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VK chatbot builder for communities
A subscriber writes to the community or taps “Start” — the bot replies in private messages on behalf of the community: shows a button menu, answers frequent questions, collects a phone number and hands complex cases to an operator in “Conversations”.
On any plan at no extra costScenario shared with Telegram and MAXCommunity messages only
What the VK bot can do
Replies in community messages
To the “Start” button, to keywords or to any text — on behalf of the community, around the clock. The person’s first and last name are taken from their VK profile with the first message.
Collects requests and bookings
The “Data collection” block asks for a name and phone number and checks the format. When the first phone number or email comes in, you get a lead email, and the “CRM deal” action creates a deal. A booking is a request: CHBT has no calendar. For a salon on YCLIENTS, the bot books the client directly into the schedule with the “YCLIENTS booking” block — how to connect.
Button menu, two per row
Up to 10 buttons per message: some lead through the scenario, others open a link to a post, album or website. The waiting indicator on a pressed button goes out right away, and the reply follows.
Hands the dialog to an operator
The “Operator” block passes the conversation to “Conversations” — next to chats from Telegram, MAX and the website chat. The operator replies on behalf of the community — from the dashboard or a phone — and “Return to bot” continues the scenario.
One script for all channels
VK connects to the same bot as Telegram and MAX — no need to rebuild the scenario. For VK-specific texts use a “Condition” on the “Channel” field, for example a shorter menu.
Broadcasts and AI from Basic
Tag-based “Broadcasts” reach VK too. The “AI agent” answers free-form questions from your knowledge base, and the AI sales assistant picks products and sends cards as text with a link.
How to connect a community
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1
Prepare the community
“Manage” → “Messages” → “Community messages: Enabled”; in “Bot settings” turn on “Bot features” and the “Start” button. Without bot features, messages with buttons are not delivered.
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2
Connect via VK
“Channels” → “VK” → “Connect via VK”: sign in with the administrator’s page, choose the community and click “Allow”. CHBT sets up the Callback API itself and sets “Works” once VK confirms the server.
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3
Or connect with a key
“API usage” → “Access tokens”: a key with the “Community messages” and “Community management” permissions. In CHBT — “Connect using community key”, paste the key and click “Connect by key”: CHBT checks the permissions right away.
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4
Test from a personal page
The scenario must be “Enabled”, with a “Command (/start)” trigger for “Start” and an “Any message” trigger for text. Write to the community — the conversation will appear in “Conversations”.
How CHBT receives community messages
VK sends community events to your channel’s address. CHBT checks the secret key and passes only incoming messages and button presses to the scenario. Comments on posts and products go to comment moderation in the “Studio” section — the bot doesn’t reply to them; other events get “ok” and are not processed. An event is first saved to a queue and only then acknowledged to VK, within its 10 seconds; a repeated delivery of the same event is dropped.
CHBT sets up the Callback API itself — both when you connect with the button and with a key: it creates a “CHBT” server in the community with the channel address, a confirmation string and a random secret, and enables the API version and the needed events. You don’t need to paste an address or click “Confirm”. The channel gets the “Works” status only after VK has confirmed the server; otherwise — “Error” with the reason. Step by step, with error symptoms, — in the help article “Connecting VK”.
- VK API version 5.199: CHBT sets the version and event types in “Callback API” itself.
- Key revoked — the channel gets the “Error” status and the owner gets an email, no more than once a day.
- If VK has a temporary failure, the bot’s reply is resent; if the subscriber blocked messages, the reply is marked “not delivered” without retries.
- New key — the “Change key” button in the channel row: the number, address and conversations stay the same, and if the key doesn’t work, CHBT restores the old one. If the “CHBT” server was deleted or changed in the community, “Reinstall webhook” sets it up again.
