We’ve added the ability for agents to reply to comments under Telegram channel posts so that replies appear both in the discussion group and directly under the post
How comments work in Telegram
Comments under channel posts are technically threads in the associated discussion group. When a user clicks "comments" under a post, they enter a separate thread in that group. All messages posted under the post are stored in that thread, and Telegram displays them in both the group and directly under the post for convenience.
If the bot replies "in the comment under the post", it is actually writing in the linked thread within the discussion group. Therefore, the bot’s message is visible both in the group and directly under the channel post.
Step 1: setting up in Telegram
The bot connected as the communication channel must have permissions to receive messages from the group chat. More details
1. Create a separate group for the Telegram channel and add the bot connected as the communication channel to Deskie. The bot does not require admin rights within the group.
2. Link the group you created to the channel as the discussion group. To do this, select the channel and click on its name in the header → Edit → Discussions → select the group you created in the first step → Link group.
3. Subscribers to your channel can leave comments by clicking the "Leave a Comment" link under a post. These comments will be received in Deskie. Agent responses from Deskie will appear both in the discussion group and directly under the post.
Step 2: Setting up in Deskie
The bot you added to the discussion group at step 1 must be connected to Deskie as a communication channel.
You can control how comments under channel posts are brought into Deskie by using the checkbox labeled "From a group chat, receive only messages containing a bot mention". If this box is checked, you'll receive only the messages where users have mentioned the bot.
How it works
1. A channel subscriber can write a message by clicking "Leave a Comment" under a post or directly in the discussion group – replying to another message in the thread.
2. For each conversation thread, we create a separate group chat.
3. In the first message of such a chat, the post text is quoted before the user's message, and a link to the post is provided.
If the post is longer than 300 characters, we'll display only the beginning so you can quickly understand the topic, while ensuring the original message doesn't take up too much space in the conversation.
4. When a new chat is created from a comment under a channel post, we add the channel name, post ID, and user message text to the subject.
When editing the subject of a case created based on a comment under a post in a Telegram channel, the channel name and post ID are always preserved.
Logic of a case creation
- Each thread under a post is a separate case on the Deskie side. If there is no chat for the thread yet or the previous such chat is in the "closed" status, a new chat will be created.
- If a subscriber writes directly to the group but not as a reply to any message from the thread, such a message will be processed on the Deskie side as a group chat message. More details
- It is possible to distinguish a comment on a post from a message in the discussion group by the case subject: in the first scenario, it will include the channel name, and in the second — the group name.