For the first time the platform and programming interface Bot API for creating bots were submitted by the Telegram development team in June 2015. During this time, over 6 thousand bot-services for “Telegram” (according to the resource Storebot.me) saw the light of enthusiasts and professionals. A powerful impetus to their development was the competition announced in April by Pavel Durov with a total prize fund of $ 1 million. The idea of including bots in Telegram was, undoubtedly, a successful decision and appealed not only to the user’s audience of the messenger and third-party developers, but also to business, Which has got a simple and convenient access to a powerful tool for communication with customers in a new format.
“Yandex.Bot” (@ ya). The universal search engine Yandex telegram-bot, which can answer questions, search for videos and music, report news, translate texts and talk about interesting things around – all in a conversation format. With the help of Yandex.Bot you can solve momentary tasks by interacting with the search and other services of Yandex. For example, you can find out the weather forecast, find the nearest cafes and view exchange rates. And if instead of sending a bot to the picture, he will find out what’s on it, and find the analogs. The bot is also able to respond to replicas like “How are you?” Or “I’m sad.” Only personal questions he does not like very much and usually says: “What is all about me. I better answer the question. ”
Bot Dr. Web (@drwebbot). Antivirus bot Doctor Web, allowing you to check the security of files and links. You can check the last ones either in a private dialog (send a suspicious content directly to a bot or forward messages received from other users) or in a group conversation – if you add a bot to it, it will work on all files and links in this conversation. The bot allows you to choose one of two modes: “quiet” and normal. By default, the normal mode is used: the bot responds to each file or link and responds whether they are safe. In a group conversation, the stream of messages from the bot can interfere with normal communication, so it is more convenient to use the “quiet” mode: in this case, the bot only warns users if the file or link in the chat contains a threat. You can select the mode with the / mode command, you can find out the additional features of the service by using the /help.
Bot to search for doctors (@docdocbot). Development of the company “MedServis”, which works in conjunction with the online service DocDoc.ru and allows you to quickly find a doctor of the necessary specialization, as well as make an appointment with him at the reception. To plan a visit to a doctor, you do not need to go to the site of the service and independently look for a specialist. All that is required is to add the bot to the contact list of the messenger and inform him about which doctor is needed. Smart robot will offer possible options. The patient can choose a doctor from the proposed list and register with him at the reception, remaining in the messenger. According to the developers, communication with the bot is as close as possible to contact with the operator, and the whole process of writing to the doctor takes no more than a minute.
A bot to write to a doctor on the basis of the MHI policy (@emiasinfobot). Another bot of medical orientation, which provides an opportunity to quickly write to doctors in the city’s polyclinics in Moscow. With its help you can make an appointment with a doctor, review your records or cancel your appointment. The service is based on the Unified Medical Information and Analytical System of Moscow (EMIA), and to work with the bot, it is necessary to be attached to one of the city’s polyclinics and have a compulsory medical insurance (OMC) policy.
Bot-translator (@lingvobot). Service company ABBYY, which allows you to translate words from Russian to English and vice versa, without leaving the popular messenger. The bot will be useful to everyone who encounters foreign languages and appreciates their time. Thanks to the bot from ABBYY, Telegram does not have to search for a translation of an unfamiliar word in another application or a paper dictionary. It’s enough to start a dialogue with @lingvobot and send him an unfamiliar word. The value instantly comes with a reply message.
Bot to solve legal issues (@pravorubot). Development of the largest legal portal “Pravo.ru”, which allows on-line to ask a question to professional lawyers and lawyers all over Russia and to receive promptly a free consultation. To work with a legal bot it is enough to briefly outline the essence of the problem and wait for the answer of a specialist. If necessary, you can attach a document or image to the message. Bot @pravorubot can be useful not only for ordinary users, but also for lawyers. The latter can get themselves new customers by simply registering in the bot database and waiting for approval from the service developers.
Postal bot (@etlgr_bot). The simplest email client that allows you to work with electronic correspondence from Telegram. When the bot is connected, the user automatically receives a mail address on the etlgr.com domain and demonstrates a set of control commands. With @etlgr_bot, you can send and receive emails, reply to messages, and view attachments attached to them. By default the interface of the bot is presented in English, to switch to Russian you should use the command /lang.
Postal bot # 2 (@temp_mail_bot). Another email bot, designed to create “one-off” anonymous mailboxes, automatically deleted after a certain time. Such a Telegram-robot can be useful when registering on questionable sites, forums, blogs and social networks, when the task is to remain unnoticed and keep incognito.
