Telegram Now Allows Users to Convert Personal Accounts to Business Accounts

Telegram founder Pavel Durov announced Wednesday that users of the messaging app can now convert their personal accounts into business accounts by paying a monthly fee.

This update allows users to provide additional information, such as location and opening hours, which is helpful for small shops or cafe owners.

"Users can now convert their personal Telegram accounts into business accounts. As a result, they will be able to add their location and opening hours, organize chats with color labels, use automatic greeting/away messages and shortcuts for quick replies," Durov said in a statement.

New Business Features of Telegram

Among the new features for business accounts are options to organize chats with color labels, utilize automatic greetings or away messages, and employ shortcuts for quick replies.

Durov mentioned on his channel that Telegram intends to roll out more business features in the coming month, including integrating AI-powered chatbots for customer service.

Durov noted that with Telegram business accounts, users could seamlessly add the AI chatbots "as their invisible secretaries to respond to all or certain chats," bringing customer service automation to an entirely new level.

Introducing these business features positions Telegram in competition with WhatsApp Business, which surpassed 200 million monthly active users in 2023.

However, a key distinction is that Telegram charges a subscription fee to use business features, while WhatsApp generates revenue based on the type of conversations and frequency of chats.

WhatsApp, owned by Meta, introduced several business-oriented features last year, such as personalized customer messages and in-app flows for completing e-commerce transactions.

Telegram has concentrated mainly on expanding its business offerings through initiatives like auctioning premium usernames, premium subscriptions, and self-custodial crypto wallets.

With over 800 million users worldwide, the messaging platform is gearing up to launch its advertising platform this month, accompanied by a revenue-sharing program for channels.

More Features to Come on Telegram

In the statement, Durov emphasized the launch of the first batch of Telegram Business features, which allows users to convert personal accounts into business ones.

Besides the location and opening hours, users can also organize chats with color labels, set up automatic greetings and away messages, and utilize shortcuts for quick replies. Durov also hinted at upcoming additional features, particularly highlighting the integration of AI chatbots.

Telegram Business accounts will be empowered to seamlessly incorporate chatbots as virtual assistants to handle incoming chats effectively. Developers can also anticipate the release of new Bot APIs later this month, which will be available free of charge.

"That's just the start - we are shipping more Telegram Business features this month. One of these features will revolutionize how people interact with chatbots. Telegram Business accounts will be able to seamlessly add chatbots as their invisible secretaries to respond to all or certain chats. With AI, these chatbots can bring customer service automation to an entirely new level," Durov noted.