When a customer opens a ticket on your helpdesk and walks away, they shouldn't have to keep the tab open to find out you've answered. Chatonio can notify helpdesk clients about ticket activity by email and — if you connect a notification bot — by Telegram.
You decide, per event and per delivery method, whether a notification is always sent, sent unless the client opts out, or never sent. Clients manage their own preferences right on the helpdesk. The helpdesk portal is available on the Pro and Ultimate plans.
The three events
- New reply — an operator or the AI replies on the client's ticket.
- Ticket received — a confirmation when the client opens a new ticket.
- Resolved / closed — the ticket is marked resolved or closed.
Choose delivery modes (admin)
Go to Admin → Projects → [Your Project] → Channels and open your Helpdesk channel. The Client notifications section shows a small matrix: the three events as rows, Email and Telegram as columns. For each cell, pick one of three modes:
- Off — never sent. This is the default for everything, so notifications stay silent until you switch them on.
- Optional — sent by default, but the client can turn it off from their helpdesk preferences. Optional emails also carry an unsubscribe link in the footer.
- Enforced — always sent; the client sees it as required in their preferences and can't disable it. Use it for things clients should never miss, such as the ticket-received confirmation.
Two prerequisites for the Email column: your project needs an active email channel with a verified sending domain (notification emails are sent from it), and each notification counts toward your plan's monthly email allowance.
Set up the Telegram notification bot
- Create a bot with @BotFather in Telegram and copy its token — or reuse the bot that already powers a Telegram channel in this project (Chatonio detects this automatically and the bot serves both roles).
- Go to Admin → Projects → [Your Project] → Knowledge Base → Settings and find the Telegram notification bot card.
- Paste the token and click Connect.
The bot only delivers notifications — it doesn't accept replies. Each message includes an Open ticket button that takes the client straight to the ticket on your helpdesk, where they answer as usual.
How clients link Telegram
Once the bot is connected, clients link a chat themselves: sign in on the helpdesk → avatar menu → Settings → Linked Telegram chats → Link a chat.
- Personal chat — a button opens the bot in Telegram; press Start and the chat is linked.
- Group — add the bot to the group, then send the /notify command shown on the page inside that group. Handy when a whole team follows the tickets of one account.
The linking instructions are valid for 15 minutes — generate a fresh set if they expire. A client can link several chats and unlink any of them at any time. If a client blocks the bot or removes it from a group, that link deactivates automatically.
What clients control
On the same Settings page, clients see a toggle per event and delivery method:
- Events set to Optional are on by default and can be switched off.
- Events set to Enforced are shown as required and can't be disabled.
- Events set to Off aren't shown at all.
Unsubscribing from email
Every Optional-mode email ends with an unsubscribe link. One click turns off exactly that event over email — nothing else — and the confirmation page offers a resubscribe button plus a link to manage all preferences. Enforced notifications never carry an unsubscribe link, so reserve Enforced for genuinely essential messages.
Not running a helpdesk yet? Start with Setting Up Your Helpdesk.