VK specifics that affect the scenario
| Specific | What it means for the scenario |
|---|---|
| No /start command | The “Start” button runs the “Command (/start)” trigger. People more often write in words — “hello, how much is it” — so you also need an “Any message” or “Keywords” trigger, otherwise the bot will reply to the button and stay silent on text |
| Up to 10 buttons, two per row | Buttons beyond the tenth aren’t shown, with no warning; labels are up to 40 characters. Split a twelve-service menu into submenus: “Haircuts”, “Coloring”, “Care” |
| Text and buttons only | The bot doesn’t send photos or files, and reads only text from the customer. Share prices and portfolio as a link to a post or album |
| AI sales assistant cards | Arrive as text with a link, without photos |
| No “typing…” | While the AI prepares a reply, VK shows no typing indicator |
| Administrator replies from VK | Don’t get into “Conversations” and don’t stop the bot. Reply from CHBT, and test from a personal page, not on behalf of the community |
How to build a bot for a community from scratch — in “A VK Community Bot”; a ready-made starter — the “Lead capture” template.
What the VK bot doesn’t do
The limits are clear before you launch.
- Doesn’t reply to wall comments (CHBT receives them only for moderation in “Studio”), doesn’t work in group chats and doesn’t react to people joining the community — only the community’s private messages.
- Doesn’t see administrator replies from the VK interface: the bot and an administrator may reply to the same person at the same time.
- Doesn’t send photos or files and doesn’t read customer attachments: the “Attachment” field isn’t sent to VK.
- Doesn’t write first: a broadcast reaches only those who wrote to the bot after it was connected to CHBT, or who were loaded via “CSV import” with a VK id. Community subscribers aren’t pulled in automatically.
- Doesn’t read a tag from a messages link: the “Deeplink” trigger and “QR campaigns” don’t work in VK — entry is via “Start” or a keyword.
- Doesn’t check community membership: the bot makes no membership requests to VK.
Available plans
VK is included in every plan at no extra cost per channel, and the number of channels isn’t limited. On Free — 30 different people a month across all channels combined, “Steps” mode, no AI and no “Broadcasts”: those who already wrote this month keep getting replies, and new people get a message about the limit.
Works with
FAQ
Can one scenario serve VK and Telegram?
Yes: scenarios are shared across all of a bot’s channels, and VK connects to the same bot in “Channels”. Where VK differs — no more than 10 buttons, no photos — add a “Condition” on the “Channel” field with the value vk and give VK its own texts.
What does the community need to connect a bot?
Administrator rights and enabled “Community messages” and “Bot features” — without them, messages with buttons are not delivered. An administrator connects the community with the “Connect via VK” button, no key needed; a colleague without administrator rights needs a key from the administrator with the “Community messages” and “Community management” permissions. CHBT sets up the Callback API itself.
The bot replies to “Start” but is silent on text. Is it broken?
No. The “Start” button runs the “Command (/start)” trigger, and plain text needs an “Any message” or “Keywords” trigger. Add one to the scenario.
The channel says “Works”, but the bot is silent. What to check?
“Works” means VK has confirmed the CHBT server. Message the community from a personal page. No message in “Conversations” — “Community messages” are off, the “CHBT” server in the community was deleted or changed (“Reinstall webhook” fixes it), or the Free plan limit is used up: new people get only the limit message. There is a message but no reply — the scenario is a “Draft” or has no trigger; “not delivered” on a reply — the key lacks the messages permission.
Does the bot reply to comments in the community?
No. The CHBT bot works only in the community’s private messages. CHBT receives comments on posts and products for moderation in the “Studio” section, but the bot doesn’t reply to them. Wall posts and people joining the community are not processed.
Can the bot message a community subscriber first?
No. You can message people who wrote to the bot themselves after it was connected to CHBT, or tapped “Start” and didn’t block messages from the community — tag-based “Broadcasts” go to them. Subscribers who wrote to the community earlier aren’t added automatically: they can only be loaded via “CSV import” with a VK id.
How many buttons can one message show?
Up to 10, two per row, labels up to 40 characters. The bot won’t show buttons beyond the tenth, so split a long menu into submenus or two screens.
Connect your community to the bot
Free plan forever, no card required. If the bot already works in Telegram or MAX, VK connects to the same bot: one scenario, conversations in the same “Conversations”.