The unofficial bot game “What? Where? When? “ (@chgk_bot). A find for admirers and connoisseurs of the famous intellectual television game. With the help of a bot, you can conduct team tournaments in group chats and test your knowledge for strength. The basis of the service is based on an impressive database of questions db.chgk.info, you can select the category of questions and view the answers to assignments.
A bot for learning English (@study_english_bot). The electronic assistant in mastering a foreign language on the card system – based on interval repetitions of English words and phrases. To start learning, it’s enough to subscribe to a bot, select a topic, a translation direction (from a foreign language or a foreign language) and the frequency with which the service will send out assignments. After that, the bot will send messages with the specified periodicity to the selected topic for translation. The key point is that the user does not need to cut out a separate time for classes or set reminders. The bot himself will apply with the request to translate this or that word.
A bot for downloading YouTube videos (@ ivideobot). There are a huge number of ways to transfer the video files presented on Youtube to a computer disk. The simplest of them offers @ivideobot: it’s enough to send the URL of the attracted video to the bot, and it will send a link to download the video in various resolutions and formats. An excellent tool for those who, due to unstable or low-speed network connection, prefer to download clips for later viewing without connecting to the Internet.
Bot for converting files to the format PDF (@topdf_bot). A service that allows you to convert documents into a cross-platform format of Portable Document Format electronic documents in two clicks. We send the files to the bot with the extension doc, docx, odt, .txt, .jpg and the output is PDF. When working with @topdf_bot, it is not superfluous to remember about the inadmissibility of converting documents containing confidential information. Information security, you know, is not superfluous.
Financial bot (@finamtradebot). The development of the investment holding “FINAM”, intended for those who trade shares and shares on the Russian stock market. The bot provides an opportunity to make transactions on the exchange, view news reports and quotations on various exchange instruments online, and perform other tasks. Thanks to the robot, investors will be able to optimize the time of searching for necessary information and to trade more efficiently on the stock exchange.
Bot-assistants MTS “Beeline” and “Megaphone” ] (@mymtsbot, @beelineru_bot, @megafonrobot). Services that allow you to manage the services of mobile operators of the Big Three, namely: to receive answers to frequently asked questions, to view information about tariffs, to check the balance of a personal account, etc. Before you start working with bots, a subscriber must be authorized and receive a password in the form SMS.
Bot for international calls (@ callcoinbot). An interactive service with the help of which owners of mobile phones with an installed telegram can make international calls at low prices and pay for communication services with Bitcoin crypto currency. According to the developers, payment in bitcoins ensures the user’s privacy when working with a bot and develops the idea of Telegram as a secure communication platform. Another distinctive feature of the service is the use of callback technology and classical telephone communication, rather than VoIP telephony.
Insurance bot (@accidentins_bot). The service developed by the insurance group “URALSIB” for the sale of insurance policies against accidents. With the help of a bot, you can, without leaving the messenger, purchase an accident insurance policy for a period of one month to one year. The user can also choose the size of the insurance coverage. To buy a policy it is enough to write your name, first name, patronymic and specify the date of birth. You can pay for the insurance by a bank card, through an Internet bank or an electronic purse. After payment, the policy will be sent to the user’s e-mail. For the sake of fairness, we note that other insurance companies keep up with this kind of bots, keeping pace with the development of the IT industry.
Bot for reading RSS-feeds (@feedsrssbot). A service that allows using Telegram as the simplest RSS-aggregator for subscribing to updates of various network resources and promptly receiving news feeds, announcement of articles, changes in blogs, etc. The bot supports exporting and importing RSS-flows, can interact with channels and supergroups .
Bot of the Savings Bank (@sberbankbot). Information service of the largest bank in Russia. With the help of the bot you can search for the nearest branches and ATMs, watch the current exchange rate, learn about special offers and promotions of Sberbank’s partners. In addition, the bot can respond to a number of text commands. Sending a message in the “$ 100” format, you can quickly translate the value into rubles at the current exchange rate. Through the bot you can learn quotes of precious metals: in response to the message “15 grams of gold”, the user will receive an approximate value in rubles.
This is the top twenty, in our opinion, Telegram-bots. We invite readers of 3DNews to take part in the discussion of the material and share their findings in this field. Together we will be able to collect the most complete selection of interesting and really useful bot services for Telegram.