From 42dec1ddd4e83957ad4c6747067eb6e8351d3a4d Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Ben Sima <ben@bensima.com>
Date: Sat, 13 Dec 2025 00:54:36 -0500
Subject: telegram: intelligent group response (LLM decides when to speak)

- Remove mention-based filtering, bot sees all group messages
- Add response rules to system prompt for group chats:
  - tool invocation = always respond
  - direct question = respond
  - factual correction = maybe respond
  - casual banter = stay silent
- Empty response in group = intentional silence (no fallback msg)
- Add chat type context to system prompt
---
 Omni/Agent/Telegram.hs | 57 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-------------------
 1 file changed, 35 insertions(+), 22 deletions(-)

(limited to 'Omni')

diff --git a/Omni/Agent/Telegram.hs b/Omni/Agent/Telegram.hs
index ffad4c7..f8afcb7 100644
--- a/Omni/Agent/Telegram.hs
+++ b/Omni/Agent/Telegram.hs
@@ -151,9 +151,21 @@ telegramSystemPrompt =
       "",
       "use the 'recall' tool to search your memory for relevant context when needed.",
       "",
+      "## when to respond (GROUP CHATS)",
+      "",
+      "you see all messages in the group. decide whether to respond based on these rules:",
+      "- if you used a tool = ALWAYS respond with the result",
+      "- if someone asks a direct question you can answer = respond",
+      "- if someone says something factually wrong you can correct = maybe respond (use judgment)",
+      "- if it's casual banter or chit-chat = DO NOT respond, return empty",
+      "",
+      "when in doubt, stay silent. you don't need to participate in every conversation.",
+      "if you choose not to respond, return an empty message (just don't say anything).",
+      "",
       "## important",
       "",
-      "ALWAYS include a text response to the user after using tools. never end your turn with only tool calls."
+      "in private chats, ALWAYS respond. in group chats, follow the rules above.",
+      "when you DO respond, include a text response after using tools."
     ]
 
 getUpdates :: Types.TelegramConfig -> Int -> IO [Types.TelegramMessage]
@@ -288,24 +300,18 @@ handleMessage ::
   Text ->
   Types.TelegramMessage ->
   IO ()
-handleMessage tgConfig provider engineCfg botUsername msg = do
+handleMessage tgConfig provider engineCfg _botUsername msg = do
   let userName =
         Types.tmUserFirstName msg
           <> maybe "" (" " <>) (Types.tmUserLastName msg)
       chatId = Types.tmChatId msg
       usrId = Types.tmUserId msg
 
-  unless (Types.shouldRespondInGroup botUsername msg) <| do
-    when (Types.isGroupChat msg)
-      <| putText
-      <| "Ignoring group message (not mentioned): "
-      <> Text.take 50 (Types.tmText msg)
-
   unless (Types.isUserAllowed tgConfig usrId) <| do
     putText <| "Unauthorized user: " <> tshow usrId <> " (" <> userName <> ")"
     sendMessage tgConfig chatId "sorry, you're not authorized to use this bot."
 
-  when (Types.shouldRespondInGroup botUsername msg && Types.isUserAllowed tgConfig usrId) <| do
+  when (Types.isUserAllowed tgConfig usrId) <| do
     sendTypingAction tgConfig chatId
 
     user <- Memory.getOrCreateUserByTelegramId usrId userName
@@ -440,10 +446,15 @@ handleAuthorizedMessage tgConfig provider engineCfg msg uid userName chatId = do
   let localTime = utcToLocalTime tz now
       timeStr = Text.pack (formatTime defaultTimeLocale "%A, %B %d, %Y at %H:%M" localTime)
 
-  let systemPrompt =
+  let chatContext =
+        if Types.isGroupChat msg
+          then "\n\n## Chat Type\nThis is a GROUP CHAT. Apply the group response rules - only respond if appropriate."
+          else "\n\n## Chat Type\nThis is a PRIVATE CHAT. Always respond to the user."
+      systemPrompt =
         telegramSystemPrompt
           <> "\n\n## Current Date and Time\n"
           <> timeStr
+          <> chatContext
           <> "\n\n## Current User\n"
           <> "You are talking to: "
           <> userName
@@ -505,18 +516,20 @@ handleAuthorizedMessage tgConfig provider engineCfg msg uid userName chatId = do
 
       if Text.null response
         then do
-          putText "Warning: empty response from agent"
-          sendMessage tgConfig chatId "hmm, i don't have a response for that"
-        else sendMessage tgConfig chatId response
-
-      checkAndSummarize (Types.tgOpenRouterApiKey tgConfig) uid chatId
-
-      putText
-        <| "Responded to "
-        <> userName
-        <> " (cost: "
-        <> tshow (Engine.resultTotalCost agentResult)
-        <> " cents)"
+          if Types.isGroupChat msg
+            then putText "Agent chose not to respond (group chat)"
+            else do
+              putText "Warning: empty response from agent"
+              sendMessage tgConfig chatId "hmm, i don't have a response for that"
+        else do
+          sendMessage tgConfig chatId response
+          checkAndSummarize (Types.tgOpenRouterApiKey tgConfig) uid chatId
+          putText
+            <| "Responded to "
+            <> userName
+            <> " (cost: "
+            <> tshow (Engine.resultTotalCost agentResult)
+            <> " cents)"
 
 maxConversationTokens :: Int
 maxConversationTokens = 4000
-- 
cgit v1.2.3