Telegram launches new ‘business’ features, challenging Meta

Telegram launches new ‘business’ features, challenging Meta is profiled by BTW Media because public-source evidence links it to internet infrastructure, governance, operational dependencies, or market visibility.

• Telegram launches “Business” features, competing directly with Meta’s WhatsApp and Messenger, offering tools like customised start pages and ad revenue sharing.
• Premium subscription is required for access, driving subscriber growth from 1 to 5 million, signalling accelerated adoption.
• Telegram aims to challenge Meta’s dominance in the messaging app market and establish itself as a leading platform for businesses.

OUR TAKE
Telegram’s strategic rollout of “Business” functionalities and revenue-sharing initiatives underscore its ambition to challenge Meta’s dominance and emerge as a premier platform for enterprise communication. With a burgeoning user base and innovative offerings, Telegram is poised to carve out a significant presence in the messaging app landscape.
— Chloe CHEN, BTW Media Reporter

Telegram, the popular messaging platform, is entering into direct competition with Meta’s WhatsApp and Messenger by introducing its latest “Business” functionalities tailored specifically for enterprises and incorporating support for ad revenue distribution. Telegram Business offers a comprehensive suite of tools, including customised start pages, business hour settings, predefined responses, automated greetings and away messages, chatbots, chat tags, and more.

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Pavel Durov expressed his anticipation of the platform’s profitability

This launch follows closely after Telegram’s founder, Pavel Durov, expressed his anticipation of the platform’s profitability by 2025 in an interview with the Financial Times. The drive towards profitability is evident as access to Telegram Business necessitates a subscription to the Premium version, priced at $4.99 per month on both iOS and Android platforms, with subscription numbers soaring from one million in December 2022 to five million by January 2024, indicating an accelerating growth trajectory.

Telegram Business is expected to further amplify Premium subscriptions by providing intuitive tools and features accessible to businesses without coding prerequisites. Enterprises can showcase their operational hours and geographical location, extend personalised greetings, deploy quick replies for streamlined communication, customise messages for first-time clients, manage availability via away messages, and categorise conversations with colour-coded labels tailored to their needs.

Businesses can generate actionable links for instant engagement

Moreover, businesses can generate actionable links for instant engagement, such as order tracking or table reservations, and incorporate Telegram bots for automated message handling. Telegram has hinted at upcoming enhancements to Telegram Business, including AI-powered chatbots catering to business users.

These advancements position Telegram to disrupt Meta’s stronghold in the messaging app sphere, alongside emerging competition from Apple’s foray into business messaging with Apple Messages for Businesses. Access to Telegram’s business suite mandates a Premium subscription, which can be accessed via Settings > Telegram Business within the app. In addition to Premium subscriptions, Telegram monetises through Telegram Ads and recently introduced ad revenue sharing utilising toncoin, a token on the TON blockchain.