Telegram Lead Scoring with OpenAI + Team Alerts (n8n)

Turn Telegram messages into qualified leads—automatically score intent with OpenAI and alert your team in a separate chat (n8n)

This n8n workflow powers a Telegram bot that answers incoming text messages, collects lightweight discovery, and uses OpenAI Chat Completions to generate a lead score. When the score meets your qualification threshold, your team is notified via Telegram—so you can follow up faster with the right prospects.

What this workflow does

• Receives a new Telegram text message (Telegram Trigger).
• Normalizes and manages session context per chat, then routes the message to the appropriate handling path (text vs. non-text) using workflow logic.
• Calls OpenAI via an HTTP Request to the Chat Completions API, sending your business details and the conversation context to produce a short reply plus structured lead-scoring metadata.
• Parses and updates the session history and lead score, including a deterministic evidence check before handoff.
• Qualifies and alerts: if the lead score meets your handoff_threshold, sends a qualified-lead notification to your team’s Telegram chat and informs the visitor that a specialist will follow up.
• Avoids duplicate handoffs: if already handed off, replies with a holding message without re-notifying your team.
• Handles exceptions: if rate-limited or when the input isn’t text, the workflow sends the appropriate guidance message.

Use cases

• SaaS sales teams qualifying inbound Telegram inquiries in real time.
• Lead intake for agencies or consultancies that want instant routing when intent is high.
• Any n8n-powered bot that needs AI-assisted lead scoring plus human follow-up via Telegram.

Technical details (built with n8n nodes)

• Telegram Trigger (incoming messages)
• Telegram (send visitor replies and team alerts)
• HTTP Request (OpenAI Chat Completions API call)
• Code (session handling, parsing, evidence check, lead score updates)
• Switch (routing between text/non-text and handling states)
• Sticky Note (workflow documentation)

Setup tip: create your Telegram bot in BotFather, add Telegram credentials to both the Telegram Trigger and Send Telegram Message steps, then replace agent_chat_id in the CONFIG block and adjust handoff_threshold and business details.