⚡ Quick summary (TL;DR)
Get started: tapping Start sends /start automatically to trigger the welcome message.
Left menu button: may open the command list, or a web page / MiniApp — depending on how the developer set it up.
Bottom shortcut keyboard: a tap sends the button text, or opens a MiniApp.
📖 Overview
A bot can reply automatically, offer commands, and open MiniApps. This article covers where to find one, what happens when you start it, and how menus, keyboards, and commands behave — for everyday users, not developers.
📍 Where to find a bot
Open a shared chat or link to enter the conversation with the bot.
Open the bot’s profile card to read its intro, then start chatting.
Browse or search bots you have already used under the Contacts Bots entry.
▶️ Tap Start and /start
The first time you open a private chat, you usually see a Start button. Tapping it sends /start automatically so the bot knows you are ready for the welcome content.
/startis always a command: it is highlighted in chat and you can tap it again to resend.You can later type or tap other slash commands (such as
/help); which ones exist depends on the bot.
👋 Where the welcome message appears
If the developer set a welcome message, it appears at the top of the bot chat so you can see the intro at a glance. If none is set, that top area stays empty.
◀️ Left menu button
To the left of the input field there may be a menu button (appearance varies by client). The developer chooses what it does; common behaviours:
Open this bot’s command list so you can pick a command to send.
Open a web page or MiniApp (the button usually shows a short label).
If the developer did not customise it, you may only see the default behaviour — follow what your App shows.
ℹ️ Separate from the bottom keyboard
The left menu button and the bottom shortcut keyboard under the input are independent: changing one does not change the other.
⌨️ Bottom shortcut keyboard
Some bots show a row of shortcut buttons under the input (the bottom shortcut keyboard). Developers send these as persistent or one-time shortcuts via chat messages.
Tap once: in most cases the button text is sent as a message.
If the button opens a MiniApp, a tap launches the app instead of (or without) sending text.
The keyboard may stay, hide after one use, or be removed by the bot — follow what the chat currently shows.
👥 How commands sort when a group has several bots
In the command menu, bots that joined the group earlier usually appear higher.
Bots you have used move their whole command group upward for quicker reuse.
If several bots share the same command name, only the one listed first in the menu is triggered.
↩️ Reply to a bot message, then send a command
In a group, reply to a message from a specific bot, then send a slash command: the command goes to that bot, not whichever bot sits first in the menu.
🔗 Tapping @username in chat
If it is a real user, you open that person’s profile (guest) page.
If no matching user is found, you see a notice such as “User not found”, then return to the current chat.
💬 Still have questions?
Reach us through in-app customer support in the MPChat App. Support will never ask for your password, verification code, or passkey.
This article is help-centre reference. Labels and entry points follow what the App shows.