Telegram founder Pavel Durov announced on Wednesday that users on the chat app can now convert personal accounts into business accounts by paying a monthly fee. This new feature allows business accounts to list information such as location and opening hours, benefiting small cafes and shop owners.
Additional features for business accounts include organizing chats with color labels, using automatic greetings or away messages, and shortcuts for quick replies. Durov also mentioned that Telegram plans to introduce more business features this month, including AI-powered chatbots for customer service.
According to Durov, Telegram Business accounts can incorporate chatbots as “invisible secretaries” to handle various chats. These AI-powered chatbots aim to elevate customer service automation to a new level.
Telegram aims to compete with WhatsApp Business, which surpassed 200 million monthly active users last year, with its new features. A key differentiator is that Telegram requires a subscription fee for business features, whereas WhatsApp generates revenue based on chat frequency and types of conversations.
WhatsApp, owned by Meta, introduced several business-oriented features last year, including personalized customer messages and e-commerce transactions within the app.
Recently, Telegram focused on expanding its business through premium subscriptions, self-custodial crypto wallet, and premium username auctions. The chat app boasts over 800 million users worldwide and plans to launch its ad platform this month, offering a revenue-sharing program for channels.
