Answer in brief
MAX is the messenger of a VK company, and the state information-exchange service created by Law 156-FZ runs on it. A company works there through the MAX platform for partners: chatbots, mini-apps, public or private channels and Digital ID. Only Russian legal entities, sole proprietors and self-employed people can be verified. The law sets no duty for an ordinary business to join, and Telegram can stay alongside.
What MAX is and what a company can open there
MAX is a messenger made by a VK holding company, which the Russian government named in July 2025 to run the state information-exchange service built on it. For a firm, MAX messenger for business means four tools from MAX’s documentation for partners: chatbots, mini-apps inside those bots, channels and Digital ID checks. All of them open on the MAX platform for partners, only for Russian companies, sole proprietors and self-employed people. A personal account can still chat with customers.
The platform is young: Wikipedia dates its beta to 26 March 2025. The government portal reports that order No. 1880-r of 12 July 2025 put Kommunikatsionnaya Platforma, a VK subsidiary, in charge of the service on the recently launched MAX platform. VK’s press releases call MAX a national messenger and a platform of user services. Business services are built into it as mini-apps and chatbots.
Federal Law 156-FZ and what it asks of an ordinary business
The legal frame is Federal Law No. 156-FZ of 24 June 2025. Its official text in Rossiyskaya Gazeta records adoption by the State Duma on 10 June and approval by the Federation Council on 18 June. Article 1 describes an information system for messages between its users, linked to state e-services. Through it, a citizen can share identification data with consent, sign documents electronically and show document data, for instance to confirm age or check into a hotel.
Read in full, the text sets no duty for a shop or a salon to open a channel or a bot. Two parts of Article 1 matter: part 8 lets notices required by law or contract reach a citizen who uses the service without new consent, and part 9 extends prior consent to SMS mailings to mailings through it. The government portal added in August 2025 that from 1 September MAX must be pre-installed on devices, replacing VK Messenger. This is a summary, not legal advice, so check your own case with a lawyer.
Who may join the MAX partner platform and how verification works
A personal account and a business profile are different things. MAX’s connection guide opens the platform for partners to legal entities, sole proprietors and self-employed people resident in Russia; individuals and non-residents cannot pass verification for now. Digital ID serves legal entities and sole proprietors only. The platform runs in a browser and in the MAX for Business mini-app on phones.
Companies verify through Gosuslugi or a bank service, the latter only on the web. The Gosuslugi account needs an organisation cabinet and a current EGRUL or EGRIP entry; a refresh usually takes from minutes to an hour, rarely up to 24 hours. Only the owner or a person with first or sole signature rights can do it, acting as head or administrator, never as an employee. The self-employed go to Gosuslugi right after creating the profile.
MAX’s help pages add two cautions. One phone number or email matches one profile type, so use the working number of the person responsible. The messenger account should carry that person’s name, not the company’s, or it may look suspicious and be blocked. An organisation or sole proprietor gets five bots and up to ten public channels, a self-employed person two bots and one channel.
Channels in MAX: public, private and how a company gets one
A channel is a broadcast: the company posts, subscribers read. MAX’s channel documentation says public channels are found in search by nickname, link, name and description, while private ones open only by invitation and are unlimited in number. A channel has no cap on subscribers, up to 50 administrators, bots included, and comments the owner can switch off. The organisation’s name is attached through the Channels in MAX for Business bot.
A verified company starts a public channel on the platform and finishes it in that bot; a person with Digital ID can create up to five right in the messenger. The feature is still growing. VK’s releases say polls arrived on 6 October 2026, and on 15 October the feed began recommending channels by interests, content quality and engagement. Their standard footnote still says information channels work in test mode.
Channels can be promoted. MAX’s advertising help says ads run through VK Ads, that MAX channels and websites can be promoted now and that only Russian residents may advertise. Impressions go automatically to channels with 1,000 or more subscribers; a specific channel cannot be chosen, and creatives are moderated first. A channel informs, but it does not take orders: that is a bot’s job.
Building a MAX chatbot: moderation, builders and the Bot API
MAX’s bot guide sets out the path. In the verified profile, open Chatbots, press Create and fill in the card: a name of 1 to 59 characters without emoji, a 500 by 500 pixel logo up to 5 MB and a description of up to 200 characters that matches the business. The nickname comes from the tax number and cannot be changed yet. Moderation takes up to 48 hours on working days; then the owner gets the bot’s token.
