Telegram bots are increasingly popular and increasingly useful. Discover the list of the best but also how to create one with this guide.
Telegram is one of the most used instant messaging apps in the world. It represents a valid alternative to Whatsapp and, like Whatsapp, it is available for both iOS and Android, as well as having a very useful web component that allows you to use Telegram from the desktop.
Telegram is presented as one of the messaging app that has multiple functions inside, managing to guarantee a high level of security for users who use it. On Telegram you can create groups, even hidden, send any type of file or add channels to your list, very useful for staying up to date on different themes.
One of the strengths of Telegram is certainly represented by bots, i.e. automated programs that, upon user request, perform very precise and often very useful tasks to find information or certain types of files.
In this guide we will explain better what Telegram bots are , how to create one for passion or fun and above all we will give you a list of the best Telegram bots to be used for different purposes.
What are Telegram bots
As already mentioned, Telegram bots are nothing more than automated programs that manage to perform tasks. To launch a Telegram bot, you need to write the instruction in the text field where the messages are written, an instruction that must be preceded by the symbol ” / ” which is used to call the bot’s functions.
It is also possible to call up all the functions of the bot using the appropriate button which summarizes the available commands.
Bots are useful on several occasions, considering that there are all sorts of them . It is possible, in fact, to use the Telegram bots alone, in a chat between you and the bot, or to insert them within groups and supergroups of users, for example to automatically ban those who go against the regulation of the group.
In fact, there are bots that allow you to search for GIFs in chats, or bots that report news in real time, or even bots with which you can talk in English to practice. We will see later which are the best Telegram bots, now let’s see how to add or remove a bot.
How to add a Telegram bot
Adding a bot is very simple. Once you have selected the bot you want to add to your Telegram account, you will have to click or tap on the link. The browser will ask you if you want to add the bot , answer in the affirmative and the application will automatically open in the chat window with the bot.
At this point all you have to do is start the conversation with the bot by clicking on the Start button . Once the chat has started, the bot (usually) will present itself summarizing its functions and the main commands to be used.
To see the whole list of commands that can be recalled, just click on the appropriate button , located next to that of the emojis, and scroll the list. You can open the same window through ” / “, the character needed to launch the instructions. To select a specific function, just tap on it, which will be automatically launched to the bot that will reply with the information you have requested.
Remove a Telegram bot
In order to function, Telegram bots often need to access profile information . This isn’t always necessary, but it could happen. For this reason, if you no longer want to use a Telegram bot, then you will first have to stop its operation and then delete the chat , since simply deleting the conversation may not stop the bot.
To remove a Telegram bot from the desktop, open the chat and click on the options, accessible via the three dots at the top right. At this point you must first click on Stop and block bot , and then on Delete chat .
If you want to remove a Telegram bot from the smartphone application, then you will have to open the chat, click on the bot name at the top, click on Info and then on Stop bot . At this point then you can proceed to delete the chat.
How to create a Telegram bot
If the bots have intrigued you to the point of trying to create one, just know that the operation to create an empty Telegram bot is not very complicated.
The most difficult part is certainly the one that concerns the microservices to be written, or all those instructions written through a programming code that the bot will have to perform to perform tasks automatically. Bots can be developed in Python, a very popular programming language, but also in Java, PHP or Node.js .
The microservices are called up via HTTP requests , that is what the user writes in the chat with the bot, which Telegram also to the services that host the microservices: they are, therefore, a communication channel between the two platforms.
To create a Telegram bot you will need, therefore, to choose the platform that will host the microservices and then BotFather, that is the parent bot of all the other bots that are created. In this guide we will see how to create a Telegram bot using BotFather.
BotFather
To create a Telegram bot through BotFather you must first start the bot by clicking on this link, or by searching for it from within Telegram. Once BotFather is added, start the conversation and type or click on the / newbot command .
BotFather will ask you for some information needed to create your bot. Choose and enter a name, a username that must necessarily end with the word “bot”.
At the end of the procedure, you will have created your bot, which will be empty in the sense that it will have no instructions to carry out, but is ready to be used there. BotFather will then return a token, necessary for the bot to work.
The token must be noted and stored with care, and must not be disclosed because anyone who knows your token will be able to check your bot. The token must then be inserted in the microservices management platform in order to allow communication between the Telegram bot and the platform.
Other instructions that you can use to customize your bot are the following.
- / setdescription : set a description of the bot
- / setabouttext : set an introductory text that will be shown by the bot on startup
- / setuserpic : set the bot’s profile picture or avatar.
The best Telegram bots to try
As already stated, Telegram bots are very useful in several ways. We have collected for you the best bots to try at least once, which could increase your productivity with your smartphone and make it even more useful.
To add them, just click or tap on the link and add them to Telegram.
- Amazon Global Bot : useful to search for a product on Amazon from within the Telegram chats, to find out the price immediately.
- BotFather : the bot that allows you to create other bots.
- CodiceFiscaleBot : immediately calculates the tax code of a person.
- DottorBot : allows you to receive scientific and medical information with in-depth articles and wikis.
- DuckDuckGoBot : the bot of DuckDuckGo, the alternative search engine to Google. It returns you the search results and the first image from a word or phrase.
- Fakemailbot : allows you to create temporary and anonymous email addresses.
- FlightRadar24Bot : bot that monitors air traffic in the vicinity of those who use it.
- FreeSegreteriaBot : this bot lets you know who is calling you while your smartphone is turned off or unreachable. It is a valid alternative to the “I looked for you” services, which telephone companies are increasingly paying for. This Telegram bot can also act as an answering machine, recording the messages of the caller to let you listen to it via voice message.
- OffersMobile : bot that will report the latest offers proposed by telephone operators.
- PollBot : allows you to add polls in Telegram groups and channels.
- SpacoBot : bot that has the sole purpose of entertaining the chat, also through insults that you can address to other users.
- TempMail : this bot also allows you to create temporary emails.
- TrackBot : a bot that tracks packages and shipments through the package tracking code. Allows you to have automatic updates on the status of the shipment.
- Transcriber_Bot : a very useful bot that transcribes a voice message or an audio note into a text message. Useful if you can’t hear a voice message right away or if someone sends you a 10-minute voice message.
- TrenItBot : bot that gives you information on train times, including delays.
- TranslateBot : this bot is able to translate what is written in the chat in any language.
- YouTubeAudioDownloader : allows you to download only the audio of the YouTube video, starting from the video URL.
- YouTubeBot : allows you to search for videos on YouTube from within Telegram