Telegram is rolling out a new update that brings a Rich Text Editor for Premium users, Communities for organizing chats, Ephemeral Bot Messages in groups, and an expanded GIF search with access to over 350 million GIFs.
Rich Text Editor
Telegram has introduced a Rich Text Editor for Premium subscribers with support for:
- Headings
- Tables
- Bulleted and numbered lists
- Quotes
- Code blocks
Users can also insert photos and videos anywhere within a message instead of attaching them only at the beginning or end.
The editor features a visual interface, supports messages of up to 32,768 characters, and integrates Cocoon-powered AI tools to help generate and edit text while keeping user data private.
Communities
Telegram has introduced Communities, allowing users to organize multiple groups, channels, and bots around a shared topic. Members can browse and join chats within a community, while individual chats can be set as Visible to all members or Hidden, making them accessible only to community admins and members of that specific chat.
Communities can appear as a single expandable entry or as separate chats in the chat list, depending on user preference. Members can add chats by default, although admins can restrict this permission in the community settings. When adding chats is restricted, eligible chats are shown as suggestions instead.
Ephemeral Bot Messages
Telegram has introduced Ephemeral Bot Messages for groups. Bots can now send messages that are visible only to the user interacting with them, preventing bot interactions from cluttering group chats.
These private messages can include:
- Greetings
- AI-generated summaries
- Confirmations
- Error messages
- Interactive menus
They can be sent automatically or in response to supported bot commands, which are marked with a dedicated icon in the bot menu.
GIF search with 350 million GIFs
Telegram has expanded its GIF search to include more than 350 million GIFs across 36 languages. According to the company, the new search uses offline indexing of widely shared, publicly available GIFs powered by open-source AI models, delivering faster results while keeping searches private without relying on third-party services.
Availability
The latest features are rolling out with Telegram v12.9.0 and later across all supported platforms. The Rich Text Editor is currently available only to Telegram Premium users, while the remaining features are rolling out to all users.