Interactive messages help companies stay connected to their customers while delivering engaging and impactful experiences. While setting up bot or agent workflows, it is important to understand how the different message types are supported on different social channels.  


To understand different message type of support on WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Instagram DM, Apple Messages for Business, SMS for Twilio, Web Widget, and Mobile SDK, please find the capability comparison below. 


To understand message type support on other modern messaging channels like LINE, Telegram, and Viber, please click here


Legend: 

YesSupported in Freshchat
NoNot supported in Freshchat
NANot available on the channel
IncomingUser to agent/bot
OutgoingAgent/bot to user


Capability Comparison for native channels

Message Type

Direction

Web - Conversations Widget

Web - Self-service 

widget

Mobile

SDK

Text

User to agent

Yes

Yes

Yes

User to bot

Yes

Yes

Yes

Agent to user

Yes

Yes

Yes

Bot to user

Yes

Yes

Yes

Image

User to agent 

Yes

Yes

Yes

User to bot

Yes

Yes

Yes

Agent to user

Yes

Yes

Yes

Bot to user

Yes

Yes

Yes

Video

User to agent

Yes

Yes

via file attachment

User to bot

Yes

Yes

Yes

Agent to user

Yes

Yes

via file attachment

Bot to user

via public URL

via public URL

via public URL

Audio

User to agent

Yes

Yes

No

User to bot

Yes

Yes

No

Agent to user

Yes

via

App

No

Bot to user

Yes

No

No

File

User to agent

Yes

Yes

Coming soon

User to bot

Yes

Yes

Coming soon

Agent to user

Yes

Yes

Coming soon

Bot to user

Yes

Coming soon

Coming soon

Emoji

User to agent

Yes

Yes

Yes

User to bot

Yes

Yes

Yes

Agent to user

Yes


Yes

Yes

Bot to user

Yes

Yes

Yes

GIFs

User to agent

Yes

Yes

Yes

User to bot

Yes

Yes

Yes

Agent to user

Yes

Yes

Yes

Bot to user

Yes

Yes

No

Stickers

User to agent

NA

NA

As image

User to bot

NA

NA

No

Agent to user

NA

No

No

Bot to user

NA

No

No

Automation

Bots

Yes

Yes

Yes

Structured messages

Articles

Bot to user

Yes

Yes

Yes

Carousels

Bot to user

Yes

Yes

Coming

soon

Buttons

Bot to user

Yes

Yes

Yes

Dropdown list

Bot to user

Yes

Yes

Yes

Message events

Delivered

User to agent

No


Yes

Yes

Agent to user

Yes

No

Yes

Read

User to agent

Yes

Yes

No

Agent to user

No

No

Yes

Typing

User to agent

Yes

No

No

Agent to user

Yes

No

No

Features
API callsYesYesYes
CampaignsYesNoYes
Date & Time pickerNoYesNo
FlowsYesYesYes
Live chatYesYesYes
RatingNoYesNo
Text fields & URL inputsYesYesYes
TopicsYesNoYes
Typical response timeYesNoNo
Typing indicatorYesNoNo
Widget actionsNoYesYes
Quick actionsYesYesNo

Consumer profile

User name

Yes

Yes

Yes

User image

NA

NA

No

 

*Using the self-service widget, an agent can respond only with an image file. The widget can receive the following file types from the end-user:


 

Capability Comparison for modern messaging Channels

Message

Type

Direction

WhatsApp

Facebook

Messenger

Instagram

DM

Apple

Messages

for

Business

SMS via

Twilio

Text

User to

agent

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

User to

bot

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Agent to

user

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Bot to

user

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Image

User to

agent 

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

User to

bot

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Agent to

user

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Bot to

user

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Video

User to

agent

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

NA

User to

bot

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

NA

Agent to user

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

NA

Bot to

user

via public

URL

via public

URL

No

Yes

NA

Audio

User to

agent

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

NA

User to

bot

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

NA

Agent to

user

via

App

via

App

via

App

via

App

NA

Bot to

user

No

No

No

No

NA

File

User to agent

Yes

NA

No

Yes

NA

User to

bot

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

NA

Agent to

user

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

NA

Bot to

user

Coming

soon

Coming

soon

No

Yes

NA

Emoji

User to agent

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

User to

bot

 

