Capturing information from a user in a Apple Messages for Business chat conversation

  • Release version: Washingtondc
  • Updated February 1, 2024
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Capturing information from a user in a Apple Messages for Business chat conversation

    This document outlines how to effectively capture user information within an Apple Messages for Business chat using the Virtual Agent Designer. It highlights the importance of user notification consent and details the various input controls and bot responses available for enhancing user interactions.

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    User Notification Consent

    Notifications for the Apple Messages for Business channel are disabled by default. Users must opt-in to receive notifications, which can be done in two ways:

    • Users can type "Notification" in the chat to receive options to subscribe or unsubscribe.
    • Administrators can set up subscription options through the portal.

    User Input Controls

    The Virtual Agent Designer supports various user input controls that allow for interactive conversations:

    • Text: User inputs plain text.
    • Static Choice: User selects from a predefined list.
    • Dynamic Choice: User selects from a dynamically created list.
    • Boolean: User responds with Yes or No.
    • File Picker: User sends a file.
    • Date Time: User selects a specific date and/or time.
    • Carousel: User selects an item from a carousel display.

    Bot Responses

    Bot responses can be tailored to enhance user engagement. The following responses are supported:

    • Text: Sends a plain text message.
    • Image: Sends an image to the user.
    • Link: Sends a web link (ensure URLs are in the allowed domain list).
    • Table: Displays information in a structured table format.
    • Card: Sends selected record information in a card format (options include record card, video card, or image card).

    For additional details on configuring these features, refer to the Virtual Agent Designer documentation.

    Virtual Agent Designer is a diagram tool for creating and managing topics, which are blueprints for conversations between a virtual agent and user.

    Use the collection of input controls provided by the Virtual Agent Designer to prompt and capture information from a requester in a Apple Messages for Business chat conversation. For more information, see Getting started with Virtual Agent Designer.

    For more information about displaying images along with external links, see Using link unfurling in Virtual Agent.

    Apple Messages for Business has an array of interactive features that are native to the app. For more information about these interactive features, see Conversational Integration with Apple Messages for Business.

    User notification consent

    Note:

    Notifications are turned off by default for the Apple Messages for Business channel. Make sure to enable notifications at the channel level.

    Users must opt in to receive notifications. No notifications can be delivered until the user grants consent.

    There are two ways for users to grant consent to receive notifications:
    • The user can enter Notification into the Apple Messages for Business chat to get a bot response with the option to subscribe or unsubscribe from receiving notifications for your business on Apple Messages for Business.
    • As the administrator, you can set up the option for users to subscribe or unsubscribe from notifications from your portal. See Configure system settings for more information.

    User input controls

    The Conversational Integration with Apple Messages for Business application supports the following user input controls in Virtual Agent Designer.

    Table 1. Supported user input controls
    User input control Description
    Text User enters a plain text string in the conversation.
    Static Choice User selects an item from a predefined list.
    Dynamic Choice User selects an item from a list that is created dynamically. For example, the user can select from a list of cases that they opened.
    Boolean User enters a Boolean response to the bot. For example, the user can reply Yes or No in a chat conversation.
    File Picker User sends a file to the bot.
    Date Time User selects a calendar date, time (hours and minutes), or both.
    Carousel User selects a single item from the carousel.

    For more information about configuring user input controls, see Virtual Agent Designer user input controls.

    The Conversational Integration with Apple Messages for Business application supports the following bot responses in Virtual Agent Designer.

    Table 2. Supported bot responses
    Bot response Description
    Text Bot sends a plain text string to the user.
    Image Bot sends an image to the user.
    Link

    Bot sends a web link to the user.

    Note:
    Any URLs must be added to the allowed domain list (sys_cs_hostname_allow_list) table.
    Table

    Bot sends information in a table format so that users can see information in a more organized way.

    For example, you can organize and display information such as the following:
    • Planned service changes
    • Company holidays
    • Contact information
    • Testing sites
    Card Bot uploads and displays selected information from a record on your instance. You can choose a record card, video card, or small or large image card.

    For more information about configuring bot responses, see Virtual Agent Designer bot responses.