Short answer: Telegram Business turns your personal account into a business profile: opening hours, location, a greeting for new chats, an away message, quick replies and the option to connect a chatbot that answers on your behalf. A separate business bot is its own account that clients open by a link: it takes bookings and orders, accepts payments and sends reminders. Many businesses use both: Business for personal chats, a bot for routine work.
What Telegram Business includes
- Opening hours and your location on a map in the profile.
- Quick replies: saved answers you send by typing “/” in a chat.
- A greeting message for people who write to you for the first time.
- An away message for when you're closed or on vacation.
- A start page for empty chats and links that open a chat with you.
- Chatbots: you can connect a bot that processes and answers messages in your chats, and choose which chats it can access.
Telegram introduced Business in March 2024 as part of Telegram Premium. Telegram changes its plans from time to time, so check the current terms in the app under Settings → Telegram Business.
Business account or a separate bot?
| Task | Telegram Business | Separate business bot |
|---|---|---|
| Where clients write | Your personal chats | The bot's own chat, opened by a link or button |
| Automatic replies | Greeting, away message, quick replies; more with a connected chatbot | Menus, buttons and AI answers from your information |
| Bookings and orders | Only through a connected chatbot | Built in: free times, forms, catalog and cart |
| Payments and reminders | Only through a connected chatbot | Telegram Stars or cards; reminders before appointments |
| Cost | Comes with Telegram Premium, per Telegram's announcement | Depends on the builder; GramForge has a free plan |
How GramForge fits
GramForge builds a separate bot for your business: you describe what you offer, and the bot takes bookings, orders and payments, sends reminders and answers questions. It runs as its own bot, not as a chatbot connected to your personal account through Telegram Business (as of October 2026). You can still use both: put the bot's link in your greeting, away message and profile, so new clients go straight to booking.
Set up Telegram Business in five minutes
- Open Settings → Telegram Business.
- Add your opening hours and location.
- Create a greeting message with a link to your booking bot.
- Create an away message for nights and holidays with the same link.
- Save quick replies for prices, address and payment details.