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Agent to

user

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Bot to

user

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

GIFs

User to

agent

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

NA

User to

bot

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

NA

Agent to

user

No

Yes

No

No

NA

Bot to

user

No

Yes

No

No

NA

Stickers

User to

agent

NA

As

image

As

image

No

NA

User to

bot

NA

As

image

As

image

No

NA

Agent to

user

No

No

No

No

NA

Bot to

user

No

No

NA

No

NA

Automation

Bots

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Structured messages

Articles

Bot to user

Yes

Yes

Coming

soon

No

No

Carousels

Bot to user

with transformation

Yes

Yes

NA

No

Buttons

Bot to user

Yes

Yes

Yes

via API

No

Dropdown

list

Bot to user

Yes

No

Yes

via API

No

Message events

Delivered

User to agent

Yes

Yes

No

NA

NA

Agent to user

Yes

No

NA

NA

NA

Read

User to agent

No

NA

No

NA

NA

Agent to user

Yes

NA

Yes

NA

NA

Typing

User to agent

No

NA

NA

No

NA

Agent to user

No

NA

NA

No

NA

API CallsYesYesYes
CampaignsNoNoNo
NA
Date & Time PickerNoNoNo
NA
FlowsYesYesYes
NA
Live ChatYesYesYes
NA
RatingNoNoNo
NA
Text fields & URL inputsYesYesYes
NA
TopicsNANANA
NA
Typical response timeNoNoNo
NA
Typing IndicatorNoNoNo
NA
Widget ActionsNANANA
NA
Quick ActionNoNoNo
NA

Consumer profile

User name

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

NA

User image

No

No

Coming

soon

No

NA


* For bots deployed on Facebook Messenger, the following message types have limits as described below:

  • Carousels: Maximum limit of 10
  • Buttons: Maximum limit of 13


In case you cross the limit for these input types, the options will automatically be converted into an IVR-like flow for your end users.


To understand different message type support on LINE, Telegram, and Viber, please find the capability comparison in the below table


Message
type
DirectionLINETelegram
via
marketplace
Viber
via
marketplace
TextIncomingYesYesYes
OutgoingYesYesYes
ImageIncomingYesYesYes
OutgoingYesYesYes
VideoIncomingYesNoNo
OutgoingYesNoNo
AudioIncomingYesNoNA
Outgoingvia
App
NoNA
FileIncomingYesNoNo
OutgoingNoNoNo
EmojiIncomingNoYesNo
OutgoingNoYesNo
GIFsIncomingAs imageNoNo
OutgoingYesNoNo
StickerIncomingNoNoNo
OutgoingNoNoNo
AutomationBotsYesNoNo
Structured Messages
ArticlesBot to
user
NoNoNo
CarouselBot to
user
NoNoNo
ButtonsBot to
user
NoNoNo
Dropdown
list
Bot to
user
NANoNo
Message events
Delivered

IncomingNANoNo
OutgoingNANoNo
ReadIncomingNANoNA
OutgoingNANoNA
TypingIncomingNANoNA
OutgoingNANoNA
Features
API CallsYes

CampaignsNA

Date & Time pickerNA

FlowsYes

Live ChatYes

RatingNA

Text fields & URL inputsYes

TopicsNA

Typical Response TimeNo

Widget ActionsNo

Quick ActionsNo

Consumer profile
User nameYesNoNo
User imageNoNoNo



Note: Features marked as not applicable are not technically supported in the respective channels. For example, the widget actions are not technically supported in messaging channels. We shall start offering those features if they are available those channels.


We've built the self-service widget to make it easier for your customers to help themselves while sharing the necessary information with your chatbot. Some of Freshchat 's features built for facilitating conversations are unavailable with the self-service widget, such as push messages, FAQs, or Topics. We've noticed that these features are used to facilitate conversations as opposed to self-service. We've taken these features made for conversing with agents and packaged them into the Conversations widget.


When you use the conversations widget, you can offer the next level of customer service. You can lead your customer service with your bot and route the conversation to the right agent in your team to offer contextual, empathetic, and personalized responses. The conversations widget enables your customers to talk about their issues in their own words - enabling your agents to get the full context and speak human-to-human without being limited. You can use all the conversation-friendly features from Freshchat and might miss out on some of the chatbot-powered features that are part of the self-service widget.


Here's more info about each widget: