Turn Telegram into your website's live chat inbox
chatrelay puts a chat bubble on your website and relays every visitor message to your own Telegram — through a bot you create and own. You answer like you'd answer a friend; your reply appears on the visitor's screen in seconds. No helpdesk console, no agent seats, no app for your visitors.
How the Telegram relay works
- Create your bot (1 minute, free)
In Telegram, message @BotFather, send
/newbot, name it (e.g. “Acme Support”), and copy the token it replies with. - Connect it to chatrelay
Paste the token once in the setup page. chatrelay verifies the bot and registers its webhook automatically — you never touch servers or env vars.
- Pick where chats arrive
Send the 6-character pairing code to your bot — in a group with Topics enabled (one thread per visitor) or straight in a DM. A one-tap
t.melink pre-fills the code for you. - Paste the widget on your site
One script tag before
</body>— that is the entire website integration:<script src="https://www.chatwithdev.com/widget.js" data-chatrelay-project="your-project" data-chatrelay-convex="https://impressive-quail-820.convex.cloud" data-chatrelay-title="Chat with us" defer></script>
Two modes, both Telegram-native
Group / Topics
Each visitor becomes a separate topic (thread) in one private Telegram group. Conversations stay organized, and a team can share the inbox by simply being in the group.
Direct
Every conversation arrives in your private chat with your bot. Reply to a specific relayed message to answer that exact visitor; a plain message goes to your most recent open conversation.
Why your own bot matters
- Tenant isolation — your messages never share a bot with other companies; webhooks and rate limits are yours alone.
- Revocable ownership — the bot lives in your @BotFather account; revoke the token any time and the relay stops, no support ticket needed.
- Your brand in the chat list — the thread in your Telegram is named after your bot, not a vendor.
- A dashboard when you want one — every conversation also lives in the chatrelay web inbox, with AI drafting, delivery status and history.
FAQ
Do my website visitors need Telegram?
No. Visitors only ever see the chat bubble on your website — no app, no account, no fields. Telegram is purely your side of the conversation; they never see where you reply from.
Is the Telegram bot free? Do I need to code it?
Creating a bot at @BotFather is free and takes about a minute — you send /newbot, pick a name, and copy the token it gives you. No code: paste the token once in chatrelay's setup and the webhook is registered for you.
Group mode or direct mode — which should I pick?
Group mode puts every visitor in their own topic inside a private Telegram group — best for staying organized or sharing the inbox with a team. Direct mode delivers every chat to your private DM with the bot — fastest for a solo founder. You can switch anytime.
Can a team share the Telegram inbox?
Yes — use group mode. Everyone in the group sees the visitor topics, anyone can answer, and the reply is attributed with the sender's name in the dashboard transcript.
What happens if I miss a message or Telegram is down?
Nothing is lost. Every conversation also lives in the chatrelay web dashboard, and if a relay to Telegram fails the message is flagged so you can see it wasn't delivered there.
Why does chatrelay use my own bot instead of a shared one?
Isolation and ownership: your traffic never mixes with other tenants on a shared bot, rate limits are yours alone, and you can revoke the bot token at @BotFather any time. Your bot, your audience.