π¬ Send after-hours auto-replies to Telegram customers
β‘ 2 views Β· π¬ Support Chatbots
Description
Quick overview
Small businesses, freelancers and solo founders who talk to customers on Telegram but canβt reply around the clock. If youβve ever lost a sale because a message arrived at 11 PM and nobody answered until morning, this template is for you.
How it works
- Every message sent to your Telegram bot flows through five steps: a trigger catches it, a config node holds your schedule, a Code node checks the current time against your business hours, an IF node filters out messages that arrive inside working hours, and your bot instantly sends a custom auto-reply to everyone who writes after hours. Customers feel heard immediately, even at 3 AM.
Setup
- Create a free Telegram bot with @BotFather (takes 2 minutes) and add its token to the Telegram credentials in n8n.
- Open the Set Business Hours Config node and set your opening hour, closing hour, working days (1 = Monday β¦ 7 = Sunday) and reply text.
- Activate the workflow and start a chat with your bot. Done.
Requirements
- A free n8n account (self-hosted or cloud) and a free Telegram bot. No coding needed and no extra monthly costs.
Customization
- Everything editable lives in the Set Business Hours Config node β hours, days and message text, no code required. Want different replies per day or special handling for VIP customers? Duplicate the IF branch and add your own logic. Note: Telegram bots can only reply to people who start the conversation (they tap Start), so this works best for notifications, reminders and existing customers.
π Nodes Used
Telegram, Telegram Trigger
π₯ Import
Download workflow.json and import into n8n:
Workflow menu β Import from File