diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index d2e75c1..06961bf 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ ALLOWED_TELEGRAM_USER_IDS=USER_ID_1,USER_ID_2
 # IMAGE_QUALITY=hd
 # IMAGE_STYLE=natural
 # IMAGE_SIZE=1024x1024
+# IMAGE_FORMAT=document
 # GROUP_TRIGGER_KEYWORD=""
 # IGNORE_GROUP_TRANSCRIPTIONS=true
 # BOT_LANGUAGE=en
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 69e0154..34e59b6 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -98,6 +98,7 @@ Check out the [Budget Manual](https://github.com/n3d1117/chatgpt-telegram-bot/di
 | `TEMPERATURE`                      | Number between 0 and 2. Higher values will make the output more random                                                                                                                                                                                                | `1.0`                               |
 | `PRESENCE_PENALTY`                 | Number between -2.0 and 2.0. Positive values penalize new tokens based on whether they appear in the text so far                                                                                                                                                      | `0.0`                               |
 | `FREQUENCY_PENALTY`                | Number between -2.0 and 2.0. Positive values penalize new tokens based on their existing frequency in the text so far                                                                                                                                                 | `0.0`                               |
+| `IMAGE_FORMAT`                     | The Telegram image receive mode. Allowed values: `document` or `photo`                                                                                                                                                                                                | `photo`                             |
 | `IMAGE_MODEL`                      | The DALL·E model to be used. Available models: `dall-e-2` and `dall-e-3`, find current available models [here](https://platform.openai.com/docs/models/dall-e)                                                                                                        | `dall-e-2`                          |
 | `IMAGE_QUALITY`                    | Quality of DALL·E images, only available for `dall-e-3`-model. Possible options: `standard` or `hd`, beware of [pricing differences](https://openai.com/pricing#image-models).                                                                                        | `standard`                          |
 | `IMAGE_STYLE`                      | Style for DALL·E image generation, only available for `dall-e-3`-model. Possible options: `vivid` or `natural`. Check availbe styles [here](https://platform.openai.com/docs/api-reference/images/create).                                                            | `vivid`                             |
diff --git a/bot/main.py b/bot/main.py
index 3fe43af..85a2cb0 100644
--- a/bot/main.py
+++ b/bot/main.py
@@ -84,6 +84,7 @@ def main():
         'group_trigger_keyword': os.environ.get('GROUP_TRIGGER_KEYWORD', ''),
         'token_price': float(os.environ.get('TOKEN_PRICE', 0.002)),
         'image_prices': [float(i) for i in os.environ.get('IMAGE_PRICES', "0.016,0.018,0.02").split(",")],
+        'image_receive_mode': os.environ.get('IMAGE_FORMAT', "photo"),
         'transcription_price': float(os.environ.get('TRANSCRIPTION_PRICE', 0.006)),
         'bot_language': os.environ.get('BOT_LANGUAGE', 'en'),
     }
diff --git a/bot/telegram_bot.py b/bot/telegram_bot.py
index 57a3f0a..52fee29 100644
--- a/bot/telegram_bot.py
+++ b/bot/telegram_bot.py
@@ -228,10 +228,18 @@ class ChatGPTTelegramBot:
         async def _generate():
             try:
                 image_url, image_size = await self.openai.generate_image(prompt=image_query)
-                await update.effective_message.reply_photo(
-                    reply_to_message_id=get_reply_to_message_id(self.config, update),
-                    photo=image_url
-                )
+                if self.config['image_receive_mode'] == 'photo':
+                    await update.effective_message.reply_photo(
+                        reply_to_message_id=get_reply_to_message_id(self.config, update),
+                        photo=image_url
+                    )
+                elif self.config['image_receive_mode'] == 'document':
+                    await update.effective_message.reply_document(
+                        reply_to_message_id=get_reply_to_message_id(self.config, update),
+                        document=image_url
+                    )
+                else:
+                    raise Exception(f"env variable IMAGE_RECEIVE_MODE has invalid value {self.config['image_receive_mode']}")
                 # add image request to users usage tracker
                 user_id = update.message.from_user.id
                 self.usage[user_id].add_image_request(image_size, self.config['image_prices'])