diff --git a/src/auto-reply/inbound-debounce.ts b/src/auto-reply/inbound-debounce.ts
index 2b923b879..d9d62ff40 100644
--- a/src/auto-reply/inbound-debounce.ts
+++ b/src/auto-reply/inbound-debounce.ts
@@ -29,6 +29,25 @@ export function resolveInboundDebounceMs(params: {
   return override ?? byChannel ?? base ?? 0;
 }
 
+export function resolveChannelDelayMs(params: {
+  cfg: MoltbotConfig;
+  channel: string;
+  overrideMs?: number;
+}): number {
+  const inbound = params.cfg.messages?.inbound;
+  const override = resolveMs(params.overrideMs);
+  const byChannel = resolveChannelOverride({
+    byChannel: inbound?.channelDelayMsByChannel,
+    channel: params.channel,
+  });
+  const base = resolveMs(inbound?.channelDelayMs);
+  return override ?? byChannel ?? base ?? 0;
+}
+
+export function resolveSkipIfPeerRepliedMs(params: { cfg: MoltbotConfig }): number {
+  return resolveMs(params.cfg.messages?.inbound?.skipIfPeerRepliedMs) ?? 0;
+}
+
 type DebounceBuffer<T> = {
   items: T[];
   timeout: ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | null;
diff --git a/src/config/types.messages.ts b/src/config/types.messages.ts
index 37ef4e942..2eb31cc8e 100644
--- a/src/config/types.messages.ts
+++ b/src/config/types.messages.ts
@@ -25,6 +25,19 @@ export type InboundDebounceByProvider = Record<string, number>;
 export type InboundDebounceConfig = {
   debounceMs?: number;
   byChannel?: InboundDebounceByProvider;
+  /**
+   * Delay (ms) before processing any inbound message.
+   * Useful for multi-bot coordination: gives other bots time to respond first.
+   * The bot can then check if a peer already replied before responding.
+   */
+  channelDelayMs?: number;
+  /** Per-channel delay overrides (ms). */
+  channelDelayMsByChannel?: InboundDebounceByProvider;
+  /**
+   * Skip responding if another bot replied within this window (ms) after the triggering message.
+   * Only effective when channelDelayMs is set. Default: 0 (disabled).
+   */
+  skipIfPeerRepliedMs?: number;
 };
 
 export type BroadcastStrategy = "parallel" | "sequential";
diff --git a/src/discord/monitor/message-handler.ts b/src/discord/monitor/message-handler.ts
index a7434aed0..69954e485 100644
--- a/src/discord/monitor/message-handler.ts
+++ b/src/discord/monitor/message-handler.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@ import { hasControlCommand } from "../../auto-reply/command-detection.js";
 import {
   createInboundDebouncer,
   resolveInboundDebounceMs,
+  resolveChannelDelayMs,
+  resolveSkipIfPeerRepliedMs,
 } from "../../auto-reply/inbound-debounce.js";
 import type { HistoryEntry } from "../../auto-reply/reply/history.js";
 import type { ReplyToMode } from "../../config/config.js";
@@ -41,6 +43,8 @@ export function createDiscordMessageHandler(params: {
   const groupPolicy = params.discordConfig?.groupPolicy ?? "open";
   const ackReactionScope = params.cfg.messages?.ackReactionScope ?? "group-mentions";
   const debounceMs = resolveInboundDebounceMs({ cfg: params.cfg, channel: "discord" });
+  const channelDelayMs = resolveChannelDelayMs({ cfg: params.cfg, channel: "discord" });
+  const skipIfPeerRepliedMs = resolveSkipIfPeerRepliedMs({ cfg: params.cfg });
 
   const debouncer = createInboundDebouncer<{ data: DiscordMessageEvent; client: Client }>({
     debounceMs,
@@ -121,8 +125,57 @@ export function createDiscordMessageHandler(params: {
     },
   });
 
+  const sleep = (ms: number) => new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, ms));
+
+  const checkPeerReplied = async (data: DiscordMessageEvent, client: Client): Promise<boolean> => {
+    if (skipIfPeerRepliedMs <= 0) return false;
+    const channelId = data.message?.channelId;
+    const triggerMessageId = data.message?.id;
+    const triggerTimestamp = data.message?.timestamp;
+    if (!channelId || !triggerMessageId || !triggerTimestamp) return false;
+
+    try {
+      // Fetch recent messages after the trigger
+      const messages = (await client.rest.get(
+        `/channels/${channelId}/messages?after=${triggerMessageId}&limit=10`,
+      )) as
+        | Array<{ id: string; author?: { bot?: boolean; id?: string }; timestamp: string }>
+        | undefined;
+      if (!Array.isArray(messages)) return false;
+
+      const triggerTime = new Date(triggerTimestamp).getTime();
+      const windowEnd = triggerTime + skipIfPeerRepliedMs;
+
+      // Check if any bot (not us) replied within the window
+      for (const msg of messages) {
+        if (!msg.author?.bot) continue;
+        // Skip our own bot's messages
+        if (params.botUserId && msg.author?.id === params.botUserId) continue;
+        const msgTime = new Date(msg.timestamp).getTime();
+        if (msgTime <= windowEnd) {
+          params.runtime.log?.(
+            `Skipping response: peer bot replied within ${skipIfPeerRepliedMs}ms window`,
+          );
+          return true;
+        }
+      }
+      return false;
+    } catch {
+      // If we can't check, proceed anyway
+      return false;
+    }
+  };
+
   return async (data, client) => {
     try {
+      // Apply channel delay for multi-bot coordination
+      if (channelDelayMs > 0) {
+        await sleep(channelDelayMs);
+        // Check if a peer bot already replied
+        if (await checkPeerReplied(data, client)) {
+          return; // Skip responding
+        }
+      }
       await debouncer.enqueue({ data, client });
     } catch (err) {
       params.runtime.error?.(danger(`handler failed: ${String(err)}`));