How to Connect Telegram to Zo

Your Zo works on Telegram. Same AI, same tools, same memory as the web interface. The difference from SMS is that Telegram supports rich formatting, file sharing, and group chats — which makes it the best mobile channel for anything beyond quick one-liners.

This isn't a separate bot. It's your Zo, on Telegram. Start a conversation here, pick it up in the web app. It's all one thread.

Set it up

Step 1: Start the connection

In your Zo workspace chat:

Your Zo generates a pairing code.

Step 2: Open the Zo bot on Telegram

Open Telegram on your phone or desktop. Search for the Zo bot and start a conversation.

Step 3: Enter the pairing code

Send the pairing code to the bot. Once verified, you're connected.

Why Telegram over SMS

Both channels give you full access to your Zo. The difference is what the channel can handle:

Rich formatting. Telegram renders markdown: bold, italic, code blocks, headers, links. When your Zo sends a formatted summary, a code snippet, or a structured report, it looks right on Telegram. On SMS, everything is plain text.

File sharing. Send your Zo a PDF, image, or document directly in Telegram. Your Zo can send files back: a generated report, a downloaded document, an image it created. SMS can't do this reliably.

No length limits. SMS splits long messages into fragments that can arrive out of order. Telegram delivers the full response as one message, no matter how long it is.

Cross-platform sync. Telegram syncs across phone, tablet, desktop, and web. Your conversation is the same everywhere. SMS only lives on your phone.

Groups. Add your Zo to a Telegram group and everyone in the group can interact with it. This is useful for teams, households, or project groups.

No carrier fees. No international texting charges, no MMS limits, no carrier compression on images.

SMS wins on one thing: it works on every phone with zero setup. If you just need to fire off a quick question from a phone that might not have Telegram installed, SMS is simpler. For everything else, Telegram is the better channel.

What works best on Telegram

Telegram's formatting and file support make it ideal for interactions that produce longer, structured output:

Code and technical output. If you ask your Zo to write a script, review code, or explain a technical concept, the response includes properly formatted code blocks with syntax highlighting:

On Telegram, the code renders in a monospace block you can copy directly. On SMS, it would be an unformatted wall of text.

Formatted reports and digests. Morning briefings, weekly summaries, and project updates read much better with headers, bullet points, and bold text:

Document analysis. Drop a PDF or image into the Telegram chat and ask your Zo to work with it:

• Send a receipt photo: "Extract the total, date, and vendor from this receipt"
• Send a contract PDF: "Summarize the key terms and flag anything unusual"
• Send a screenshot of an error: "What's causing this error and how do I fix it?"

You can't do any of this over SMS.

Research with sources. When you ask your Zo to research something, Telegram renders clickable links and clean formatting:

Agents deliver best on Telegram

Scheduled agents can send results to any channel, but Telegram is the best fit for digests and reports because of the formatting. A morning briefing with headers, bullet points, and links is much easier to scan on Telegram than as a plain text message.

Morning briefing:

News digest:

Client email alerts with context:

Code monitoring:

The structured output these agents produce — with headers, code blocks, links, and formatting — only renders properly on Telegram and email. On SMS, it would be a mess.

Group chats

Add your Zo to a Telegram group and everyone in the group can interact with it. This is useful for:

Team channels. A small team shares a Telegram group. Anyone can ask the Zo questions, request research, or trigger tasks. The conversation and context are shared.

Household groups. A family group where anyone can ask about the weather, check shared calendar events, or get restaurant recommendations.

Project groups. A group for a specific project where members can ask the Zo to search for information, generate content, or check project status.

To set up group access, tell your Zo which groups are allowed:

Telegram + SMS + web: use all three

You don't have to pick one channel. Most people use a mix based on the situation:

• SMS — Quick questions from your phone when you want the simplest possible interface. "Am I free at 3pm?" Eight seconds, done.
• Telegram — Richer interactions: formatted output, file sharing, code, reports, group access. This is where agents should deliver structured content.
• Web app — Full workspace: file management, visual tools, long sessions, uploads, settings.

Your Zo remembers everything across all channels. Start a conversation on Telegram, continue on the web, follow up over SMS. It's all one context.

Getting started

1. Say "Connect my Telegram" in your Zo workspace
2. Pair with the code in the Telegram bot
3. Send your first message: "What can you do?"

Then try something that shows Telegram's strength: ask for a formatted summary of your week, drop a document for analysis, or set up a morning briefing agent that delivers to Telegram. Once you see how much better structured output reads on Telegram compared to SMS, you'll use it as your primary mobile channel.