Cloud-based, cross-platform encrypted instant messaging app – Telegram – is set to battle for more market share with Meta’s WhatsApp with a new set of features aimed at scaling-up businesses as well as support for ad-revenue sharing.
Telegram Business, first announced earlier this weekend, offers features including a personalized start page, preset replies, greeting and farewell messages, chatbots, chat tags, and more. It can even be used to specify work hours.
This comes after Telegram founder Pavel Durov stated in an interview with the Financial Times that he anticipated the app—which currently has over 900 million users—to turn a profit by 2025.
Given that Telegram Business is a service that requires users to subscribe to the premium version in order to use it, it is evident that this drive is aimed at preparing for a potential IPO.
Some of the features users can enjoy while using the app include quick replies, as Telegram Business allows users to create quick replies. Quick replies are shortcuts for sending preset messages that may contain several messages and support text formatting, links, stickers, media, and files.
Telegram business also provides links to chat to make it even easier for customers to reach out. Users can create links to chat with any business, like a button to reserve a table or track an order. When tapped, these links instantly open a chat and paste a suggested message for any user.
The app also offers chat bots for businesses, which will process and answer messages on the user’s behalf. This allows businesses to seamlessly integrate any existing tools and workflows or add AI assistants that manage their chats.
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