Telegram rolled out a major update Thursday that brings artificial intelligence bots into any chat, allows those bots to talk to each other, and gives users new ways to customize how the AI interacts with them. The release also adds an expanded emoji search and tighter automation controls, the company said.
AI bots in every conversation
Users can now add AI-powered bots to any private or group chat. The bots can answer questions, generate text, or perform tasks without leaving the conversation. Previously, bot interactions were limited to dedicated bot chats or inline mode. Now they join the thread like any other participant.
The update also enables bot-to-bot communication for the first time. That means one bot can hand off a request to another bot — for example, a translation bot could pass a summarized article to a voice bot to read it aloud — all within the same chat.
Custom AI styles and emoji search
Telegram introduced custom AI styles, letting users adjust the tone or format of bot responses. A user could ask a bot to reply in formal language, as a pirate, or in short bullet points. The style setting applies per bot and can be changed on the fly.
The emoji picker got an overhaul, too. The expanded search now supports keywords, categories, and even partial emoji names. Typing “heart” returns every heart variant; “dog” pulls up dog emojis. The search works across all platforms.
Automation boost for power users
Under the hood, Telegram improved the automation toolkit for bot developers and advanced users. New triggers and actions let bots react to more events — such as when a user joins a group or when a message contains a specific word — and execute sequences without human intervention. The change is meant to reduce the need for custom scripting.
The update is rolling out now to the Telegram apps for iOS, Android, desktop, and the web version. No server downtime was reported. Users should see the new features within 24 hours.
Telegram did not say whether the AI bots use an in-house model or a third-party provider. The company also didn't disclose pricing for the new features, though the standard bot API remains free.
