the 8-character pairing code (for example GC5CC9FK).
3

Paste the code in your dashboard

Back in the hellenicAI Assistants dashboard, a Step 2 panel will have appeared below the Telegram token field. Paste your pairing code into the input and click Approve.
4

Confirm pairing

The status badge will change to Paired. You are now connected and can start chatting with your assistant directly in Telegram.
Each Telegram user who wants to chat with the assistant needs to complete this pairing step once. If you need to link a different account, click Re-pair next to the Paired badge and repeat the process.

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Step 4: Test the connection

1

Send a message

In the Telegram chat with your bot, type any question, for example: “What can you help me with?”
2

Check the reply

Your AI assistant should reply within a few seconds. If it does, the connection is working correctly.

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Troubleshooting

ProblemSolution
Bot sends a pairing code but the Step 2 panel is not visibleRefresh the dashboard page and scroll down to the Channels section
Pairing code is rejectedMake sure you are entering the code exactly as shown, without spaces. Codes are 8 characters and contain only letters and numbers
Status shows Connected but not PairedComplete Step 3 above to approve your Telegram account
No reply from bot after pairingVerify the bot token was saved correctly and that the status shows Paired, not just Connected
Want to let another team member use the botEach user must open the bot in their own Telegram account, receive their pairing code, and enter it in the dashboard
”Unauthorised” error in dashboardThe token may be incorrect. Regenerate it in BotFather with /revoke and reconnect
Bot replies but answers seem offCheck the AI model selected in your instance settings
Need more help? Email [email protected].