Overview and comparison · August 7, 2026
Telegram auto-reply bots: the kinds and how they compare
“Auto-reply bot” covers four different tools, and three of them cannot do the main thing: answer in your own direct chats, in your own name. Here is what you can actually install in Telegram, how the options differ and which one fits you.
Four kinds of auto-reply in Telegram
Before looking for a bot it is worth working out where exactly it will be answering. That is the main dividing line: some tools work in a separate chat of their own, others inside your direct conversations.
| Kind | Where it answers | In whose name | What it needs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Telegram Business built-in replies | in your direct chats | yours | Telegram Premium |
| An off-the-shelf chatbot | in the bot's own chat | the bot's | nothing |
| Your own bot through BotFather | in your bot's chat | the bot's | programming and a server |
| An AI auto-reply (HeadHack) | in your direct chats | yours | an account connection or Business |
Telegram Business built-in replies
A greeting for new contacts and an “Away” message are standard Telegram Business features. They are templates: the text is always the same, and such a reply answers nothing a client asks about price or booking. They suit the case where politely warning that you will reply later is enough.
Where to set it: Settings → Telegram Business → “Greeting” or “Away”. A Telegram Premium subscription is required.
Chatbots in their own chat
Most bots in the catalogues are chatbots: the other person opens a chat with the bot and talks to it there. For broadcasts, bookings or intake forms that format works, but such a bot will not answer for you in your direct messages: a client who wrote to you directly will simply never see it.
If what you want is “a bot that answers for you”, a catalogue of chatbots will not help: you need a tool that connects to your account.
Your own bot through BotFather
Maximum control and minimum ready-made: BotFather hands you a token, and the reply logic, the server and the model integration are yours to write and maintain. This is justified for unusual scenarios and teams with developers. For the ordinary job of “answer clients while I am busy” it is the most expensive route.
An AI auto-reply in your name
The fourth kind answers inside your own conversations: the client writes to you as usual, and the assistant prepares the reply — from your knowledge base, your prices and your style. HeadHack connects two ways: through Telegram Business, or directly to an ordinary account without Premium. The setup happens in the mini app, with no code and no server.
- answers repeat questions from the knowledge base;
- asks a clarifying question when the data is thin;
- walks the client towards a booking, a request or the next step;
- transcribes voice notes and can answer with voice.
Open @Head_Hack_bot — the Free plan costs nothing.
The free options
A free Telegram auto-reply bot is a realistic ask, with caveats. The HeadHack Free plan gives 50 messages a month and a basic knowledge base — enough to test it on real incoming messages. Telegram's built-in replies are free in themselves, but they sit behind a Premium subscription. Free chatbots from the catalogues do not answer in your name, and a “free bot of your own” is free only until the first server bill.
How many messages, documents and voice replies each plan gives, what Stars are charged for beyond the subscription and how to get 30 days of Go for free — in the breakdown of HeadHack plans.
Common questions
What kinds of auto-reply can I set up in Telegram?
Four: the built-in greeting and “Away” message in Telegram Business, an off-the-shelf chatbot in its own chat, your own bot through BotFather, and an AI auto-reply that answers in your direct chats in your name. They differ in where the reply goes out and whose name it carries.
Is there a free Telegram auto-reply bot?
Yes. HeadHack has a Free plan: 50 messages a month, one document and a knowledge base of 5,000 characters. That is enough to test an auto-reply on real incoming messages. Telegram's built-in “Away” is free too, but it requires a Telegram Business subscription.
How do I find a bot that answers for me in Telegram?
Look for a service that connects to your account rather than a chatbot: an ordinary bot only answers in its own chat, not in your direct messages. HeadHack connects through Telegram Business or straight to your account and answers in your name.
How is an auto-reply bot different from a chatbot?
A chatbot lives in a chat of its own: the other person opens it and talks to the bot. An auto-reply bot works inside your direct conversations and writes in your name when you are not answering. For clients the difference is fundamental: they do not have to go anywhere.
Do I need Telegram Premium for an auto-reply bot?
It depends on how you connect. The Telegram Business route requires Premium. Connecting an account directly in HeadHack works without it: the assistant answers new incoming direct text messages. Ordinary chatbots need no Premium either, but they do not write in your name.