Rich Elements in Conversation AI: Buttons, Lists, Images and Files on WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram and Live Chat
Conversation AI agents can now reply with rich elements: quick replies, lists, link buttons, images and files, plus formatted text on WhatsApp. They show up natively on WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Instagram and Live C…
Conversation AI agents can now reply with rich elements: quick replies, lists, link buttons, images and files, plus formatted text on WhatsApp. They show up natively on WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Instagram and Live Chat. Every other channel (SMS, Email and others) gets the same reply as plain text, so nothing is lost: anything a channel can't show is written into the message text.
Key Capabilities- Six elements to choose from: Formatted text, Quick replies, Link button, List, Image and File. Switch each one on or off per agent under Response Behavior → Allow this bot to send.
- Content comes from your prompt: image and file links, listing pages and other details the agent sends come from the agent's prompt, as in this realty agent.
- Response Rules: click Setup Your Response Rules to tell the agent when a reply should carry a specific element. Describe the situation in your own words and pick the element. Only elements enabled in Response Behavior can be picked, and the dialog shows which channels support each one. Turn on Only honour these rules to limit the agent to your rules.
- Nothing is ever lost: if a channel can't show an element, or a reply goes over a channel's limit, the content is written into the message text instead.
- Open your agent in AI Agents → Conversation AI.
- Expand Response Behavior and switch on Enable Rich Elements Support.
- Under Allow this bot to send, switch on the elements this agent may use.
- Optionally, click Setup Your Response Rules to say when each element should be used.
- Add the image and file links the agent may share to its prompt.
An element only appears if it is switched on for the agent and the channel supports it.
- Quick Replies: reply buttons on WhatsApp and Live Chat (single-use card on Live Chat), chips on Messenger and Instagram (Instagram mobile app only).
- List: native list menu on WhatsApp, shown as chips on Messenger and Instagram (Instagram mobile app only), shown as buttons on Live Chat.
- Link Buttons: 1 link button on WhatsApp, button template on Messenger and Instagram (Instagram mobile app only), link buttons on Live Chat.
- Image: jpg and png on WhatsApp; jpg, png and gif on Messenger and Instagram (sent as a separate message); jpg, png, gif and webp on Live Chat.
- File (document): pdf, doc(x), xls(x), ppt(x) and txt on WhatsApp; pdf, doc(x), xls(x), pptx, csv and txt on Messenger (sent as a separate message) and Live Chat. Instagram shares documents as a link.
- Text formatting (bold, italic): WhatsApp only, using WhatsApp's own formatting. Other channels get plain text.
- Carousels and cards: coming soon on Messenger and Instagram.
- Video, audio and location: sent as text on every channel.
- SMS, Email and other channels: every element is written into the message as readable text, with options as bullets and links with their URL.
One message carries at most one interactive element (Quick Replies, List or Link Buttons) and at most one image or file. Text can go with every element.
- Quick Replies + Image and Link Buttons + Image: all four channels. On WhatsApp the image is the message header; on Live Chat it is the card picture.
- List + Image: Messenger, Instagram and Live Chat. Not WhatsApp.
- Quick Replies + File: WhatsApp (file as header) and Messenger.
- List + File and Link Buttons + File: Messenger only.
- Not supported on any channel: Image + File, two interactive elements, or two images or two files.
When a combination isn't supported, the first element is shown as designed and the rest goes into the message text, so the contact still sees everything. On Messenger and Instagram the image or file arrives as its own message right after the text.
Limits per ChannelAnything over a limit is moved into the message text, never dropped.
- WhatsApp: 3 quick replies of up to 20 characters; lists of up to 10 rows across 10 sections (row title 24 characters, description 72, menu button label 20); 1 link button of up to 20 characters; up to 1,024 characters of message text beside an element (longer replies go as plain text); 1 image or file per message.
- Messenger and Instagram: 13 quick replies of up to 20 characters; lists of up to 13 rows of 20 characters; up to 3 link buttons of 20 characters, with message text of up to 640 characters; 1 image or file per reply.
- Live Chat: 5 quick replies; lists of up to 5 rows; up to 5 links (call buttons are shown as text); no set limit on message text; 1 image or file per message.
A realty agent on WhatsApp sends quick replies, a list menu, formatted text, an image with a link button and a file. Below that are Messenger link buttons and quick reply chips, and a Live Chat card with an image and buttons.
- Instagram: buttons, lists and quick replies appear in the Instagram mobile app. On Instagram web, contacts see the message text.
- Instagram documents: Instagram accepts images but not documents, so documents are shared as a link.
- Live Chat: buttons can be tapped once. After the contact makes a choice, the card locks.
- Messenger and Instagram: replies are sent within Meta's 24-hour messaging window.
- SMS, Email and other channels: replies are sent as plain text. MMS and RCS are not supported yet.
- Images and files: must be publicly accessible links added to the agent's configuration.