Inline buttons: what they are on Telegram and how to use

Inline buttons are the buttons that appear right below a Telegram bot’s message. The person taps one and the bot reacts, with no typing. The technical name is inline keyboard.

What sets them apart

According to Telegram’s documentation, pressing an inline button doesn’t send a message to the chat. That differs from a reply keyboard, where a tap sends the button’s text into the conversation. With inline buttons, the chat stays clean.

Telegram has several types, including callback, URL, payment and game buttons. Whoever codes the bot picks between them.

How they work in Flow4You

In the Send Message block, buttons come in two kinds:

• Continue to the next block: each button sends the conversation down its own path. That path can apply a tag, for example.
• Open a link: takes the person out of Telegram. This is how you send them to your checkout.

Buttons also have a timeout exit. If the person doesn’t tap anything in time, the flow continues through that exit instead of stalling.

Good practice

• Use few buttons, with short labels that describe the action: “Send the lesson”, not “Click here”.
• Offer a real way out: “Not now” beats forcing someone to disappear.
• Use buttons to sort people. “I already sell” and “Not yet” can become tags and different conversations.

You’ll find ready-made examples in the Telegram bot welcome message templates.