Partner builders offer templates, buttons and data collection without code, some with AI tools. Developers use the Bot API, sending requests to platform-api2.max.ru with the token in the Authorization header. Production bots get events only by HTTPS webhook, and the limit is 30 requests per second. The help page adds that any bot can be found by link or nickname, so for now a hidden bot is not an option.
MAX’s business page names the usual jobs: quick replies, taking orders, collecting feedback. Booking and order status fit the same mould. A person takes over through integration: MAX’s partner page says that once a support chat platform or a CRM is connected with the bot token, all bot messages land there. The placement rules require published documents for the bot, a legal basis for personal data and no advertising in service messages.
Mini-apps and Digital ID: when buttons in a chat are not enough
A mini-app is a web page inside MAX, and the documentation says it works only inside a chatbot, never on its own. It appears as a launch button in the bot’s chat or opens by a direct link. It is built in HTML, JavaScript and CSS with the MAX Bridge library and must run over HTTPS. The docs’ examples are modest: restaurant feedback via a QR code on the receipt, a promo code, order status.
A business needs one when a dialogue of buttons grows too long: a catalogue, a booking calendar, a cart. Some builders on MAX’s partner list make mini-apps without code. Digital ID is a separate tool for shops: customers confirm adulthood or a benefit status with a QR code or, on Android, by NFC, and the code refreshes every 25 seconds. The integration token lives one year, and renewing it disconnects every store.
MAX next to Telegram for a small company
Audience comes first, and the MAX figures come from VK: its release of 2 October 2026 counts a daily audience above 90 million and over 140 million installs, the CIS included. Wikipedia notes that VK’s press service is the only source of such numbers. Telegram’s bot page describes registering a bot through @BotFather, which issues a token, and bots that host mini apps, sell goods and answer for Telegram Business users. MAX adds a verified Russian profile, moderation and the Digital ID link to state services.
That argues for keeping both, with one CRM behind them, so the customer list belongs to the business and not to an app. A young platform also rewrites its rules fast. The API page records that GET /chats stopped working in June 2026 and that POST /chats/{chatId}/members was restricted from 9 September 2026. Everything here is as of 18 October 2026, so check the changelog before building.
Preparing a MAX bot: a builder, a developer and the brief
A bot is only as good as the answers behind it. Before ordering, write down the ten questions customers ask most and the reply to each, the scenarios the bot finishes alone, such as booking or order status, and the moment a person takes over: who, in which hours, how fast. Name the CRM or booking system it must talk to. MAX offers a template user agreement and privacy policy for the documents.
A builder is enough for a menu of buttons and a form the owner will edit alone. Development pays off when the bot must read order statuses from a CRM, write bookings into a calendar, serve MAX messenger for business and Telegram from one logic, or pass a chat to an operator with its history. VITON13 Studio builds chatbots of the second kind, with the hand-off built in; the linked guide uses Telegram to show what such a bot costs. Get the scenarios and timeline in writing first.
Practical checklist
- Check that the owner or a signatory can verify the profile on Gosuslugi as head or administrator.
- Register on the partner platform with the working number of the person responsible, not a shared phone.
- Write the ten most common customer questions and the answer to each before you choose a builder.
- Decide who takes over when the bot cannot answer, in which hours, and in which CRM the chat lands.
- Publish a privacy policy and a user agreement for the bot; MAX’s documentation offers templates for both.
Questions and answers
How do I create a bot in MAX for my company?
Create and verify a business profile on the MAX platform for partners, open the Chatbots section and fill in the bot card. After moderation, which MAX puts at up to 48 hours on working days, you get a token and can build scenarios in a partner builder or through the Bot API.
How do I create a MAX channel on behalf of a business?
With a verified organisation or sole-proprietor profile, start it on the partner platform and finish the setup in the Channels in MAX for Business bot; up to ten public channels are allowed, one for the self-employed. Private channels can be made right in the app, in any number.
How does advertising in MAX work for a small business?
According to MAX’s help, ads run through VK Ads and currently promote MAX channels and websites. Placements go automatically to channels with at least 1,000 subscribers, a specific channel cannot be chosen, and only Russian residents can advertise.
Is a Russian business legally required to move to MAX?
Law 156-FZ, as published, contains no such duty for an ordinary company. It lets legally required notices reach a user through the service and extends SMS mailing consent to it. Ask a lawyer how this affects your own notices and mailings.
Can a foreign company or a private person use MAX for business?
Not on the partner platform for now. MAX’s help says individuals and non-residents cannot pass verification there, and only Russian residents may buy advertising. A personal account can still chat with customers, but without bots, mini-apps or the platform’s business channels.