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Autoresponder bot in MAX: channel features
In MAX, people message businesses the same way as in Telegram: “how much is it”, “are you open today”, “where's my order” — and at any hour. The autoresponder flow in CHBT is the same for all channels: three triggers, one split by time, night and day branches, and a handoff to an operator. How it's built block by block — with “Condition” settings, night reply texts and the morning review — is covered in detail in the article about the Telegram autoresponder, and we won't repeat it here. This note covers only what behaves differently in MAX: how the channel is connected, what happens when the bot is first opened, what buttons look like in MAX, what the channel lacks and how to account for it in your texts.
The circuit is the same for all channels - the only differences here are MAX
In CHBT, one project is one bot for all connected channels. The script compiled for Telegram works in MAX without modification: the same triggers /start, “Keyword” and “Any Message”, the same “Condition” block for the hour and day of the week, the same “Data Collection”, tags and “Operator”. Conversations from both messengers fall into the same “Conversations”, and the operator sorts them out in one list in the morning.
Therefore, the order of work is as follows: assemble an answering machine using to the main management — the settings of the “Condition” block for working hours, five blocks of the night branch, a daytime queue and three text options are discussed there. Then connect MAX as a second channel and go through the points below: they relate to connection, first touch, buttons, features missing in the channel and texts. If MAX is your only channel, the order is the same - the circuit does not depend on the channel.
Connection: token from “MAX for business” and one button
A bot in MAX is created not in the application, but in the account "MAX for business" — business.max.ru. One office per company; a bot is created in it, its name is set and a token is issued. Next in CHBT: section “Channels” → "Connect MAX" → insert the token → click “Connect”. Step by step with screenshots - in MAX connection help.
What CHBT does itself, but you don’t: checks the token with a request to the MAX API and subscribes the bot to events — incoming messages, button clicks, launching a bot. There is no need to manually enter any webhook addresses, either in the MAX account or in CHBT. If the token is incorrect or the API is not available, the channel card will immediately show the error “Invalid MAX token or API is not available” - correct the token and click “Connect” again.
The test requires a second MAX account: your own bot under the owner’s account is not tested well. Ask a colleague or get a second number and do all the checks below “through the eyes of the client”: click “Start”, write at night, press buttons, send a sticker.
First touch: Start button and bot_started event
In Telegram, a new bot user presses /start - the command comes in text. In MAX, the person who opens the bot for the first time sees the “Start” button, and the messenger sends not a text, but an event bot_started. CHBT translates it into the /start command, so the “/start” trigger in your script will work as usual - there is no need to create a separate trigger for MAX.
This has a practical conclusion for the answering machine. In Telegram, the night client often writes in text - and ends up in the “Any message” thread, where there is a fork in time. In MAX, the first touch is almost always “Start” without text: the person pressed the button at midnight and received the daytime greeting “Hello! How can I help?”, after which nothing will happen until the morning. Place the “Condition” block in time immediately after the /start trigger too: at night - a short greeting with a response deadline and a request to write a question in one message, during the day - the usual menu. These are the same settings "Time ≥ 9" and "Time < 20" as in the main thread.
Name from profile MAX CHBT is written to the contact card on the first touch, so the variable {{name}} in the greeting works: “Hello, {{name}}! It’s night now, I’ll answer in the morning before 10:00.”
Deeplink. The link to the bot from the “MAX for Business” account supports the starting parameter. When the client opens the bot using such a link, bot_started comes with this parameter, and in CHBT the trigger “Deep link” is fired with the required payload. For an answering machine, this is a way to understand where the night client came from: site - from a button on the site, kassa - from a check, card - from business cards. In each thread there is the “Add tag” action, and after a month in “Contacts” you can see which entry point brings people at night and which during the day.
Buttons in MAX are one per row, as in Telegram
In the MAX channel, CHBT shows buttons the same way as in Telegram: each message button on its own row, up to 30 buttons, with labels up to 128 characters. Previously all buttons in MAX went in a single row and shrank to fragments; now a Telegram menu carries over to MAX without cuts. Rules for an autoresponder menu in MAX:
- Keep the menu short. A long list of buttons stretches the phone screen: use one- or two-word labels — “Prices”, “Hours”, “More”. If there are many topics, “More” leads to a second message.
- The “Other question” button from the standard menu works in MAX the same way as in Telegram. Back it up with a word: in the message text write “or type ‘operator’” — and keep a separate flow with the “Keyword” trigger
operator→ “Message” “Transferring you” → “Operator”. The keyword fires even when the client is at the menu, so the way to a person is always open. - Link buttons are supported. A “URL” button opens a page: a price list, a directions map, a booking form on your website. This is handy for the night branch — a “Price list” button with a link answers the price question without an operator.
One more thing about taps. When a client taps a button, CHBT receives a service tap event rather than the button's text, and the flow follows that button's port. The “Keyword” trigger doesn't react to taps — so the “Prices” button and the word “prices” typed in a message reach the flow by different paths. Connect buttons to replies with connections (ports), and keep keywords for people who type; both paths should lead to the same “Message” block with the answer, so you don't have to maintain two texts about prices.
