Telegram bot for business: connect MAX, website chat and Avito

Telegram brings our clients' chatbots more requests than any other channel. So start with a Telegram bot for business, then add MAX, the website chat and Avito. While the bot isn't connected to any channel, it stays silent and clients go to competitors — even when the ads are already paid for.

One bot answers in all channels at once, following one instruction, in seconds and at any time of day. Leads from every channel land in one CRM with no integrations, and from your MAX number the bot can even message a client first. A bot link with a source tag shows which ad brought the client. If you don't have a bot yet, create one first — how to do it is covered in the article AI chatbot for website.

Watch the two-minute video, and below you'll find the step-by-step setup.

Why businesses need it

• An online school: ads lead to the Telegram bot through a link with a tag, for example vk_ads. The tag gets into the lead card — you can see which campaign brings requests and which one wastes the budget.
• A clinic, salon or car service: the website chat offers a “Book now” button, and if the visitor stays silent, it opens by itself with a message. Even people who wouldn't start a chat on their own end up writing.
• Selling on Avito: the bot answers buyers' “Is it in stock?” and “What about delivery?” in listing chats around the clock. Every buyer becomes a lead in the CRM.
• A sales team in MAX: the bot replies from the work MAX number and can message clients first. If you turn off auto-start, it replies only where a manager has turned it on.

How it works

Channels are turned on with checkboxes in the “Platforms” block on the “Settings” tab of the bot editor. The settings of the ticked channel appear below. Everything is saved with the “Save changes” button. The message “Saved. Webhook set on all platforms.” means the channels are connected (a webhook is the address the messenger uses to pass messages to the bot). In the bot list, each channel has its own icon in the “Status” column.

A Telegram bot for business is included in the “CRM + Telephony + Automation” plan and higher — together with all the other channels. AI replies are charged to the balance: $0.02–0.03 per dialog on average.

How to connect a bot to Telegram and MAX

1. 1
   Telegram token

   (the bot's secret key) — in Telegram, open @BotFather, send /newbot and set the bot's name and username. Copy the whole token.
2. 2
   Channel checkbox

   In the bot list, click the gear → “Edit” → the “Settings” tab. Tick “Telegram” and paste the token into the “Telegram bot token” field.
3. 3
   Saving

   Click “Save changes”. The “✓ webhook OK” mark should appear next to the token.
4. 4
   Check

   Under the token, click “Open bot”. In the “Bot link” window, click “Open bot” again and message the bot from your phone.
5. 5
   MAX

   Get the token in MAX, in the “Integration → Get token” section. Tick “MAX”, paste the token into “MAX bot token” and save.

MAX bots are created on the MAX platform for partners. First, MAX asks you to verify your organization: under its rules, the platform is open to companies and sole proprietors that are residents of Russia. No company or sole proprietorship? Connect your own number via MAX direct — it doesn't need a bot on the platform. Keep in mind: a MAX bot replies only to people who started the dialog themselves, and only MAX direct can message first.

Website chat

The “AI Chat on site” checkbox doesn't need a token: the widget finds the bot through the project. Choose the “Project” on the same tab — only one such bot works in one project. The project's widget code must be installed on the website.

What to set up in the chat:

• “Welcome message in chat” and “Button text under the welcome”, for example “Book now”. A click on the button goes to the bot as the client's first message.
• “Send a message to the widget by timer” — if the visitor hasn't written anything, the widget opens with your message. For a new bot, this is already on: after 15 seconds. The message goes out once per visit and only to those who haven't written yet.

MAX bot on your own number (MAX direct)

MAX direct connects your real MAX account, not a bot. A regular MAX bot replies only to people who wrote first, while from your number the bot can message a client first — that's what a MAX messenger broadcast to your contact list is built on.

Tick “MAX direct” — the connection window opens by itself. Choose “No proxy” or “With proxy”, click “Continue to QR” and scan the code in the MAX app — it stays valid for about three minutes. If MAX asks for a “Cloud password”, enter it. Once you see “Connected”, the bot saves itself.

You can connect several numbers: new chats are distributed between them in turn. If managers work on the number, turn off “Start the AI chat on an incoming message”. Then the bot replies only where you clicked “Start bot” in “Dialogs”.

One number can send no more than 40 messages a day. Every message counts: bot replies, “Write first”, broadcasts, autofunnels and managers' replies from the CRM. The counter resets at 3:00 AM Moscow time (MSK). Need more? Connect more numbers, and chats will be distributed between them. A yellow “restricted until HH:MM” chip on the number's card means that MAX has temporarily restricted the account. Until then, nothing is sent from the number, and the bot skips it when distributing chats.

Avito chatbot: replies in listing chats

The bot answers buyers in the chats of your Avito listings. Every buyer becomes a lead in the CRM, and a manager can reply to them from the card.

1. 1
   Avito keys

   In Avito, open “For professionals” → “API” and click “Get keys”. Keys are issued only with an Avito subscription that includes API access.
2. 2
   The “Avito” checkbox

   In the bot editor, choose the “Project” and tick “Avito” in the “Platforms” block. The “Avito integration” window opens for the bot's project.
3. 3
   Connecting

   Paste the “Client ID” and “Client Secret” and click “Connect”. The “Connected” status means that Avito chats come into this project.
4. 4
   Saving

   Close the window and save the bot.

The bot writes only in chats where the buyer wrote first: Avito doesn't allow messaging first. Only text goes out — images and files are not sent to Avito. The Avito integration is included in the same plan as the chatbot.

Bot link with an ad tag

Under the Telegram or MAX token, click “Open bot”. In the “Bot link” window, enter the “Source” in Latin letters, for example vk_ads, and copy the link — a separate one for each ad. To get the tag into the lead, turn on “Pass the source” in the “Create / update lead” target action and choose a CRM field (more in the article chatbot CRM integration). MAX passes the tag only when the client starts the bot for the very first time.

Put the same link on your site’s buttons too: “Order”, “Get the price list in Telegram”, “Calculate the cost”. Promise a clear benefit for the click — a price list, an estimate, a selection — and people will start the conversation with the bot themselves. This matters because a Telegram bot can’t message a client first, so the more such entry points your site has, the more conversations and leads you get.

Read also: AI chatbot for website: how to create a bot that answers 24/7, MAX messenger broadcast and “Write first”: bring clients back, Live chat for website: AI chat, Telegram, MAX and a map