Chat app Telegram takes on Meta with launch of new 'business' feature and revenue sharing

Image credits: Thomas Truchel/Phototech/Getty Images

Messaging app Telegram is preparing to take on Meta's WhatsApp and Messenger with a new feature set for businesses and support for ad revenue sharing. Officially launched this weekend following a previous announcement, Telegram Business now includes a customized start page, set business hours, use preset replies, greet and leave messages, a chatbot, tags for chatting, and more. features have been introduced.

Meanwhile, public channels on Telegram with at least 1,000 subscribers can now generate 50% of their revenue from ads displayed within the channel.

The feature comes just days after Telegram founder Pavel Durov said in an interview with the Financial Times that he expects the app, which currently has more than 900 million users, to be profitable by 2025. It appeared a week later.

Telegram Business is clearly part of this push leading to a future IPO, as it is a product that users must subscribe to a paid premium version to access.

Telegram Premium is a bundle of upgraded features for $4.99 per month on iOS and Android, also available as 3-month, 6-month, or 1-year plans. (Premium can also be purchased in-app via @PremiumBot on Android, desktop, and Mac. Telegram doesn't have to share fees with app stores, so you can buy it at a discount.)

As of December 2022, Telegram Premium has surpassed its first million subscribers. In January 2024, Durov announced that Premium subscribers had increased to 5 million, after reaching 4 million the previous month, indicating that subscriber growth is accelerating. I did.

Telegram Business could be another leap forward for Premium as it offers tools and features that business customers can use without knowing how to code.

For example, businesses can display business hours and locations on a map, greet customers with a customized start page for blank chats, and choose the text and stickers users see before starting a conversation. can. Similar to the feature available on WhatsApp, Telegram Business offers “Quick Reply”. This is a shortcut to preconfigured messages that supports formatting, links, media, stickers, and files.

Businesses can also set their own custom greeting messages for first-time customers and specify a period of time before the greeting appears again. When a business is closed or the owner is on vacation, you can use Out of Office messages to manage availability.

Additionally, businesses can use colored labels to categorize chats based on chat folders that are meaningful to them, such as delivery, billing, orders, VIP, and feedback.

Additionally, businesses can create a link to a chat to instantly open a Telegram chat with a request to perform an action such as tracking an order or reserving a table. Business customers can also add her Telegram bot, which includes other tools and her AI assistant bot, to respond to messages on their behalf.

The company said more features will be rolled out to Telegram Business in future updates.

Durov told the FT earlier this month that Telegram was aiming to launch an AI-powered chatbot for business users, and had already hinted at what these could include.

Collectively, these features could bring competition to a market where Meta's apps like Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp dominate business communications. Even Apple has only carved out a small niche in this space with Apple Messages for Business, and companies like Shopify, Aramark, Four Seasons, Harry & David, Delta, American Express, Dish, Discover, Hilton, Lowe's, and Wells Fargo. is used. , West Elm, Kimpton Hotels, Vodafone Germany and more.

Telegram requires a premium subscription to access new business features, but there are no additional charges to enable new options. (app's[設定]>[Telegram Business]It is located in )

In addition to monetizing through premium subscriptions, the company generates revenue through Telegram advertising. The company recently announced advertising revenue sharing using TONCoin (a token on the TON blockchain). Now, the company announced on Sunday that it has launched a revenue sharing program.

Previously, Telegram experimented with the TON blockchain to auction usernames and launched a cryptocurrency wallet in all markets outside the US