What is not in the MAX channel: “prints”, media and response to a sticker
No "typing" indicator. In Telegram, CHBT shows it while the AI agent is preparing a response; in MAX the answer appears immediately, without a “live” pause. This is a plus for an answering machine - no one is waiting for a person at night - but do not try to imitate typing with a series of short messages: they will come in a bunch. One message up to four lines works better than three in a row.
No media. Photos, PDFs and videos cannot be sent to MAX via CHBT - only text and buttons. Price - link, directions - link to map, instructions - link to page. This also applies to incoming messages: the bot in MAX does not accept attachments from the client - in the correspondence the operator will see a message without content. If a photo (breakage, size, document) is needed for an answer, direct the client to where files are accepted: in the widget on the website or by email.
Sticker or photo without signature - silence. Such a message comes to CHBT with empty text, and the “Any message” trigger fires only on text. At night it looks like “the bot is broken.” Two tricks: in the night text directly write “write in words - the bot will not read the photos and stickers”, and in the office periodically watch “Conversations” with a filter on the “MAX” channel for empty inboxes. You can answer them from your account as usual.
Night branch in MAX: same conditions, shorter text
The “Condition” block is set up the same way as for Telegram: the “Time” field is the whole hour by the server clock, a “Working hours” branch has the rules “Time ≥ 9” and “Time < 20” (plus “Day of the week ≥ 1” and “≤ 5” if you don't work weekends), and the “Otherwise” output is night. Test the boundary with a message around 20:05 from a second account.
The night text for MAX is shorter than the Telegram one: the audience more often reads on a phone on the go. A working version:
It's night now; our managers are available from 9:00. Send your question in one message, and we'll answer it first thing in the morning.
Then “Data collection” → Custom field “Question summary” without format validation, then a “Message” with two buttons, “Reply here” and “Call me back”. Ask for a phone number only in the “Call me back” branch, with “Phone” validation and a clear “Error message”: “Some digits are missing — type it like this: +7 900 000-00-00”. End the branch with the night tag and the “Operator” block: the conversation goes to “Conversations” marked with the MAX channel, the bot goes quiet, and anything the client adds overnight lands in the same conversation.
In the morning the operator replies from the dashboard — the message is delivered to MAX as a regular bot message. When the question is resolved, click “Close”, not “Return to bot”: after “Return to bot” the conversation stays on the “Operator” block, and a casual “thanks” from the client will send it back to a person. After “Close”, the client's next message starts the flow from a trigger — /start, a keyword or “Any message” — so the autoresponder handles it on its own again.
Morning: queue analysis and reminders via “Mailouts”
The analysis of night requests is the same for all channels: the “Waiting for a response” tab in “Conversations”, if desired, a filter on the “MAX” channel; in the contact card - tag night and the field “Gist of the question”; response, then “Close.” Web Push and letters about new conversations are included in “Account → Notifications” and work for MAX in the same way as for Telegram.
If dozens of people wrote at night and it’s not possible to respond to everyone in the first hour, it makes sense to say in one message “we are in touch, we are answering in order.” There is no point in doing this through the “Pause” block in the script: “Pause” counts the period from the moment of the message, and not until 9:00, and the person who wrote at midnight will receive “good morning” at eight. The right tool is the section “Mailmails” (Basic plan): audience by tag night, delayed launch at 9:00, text from {{name}}. Sending goes through a queue with a speed limit, so as not to run into the messenger limits. Remember the MAX rule: the bot writes only to those who have already written to it first - the night audience exactly meets this condition. After sending, remove the tag using an action in the script or manually, otherwise tomorrow the same people will receive a reminder again.
Check before launch and if the bot is silent
Five MAX-specific checks - after the script has passed the “Check Script” chat test in the editor:
- From the second account, click “Start” at night (or temporarily shift the hour boundary) and make sure that the night greeting has arrived, and not a daily menu.
- View the menu on the phone screen: all buttons are readable in their entirety, none are cut off.
- Press each button and write each keyword in text - both paths lead to the same answer.
- Send a sticker and photo without a signature - understand what the client will see (usually nothing or a repeat of the menu) and the operator (empty incoming), and check that the night text warns about this.
- Make sure that the script is enabled (Overview page, button “On”/“Off” opposite the script) and that the Free plan has not exhausted 30 conversations per month - after the limit, the bot responds to new interlocutors with a service phrase instead of the script (the “N out of 30” counter is on the “Overview” page of the bot).
If the bot in MAX doesn’t respond at all - don’t look for an error in the auto-reply logic, first go through the checklist “MAX bot is silent”: it’s almost always a matter of a token, a subscription to events, or a disabled script. What to choose for launch if the channel has not yet been decided - in comparison MAX or Telegram; how one script serves both messengers - in the article about one script for two channels.
On the Free plan - one bot, all channels and 30 conversations per month: enough to put an answering machine in MAX next to Telegram and see where people write from at night more often. Connect MAX to the bot →
Essential Guide: Telegram AutoresponderBot constructor MAXHelp: MAX connectionChecklist “MAX bot is silent”