Why connect Telegram?
Every escalated case reaches you as a chat message containing the original customer email, the AI's solution proposal and the drafted reply — with buttons to act instantly. No need to open the Shopify admin for routine approvals. Each mailbox gets its own bot, so multiple shops stay cleanly separated.
Create your bot with BotFather
BotFather is Telegram's official tool for creating bots. It's a chat — you just send it commands:
- Open BotFather: in Telegram, search for
@BotFather(verified with a blue checkmark) and start a chat. - Create a new bot: send the command
/newbot. - Name your bot: BotFather asks for a display name — something like My Shop Support.
- Choose a username: next it asks for a unique username ending in
bot, e.g.myshop_support_bot. - Copy the token: BotFather replies with an HTTP API token that looks like
1234567890:AAExampleTokenString. Treat this like a password — anyone with the token controls the bot.
Link the bot to supportif.ai
- In the app, open Settings → Telegram and select the mailbox you want to connect.
- Paste the bot token from BotFather and save. supportif.ai registers the webhook automatically.
- The app shows a one-time link code (e.g.
/link 4F7K2M). - Open a chat with your new bot in Telegram (or add it to a team group chat) and send the link code.
- The bot confirms the connection — done. A test notification verifies everything works.
The link code ensures only your chat can control your mailbox: without it, nobody can pair a chat with your shop, even if they discover the bot's username.
What the buttons do
- Send reply — sends the drafted email to the customer exactly as shown in the message. The conversation and ticket are updated, and the case is marked resolved if nothing else is pending.
- Execute solution — performs the prepared Shopify action (cancellation, refund, address change, discount code or order note) via the Shopify Admin API. The result is logged on the ticket.
- Both — executes the action and sends the reply in one tap. The most common choice for clear-cut cases.
Chatting with the AI
You're not limited to the buttons. Reply to any escalation in plain language — “offer a replacement instead”, “make the tone more apologetic”, “ask for their order number first” — and the AI revises the draft and the prepared action, then sends you the updated version for approval. Each ticket keeps its own conversation thread with the bot, so context never gets mixed up.
Tips
- Add the bot to a group chat so your whole team sees and can act on escalations.
- Never share the bot token; if it leaks, revoke it in BotFather with
/revokeand paste the new one into the app. - You can disconnect Telegram anytime under Settings → Telegram — everything continues to work in the Shopify admin.