Welcome message and auto reply

Your bot has two separate messages: the welcome message greets people on /start, while the auto reply acknowledges a question: “Your message has been sent. Please wait for a reply.”

Both are configured on the same screen. Automatic deletion belongs to the auto reply: the welcome message, the person's question and your replies stay in the conversation.

Enable it in the workspace

1. Open the right project.
2. In the project selector, choose the Telegram bot whose messages you want to change.
3. Open Settings.
4. Choose Messages.

The Welcome & replies section contains two cards: Welcome message and Auto response. Project owners and admins can edit them; viewers can only read the settings.

Welcome message

Use the welcome message to explain where people have arrived and what they can ask. For example: “Hello! Send us your question and we will reply here.”

1. Click the edit icon on the Welcome message card.
2. Enter your welcome text.
3. Click Save.

The built-in welcome message is sent on /start. “Only on first message” controls the auto reply, rather than the welcome message. The auto reply deletion switch does not delete the welcome message.

If a flow handles entry to the bot, configure its welcome and subsequent messages in the flow. Built-in message settings do not change flow messages.

Text and sending frequency

The auto reply confirms that a question was received. It does not replace your answer or close the support ticket.

1. Click the edit icon on the Auto response card.
2. Enter the text, such as “Your message has been sent. Please wait for a reply.”
3. Choose the sending rule and click Save.

• “Only on first message” enabled — the acknowledgement follows the person's first ordinary message to this bot. The /start command does not count as that question.
• Disabled — the acknowledgement follows each ordinary message.

When the bot has an active flow, the flow handles messages and this built-in auto reply is not sent. Enabling deletion neither enables the acknowledgement nor changes the flow.

Automatic deletion

To keep acknowledgements from piling up, enable deletion on the same Auto response card.

1. Open the Auto response editor.
2. Turn on Delete the auto reply automatically.
3. In Delay in seconds (1–30), enter a whole number, such as 7.
4. Click Save.

The first time you enable it, the field starts at 10 seconds. Replace it with your preferred value. For example, with a 7-second delay the person sees the acknowledgement, and after 7 seconds the bot requests its deletion. Their question and your replies stay in place.

What gets deleted

Deleting an acknowledgement does not close a support ticket or mark the person's question as answered.

Changing the delay or disabling deletion

Automatic deletion is off by default: the auto reply stays in the chat.

A saved delay applies to new auto replies. An acknowledgement already sent keeps the delay that was in effect when it was sent. Disabling deletion also affects only new acknowledgements.

Turning off the deletion switch keeps the acknowledgement text and sending rule. You do not need to remove the text.

When the countdown starts

The countdown starts after the auto reply has been sent successfully. At the chosen time, GeckoChat asks Telegram to delete it. The moment it disappears also depends on the connection and Telegram processing the request.

The deletion job is saved and survives a restart. If the service is temporarily unavailable or Telegram limits requests, deletion can be delayed. The platform retries temporary failures without sending the acknowledgement again.

Configure it from Telegram

The same setting is available in the GeckoChat management bot where you manage your bots:

1. Open the menu for the right bot.
2. Choose Auto response.
3. Enable automatic deletion using the button showing the delay.
4. Tap Change delay.
5. Send a whole number from 1 to 30.

The workspace and Telegram show the same setting. This is the owner's management menu in GeckoChat, rather than the menu your bot's users see.

Check it yourself

1. Open the bot from a test account and send /start to check the welcome message.
2. Choose an auto reply deletion delay, such as 7 seconds, and save it.
3. Send the bot an ordinary message from a test account eligible for an auto reply under the selected rule.
4. Check that the acknowledgement appears and then disappears, while the question and welcome message remain.

To repeat the check with the same account, temporarily disable “Only on first message”. Restore your preferred sending rule afterwards. If no acknowledgement arrives at all, check its text, the selected bot and whether a flow is active.