Capturing information from a user in a Facebook Messenger 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 Facebook Messenger Chat Conversation

    The Virtual Agent Designer allows ServiceNow customers to capture user information during Facebook Messenger chat conversations. This tool provides various input controls to prompt users effectively, enabling streamlined interactions with the virtual agent.

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    Key Features

    • Text Input: Users can enter plain text with a maximum limit of 5000 characters.
    • Static Choice: Users select from predefined choices, with quick replies limited to 20 characters each, displaying a maximum of 13 at a time.
    • Boolean Input: Users provide Yes or No responses.
    • File Picker: Users can send files (JPG, PNG, BMP, MP4), with size limits (10 MB for images and 200 MB for videos).
    • Date Time Selector: Users pick dates and times, which can reflect the user's time zone if configured accordingly.
    • Carousel: Users select items from a carousel, with limits on title and text characters and a maximum of 10 images displayed at once.

    Key Outcomes

    By utilizing these input controls, ServiceNow customers can enhance user engagement in Facebook Messenger chats, capture essential information efficiently, and provide a more interactive experience. Additionally, bot responses such as text, images, links, and cards can be sent to users, improving overall communication and support capabilities.

    Use the collection of input controls provided by the Virtual Agent Designer to prompt and capture information from the user in a Facebook Messenger chat conversation.

    Virtual Agent Designer is a diagram tool for creating and managing topics, which are blueprints for conversations between a virtual agent and user. For more information, see Getting started with Virtual Agent Designer.

    The Conversational Integration with Facebook Messenger 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.

    The maximum character limit is 5000 characters.
    Static Choice User selects an item from a predefined choice list.

    In a quick reply, the label has the maximum character limit of 20 characters. At a time, a user can view only 13 quick replies. If there are more than 13 quick replies, the pagination format is used to view more options. The default value of the maximum number of replies for a page is set in the sn_va_fb_messenger.max_quick_replies system property (location: System Property [sys_properties] table).
    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.

    The supported file types are JPG, PNG, BMP, and MP4.

    Note the following points about the maximum size limit for a file type:

    • For images, the maximum size limit is 10 MB.
    • For videos, the maximum size limit is 200 MB.
    Date Time User selects a calendar date, time (hours and minutes), or both.
    Note:
    If your administrator has set the option to request time zone from the customer, the selected date and time reflect customer's time zone. Else, they appear in the UTC time zone. For more information about the time zone setting, see 1.f.
    Carousel User selects a single item from the carousel.

    In a carousel, the title for an image has maximum limit of 40 characters and the text for the image has maximum character limit of 60 characters. At a time, a user can view only 10 images. If there are more than 10 images, the pagination format is used to view more options. The default value of the maximum number of images in a carousel for a page is set in the sn_va_fb_messenger.max_carousel_cards system property (location: System Property [sys_properties] table).

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

    The Conversational Integration with Facebook Messenger 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:
    The web link appears as a URL button in the conversation.
    Card Bot sends selected information from a record on your instance.
    Note:
    You can also return search results as bot responses in Facebook Messenger chat conversations when there are no relevant topics to display to end users. For more information, see Improving the user experience with AI Search.

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