A discussion group is a Telegram supergroup that a channel owner links to their channel so that channel posts gain a comment thread. The Telegram Bot API exposes this link through the linked_chat_id field on the channel's Chat object. Once linked, each new channel post is automatically forwarded into the group, and subscribers reply to that forwarded copy instead of the channel itself. Autogram schedules and publishes posts to the channel, but it does not read, moderate, or reply inside the linked discussion group.
A channel owner enables discussion in the Telegram app, then creates or picks a supergroup and sets it as the channel's discussion group. Telegram then keeps the two chats linked at the API level: any bot that reads the channel's Chat object sees a populated linked_chat_id once the link exists, and an empty one when the channel has no comments enabled.
Each channel post is copied into the discussion group as a forwarded message the moment it publishes, and Telegram threads any reply underneath that forwarded copy. The reply lives in the group, not in the channel — channels stay broadcast-only by design, so the comment thread is a separate chat sitting one tap below the post, not a reply feature bolted onto the channel.
Autogram generates, schedules, and publishes posts to the channel itself; the linked discussion group is outside that pipeline today. Reading, moderating, or replying to comments in a discussion group is a separate integration from posting to a channel, and Autogram does not offer it. Tools that advertise comment management are automating this same Telegram mechanic, not a capability unique to their platform.
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