Telegram Bot Description Best Practices

The three fields, and where each one appears

This is the part that trips everyone up. The field named "description" is not the one shown on your bot's profile.

Name

• Where it shows: the chat title, search results, and the forwarded-from label.
• Limit: up to 64 characters.
• BotFather command: /setname

This is the only text that follows your bot everywhere. It is also the one most people waste on the word "Bot".

Description

• Where it shows: the empty chat screen, above the Start button, before anyone has interacted.
• Limit: up to 512 characters.
• BotFather command: /setdescription

This is your landing page. It is the last thing a person reads before they decide whether to press Start, and it disappears the moment they do. If you only write one of the three fields well, write this one.

About text

• Where it shows: the bot's profile page, and in link previews when someone shares your bot.
• Limit: up to 120 characters.
• BotFather command: /setabouttext

Short, and it travels. When someone pastes your bot link into a group, this is the line that shows up under the name.

Writing the name

• Lead with the brand or the job. "Bistro Nova Reservations" tells people more than "Nova Assistant".
• Skip the word Bot when you can. The username already ends in bot, and the interface labels it as one. The word buys you nothing and costs you characters.
• Avoid version numbers and emoji clutter. "Shop Bot v2 🔥🔥" reads as abandoned, not active.
• Keep it stable. People find your bot by remembering the name. Renaming it resets that.

Writing the description

You have 512 characters and a reader who has not committed to anything. Three things belong here, in this order.

1. What it does, in one plain sentence.
2. What it can do, as three or four concrete capabilities.
3. What happens next, so pressing Start feels predictable.

A description that earns the tap

Book a table at Bistro Nova in about 30 seconds.

I can:
- reserve a table for tonight or any date
- show today's menu and specials
- tell you our opening hours
- pass you to a real person when you need one

Press Start and I will ask for your date and party size.

A description that does not

Welcome to the official Bistro Nova Telegram bot!
We are glad to have you here. This bot was created to
improve our digital customer experience and provide a
modern communication channel for our valued guests.

The second one is four sentences about the restaurant's feelings. The reader still does not know whether they can book a table.

Rules that hold up

• Verbs, not nouns. "Book a table" beats "Reservation functionality".
• Front-load the first 80 characters. On small screens the rest can sit below the fold.
• List capabilities, not features. Users care what they can get, not what you built.
• Do not paste your command list here. Commands belong in the command menu, where Telegram renders them properly.
• No links. They are not clickable in this position and they read as spam.
• Write in your users' language. If most of your traffic is Turkish, an English description costs you conversions.

Writing the about text

120 characters is one sentence. Treat it as the answer to "what is this?" asked by someone who saw your link in a group chat.

Table reservations, menu and opening hours for Bistro Nova. Open 24/7.

Do not repeat the name inside it. The name is already displayed directly above.

The command list is part of the description

Set your commands with /setcommands in BotFather. Telegram then shows them in the menu button next to the message box, which is where people look for capability once they are inside the chat.

• Command names can be up to 32 characters, lowercase letters, digits and underscores.
• Each description can be up to 256 characters, but one short line is better.
• Order matters. Put the most used command first, not /start out of habit.
• Describe the outcome: "book - Reserve a table" rather than "book - Booking command".
• Keep the list short. Six commands people use beat twenty they scroll past.

The full BotFather reference is in our BotFather guide.

The profile picture

Set it with /setuserpic. It is rendered small and round, so detail is wasted. A logo mark or a single letter on a solid background survives the crop. A screenshot or a photo with text in it does not.

Getting found: what actually helps

Telegram's in-app search leans heavily on the username and the name. The description does not turn your bot into a search result, so writing it for keywords instead of humans loses on both counts.

• Pick a username people would guess. It must be 5 to 32 characters and end in bot.
• Put the real category in the name if you have room, for example "Nova Reservations".
• Do not keyword-stuff the description. It does not rank, and it makes the bot look untrustworthy at exactly the moment trust is being decided.
• Drive traffic from outside Telegram. Your website, your receipts and your signage bring more users than in-app search ever will.

A quick audit

• Open your bot in a fresh account and read the description as a stranger would.
• Can you tell what it does in the first line? If not, rewrite that line.
• Is the about text filled in? Most bots leave it empty and lose the link preview.
• Does the command menu show your commands, or is it empty?
• Is the profile picture still readable at 40 pixels?
• Are all three texts in the language your users speak?

Keep reading

• BotFather guide, every command and how to get your token
• Telegram bot UX best practices, what happens after they press Start
• Telegram bot best practices, the wider checklist

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between the description and the about text?

The description is up to 512 characters and appears on the empty chat screen above the Start button, before anyone interacts. The about text is up to 120 characters and appears on the bot profile and in link previews when someone shares the bot.

How long can a Telegram bot description be?

Up to 512 characters for the description, up to 120 for the about text, and up to 64 characters for the bot name.

Does the description help people find my bot in Telegram search?

Not much. Telegram in-app search leans on the username and the name, so keyword stuffing the description costs you trust without buying visibility.

Can I change a Telegram bot description later?

Yes, at any time through BotFather with the setdescription, setabouttext and setname commands. The change is live immediately.