<p><strong>UPD:</strong> Check out the new <ahref="/blog/inline-bots">Inline bots</a> as well!</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Telegram is about freedom and openness – our code is open for everyone, as is our API. Today we’re making another step towards openness by launching a <ahref="https://core.telegram.org/bots/api">Bot API and platform</a> for third-party developers to <ahref="https://core.telegram.org/bots">create bots</a>. </p>
<p><strong>Bots</strong> are simply Telegram accounts operated by software – not people – and they'll often have AI features. They can do anything – teach, play, search, broadcast, remind, connect, integrate with other services, or even pass commands to the Internet of Things.</p>
<center><div>
<ahref="/file/811140930/1/-2j5fB6r0MA/e02975e21b1977a7db"target="_blank"><imgsrc="/file/811140930/1/-2j5fB6r0MA/e02975e21b1977a7db"title="An image bot integrated with the Bing Image search API"style="width: 245px; padding: 10px 5px"/></a>
<ahref="/file/811140690/1/T81U_kqVHsY/e30a06056bb48fa053"target="_blank"><imgsrc="/file/811140690/1/T81U_kqVHsY/e30a06056bb48fa053"title="An empty conversation with a Poll bot"style="width: 245px; padding: 10px 5px"/></a><br><br>
</div></center>
<p>Today’s <strong>3.0</strong> update to the <ahref="/apps">Telegram apps</a> makes interacting with bots super-easy. In most cases you won’t even have to type anything, because bots will provide you with a set of custom buttons.</p>
<blockquote>
<p><ahref="https://youtu.be/vN4U5FqrOdQ?t=356"><strong>"Every application needs a slightly optimized set of buttons, just for it.</strong>”</a><br>Steve Jobs, 2007 iPhone launch</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Bots can now provide you with custom keyboards for specialized tasks that could look like this for example:</p>
<center><div>
<ahref="/file/811140470/1/V7A84eVKQzs/8d2ede71e1c118ec69"target="_blank"><imgsrc="/file/811140470/1/V7A84eVKQzs/8d2ede71e1c118ec69"title="'Hot or Bot?' with a custom keyboard."style="width: 245px; padding: 10px 5px"/></a>
<ahref="/file/811140849/2/hBPe2YGBahk/3a45817b7e70d3e5f1"target="_blank"><imgsrc="/file/811140849/2/hBPe2YGBahk/3a45817b7e70d3e5f1"title="A sticker rating bot with a custom keyboard."style="width: 245px; padding: 10px 5px"/></a>
</div></center>
<div><br></div>
<p>Here are some sample bots that were built by the platform's beta testers this past weekend:</p>
<ul>
<li><ahref="https://telegram.me/imagebot"><strong>@ImageBot</strong></a>– send this bot a keyword and it’ll provide you with a relevant picture.</li>
<li><ahref="https://telegram.me/triviabot"><strong>@TriviaBot</strong></a>– test your trivia knowledge or add to groups to compete with friends.</li>
<li><ahref="https://telegram.me/pollbot"><strong>@PollBot</strong></a>– add this one to group chats to create polls.</li>
<li><ahref="https://telegram.me/ratestickerbot"><strong>@RateStickerBot</strong></a>– discover and rate new stickers.</li>
<li><ahref="https://telegram.me/alertbot"><strong>@AlertBot</strong></a>– set a time and this bot will send you a reminder for anything you like.</li>
<li><ahref="https://telegram.me/hotorbot"><strong>@HotOrBot</strong></a>– find friends with this Tinder-like dating bot.</li>
<li><ahref="https://telegram.me/storebot"><strong>@StoreBot</strong></a>– find new bots and rate them.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<ahref="/file/811140327/1/zlN4goPTupk/9ff2f2f01c4bd1b013"target="_blank"><imgsrc="/file/811140934/1/tbDSLHSaijc/fdcc7b6d5fb3354adf"title="The Botfather. Click for hi-res picture"style="max-width: 200px;float:right"/></a>
</div>
<p>Our beta testers needed only a few hours to build these bots – setting up a new bot is a breeze. Just generate a key with <ahref="https://telegram.me/botfather"><strong>@BotFather</strong></a> and use a simple <ahref="https://core.telegram.org/bots/api">https API</a> to control your bot. If you’re an engineer, check out our <ahref="https://core.telegram.org/bots"><strong>Introduction to bots</strong></a> for details.</p>
<p>Bots in Telegram will look different from human users: their chat and profile screens have a slightly different UI and they don't have access to <ahref="https://core.telegram.org/bots#privacy-mode">all messages</a> by default when added to groups.</p>
<h4><aclass="anchor"name="taking-over-the-world"href="#taking-over-the-world"><iclass="anchor-icon"></i></a>Taking over the world</h4>
<p>Once you've launched your bot, watch it spread. In Telegram, any forwarded message contains a link to its original sender. This means any message from your bot forwarded to a person or group is a messaging equivalent of a retweet – bots are viral.</p>
<p>Additionally, all bots have an <strong>Add To Group</strong> and a <strong>Share</strong> button in their profile. You can set up a description and link that will be used when people share your bot on Telegram or other platforms. </p>
<center><div>
<ahref="/file/811140953/2/dHhrj9y1jtc/345e500fc7e1ffa5cd"target="_blank"><imgsrc="/file/811140953/2/dHhrj9y1jtc/345e500fc7e1ffa5cd"title="Bot profile featuring the Add to Group, Share and Help buttons."style="width: 245px; padding: 10px 5px"/></a>
<ahref="/file/811140572/1/vVg8aeC7SuM/161b45e3907efe6bde"target="_blank"><imgsrc="/file/811140572/1/vVg8aeC7SuM/161b45e3907efe6bde"title="Telegram.me link and short info to easily share a bot."style="width: 245px; padding: 10px 5px"/></a>
<p>Opening such a link starts a chat with that bot if you have Telegram installed. These links are easy to identify because all bot usernames must end in <strong>bot</strong>.</p>
<p>If the bot developer wants to pass their bot some additional info (like an auth key for example, see <ahref="https://core.telegram.org/bots#deep-linking">deep linking</a>), the link might also look like this:</p>
<h3><aclass="anchor"name="the-bots-are-coming"href="#the-bots-are-coming"><iclass="anchor-icon"></i></a>The bots are coming</h3>
<p>Starting today, you'll see links like this in Telegram and elsewhere. Embrace them, they are bots! They will provide the services you asked us for – polls, news, games, integrations, e-butlers or cat images. Any dream can come true with bots.</p>
<p><strong>P.S.</strong> All bot developers are welcome to share ideas for our Bot API on <ahref="https://telegram.me/botsupport"><strong>@BotSupport</strong></a>.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>You can read more about the our bot platform in the <ahref="https://core.telegram.org/bots"><strong>Introduction to Bots</strong></a> and in the <ahref="https://core.telegram.org/bots/api"><strong>Bot API Manual</strong></a>.</p>
</blockquote>
</div>
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