Common Telegram Intercom Integration Issues + fixes

Integrating Telegram with Intercom improves the way you handle customer messages, but it’s not always smooth sailing.

Since Telegram works on a bot system and Intercom is built around an inbox, connecting the two can sometimes lead to hiccups.

Most issues happen because of setup errors or conflicts between how the platforms handle messages. Maybe your Telegram bot isn’t receiving messages in Intercom, or the integration just seems “stuck”.

If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the most common Telegram Intercom issues, explain why they happen, and give simple fixes you can apply right away.

1. Telegram messages not appearing in Intercom

This is by far the most common Telegram Intercom integration issue people run into. You set everything up, expect messages to flow into Intercom, and… nothing shows up.

Here’s why it might be happening:

• Bot token is wrong: If the token is off by even one character, Intercom won’t be able to “talk” to your Telegram bot.
• Bot is connected somewhere else: Telegram bots can only work with one tool at a time. If it’s linked to another app, Intercom won’t get the messages.
• Webhook conflict: Sometimes another service is trying to handle the bot messages too, which blocks Intercom from receiving them.
• Bot not fully activated: If your bot isn’t set up correctly or hasn’t been started, it can’t send messages anywhere.

Quick ways to check what’s going on:

• Look at your bot activity in Telegram, are messages being sent and received?
• Check the connection status in Intercom to make sure the bot is actually linked.
• Confirm the bot isn’t being used by another tool at the same time.

Once you track down the culprit, fixing it is usually pretty straightforward, and your messages should start flowing again.

2. Telegram bot is responding in Telegram but not syncing to Intercom

This one is a huge pain point for teams. You see your bot working fine in Telegram, but in Intercom, nothing shows up.

Here’s what’s usually going on:

• Telegram allows only one active webhook at a time. That means your bot can only send messages to one tool.
• If the bot is connected to another service, Intercom won’t get any messages. Even though the bot seems active, it’s essentially “busy” elsewhere.

Quick check:

• Look at your bot’s webhook settings in Telegram. Make sure Intercom is the only service connected.
• Disconnect the bot from any other tools and restart the connection with Intercom.

Once the webhook is exclusive, your messages should start showing up in Intercom without an issue.

3. Bot token errors & authentication failures

Think of your bot token as the key to your Telegram bot. If the key is wrong, Intercom can’t unlock it, so messages just disappear. This is one of the most common headaches people run into.

It usually happens for a few simple reasons. Maybe the token is invalid, or you regenerated it in Telegram but forgot to update Intercom. Even a tiny copy/paste mistake can stop the bot from connecting properly.

When this happens, you’ll notice things like no messages appearing in Intercom, silent failures where nothing seems to happen.

Quick fixes to try:

• Make sure the token in Intercom matches Telegram exactly.
• If you regenerated the token, update it in Intercom immediately.

Once the token is fixed, your bot will start delivering messages smoothly again.

4. Privacy mode blocking messages

This one trips up a lot of people because it’s specific to Telegram and not always obvious.

Telegram bots have a Privacy Mode that limits the kinds of messages they can receive. When it’s on, your bot might miss messages from groups or certain types of user interactions.

It really matters if your bot is supposed to handle group chats or respond to messages like stickers or forwarded messages.

In one-on-one chats, Privacy Mode usually isn’t a problem, but in groups or more complex setups, it can silently block messages.

If you notice messages disappearing only in groups or certain contexts, checking your bot’s Privacy Mode is a good first step. Turning it off (if your use case allows) usually fixes the issue and gets everything syncing with Intercom again.

5. Messages sync, but media or files don’t appear

Sometimes your text messages show up perfectly in Intercom, but attachments, images, or GIFs never appear. It can feel like the integration is broken, but most of the time it’s just a few manageable issues.

Common reasons include:

• Unsupported file formats or very large files that Intercom can’t process.
• Stickers, GIFs, or certain media types that don’t map neatly from Telegram to Intercom.
• Temporary Telegram CDN issues that prevent files from being delivered immediately.

Here’s how to fix it:

• Stick to common formats like JPG, PNG, PDF, and keep files reasonably small.
• Avoid unsupported media in important messages
• Retry or wait briefly. If it’s a temporary Telegram CDN issue, the file might appear after a few minutes.
• Consider a fallback message

6. Duplicate or missing conversations in Intercom

Sometimes messages appear twice or not at all in Intercom. It’s confusing and can make your inbox feel messy, especially when you’re trying to keep up with customer conversations.

This usually happens because:

• The bot was reconnected multiple times, creating overlapping message threads.
• Multiple bots were used incorrectly, causing the same messages to appear in more than one place.
• Identity confusion—rare, but sometimes Intercom can misattribute messages if the contact info isn’t consistent.

Prevention is simpler than it sounds: make sure your bot is connected once and only once, avoid using multiple bots for the same Telegram Intercom workflow, and keep your contact identifiers consistent.

7. Automation or assignment not triggering on Telegram messages

Sometimes your Intercom automations don’t fire when a Telegram message comes in. You see the message, but nothing happens.

Telegram messages behave like any other conversation in Intercom, so automations and assignments should work if they’re set up to include the Telegram channel.

Most issues happen because:

• The workflow trigger is set incorrectly.
• Telegram isn’t included in the channel conditions.
• Required tags are missing, so the automation doesn’t recognize the message.

The fix is mostly about checking your triggers and conditions to make sure Telegram is accounted for.

How to debug Telegram issues before a demo or launch

Before you show your Intercom Telegram setup to a client or go live, it’s worth running a quick check to make sure everything works smoothly.

Here’s a checklist of what to do:

• Send a test message: Make sure it appears in Intercom exactly as expected.
• Check contact creation: Confirm that new users are added correctly and don’t create duplicates.
• Verify assignment: See that conversations are assigned to the right team or agent.
• Confirm reply path: Test replying from Intercom, does it reach Telegram properly?
• Test media: Send images, files, or GIFs to make sure they show up.
• Check logs: Look at connection logs for any errors or failed messages.

Running through this simple checklist can save a lot of headaches and ensure your Telegram integration works perfectly before a demo or launch.

FAQs