Capturing information from a user in a Facebook Messenger chat conversation

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 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 enables the capture of user information in Facebook Messenger chats through various input controls. This tool facilitates the creation and management of conversational topics between virtual agents and users, enhancing the user experience in automated interactions.

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    Key Features

    • Text Input: Users can enter up to 5000 characters of plain text.
    • Static Choice: Users select from a predefined list, with a maximum of 20 characters per label and only 13 quick replies visible at once.
    • Boolean Input: Users can respond with Yes or No.
    • File Picker: Users can send files (JPG, PNG, BMP, MP4) with specific size limits (10 MB for images, 200 MB for videos).
    • Date Time Picker: Users select date and time, which reflects their time zone if configured by the administrator.
    • Carousel: Users select items from a carousel containing images, with limits on character counts and images per page.

    Key Outcomes

    By utilizing these input controls, ServiceNow customers can effectively gather user information, streamline communication, and improve the overall interaction quality in Facebook Messenger. The integration supports various bot responses, including text, images, links, and cards, allowing for dynamic and responsive conversations.

    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 Assistant 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 Assistant Designer bot responses.