List Messages

List messages provide a more straightforward and consistent format than text-based lists for people to find and select what they want from a business.

Lists messages do not require a template or pre-approval.

Benefits and use cases include

  • Provide up to 10 options
  • List messages can be populated dynamically based on a customer’s responses and can be used for personalized bot use cases, such as a take-out menu, a selection of nearby stores or locations, available reservation times, seating choices, etc. 
  • Dedicated description lines for each option are available to provide additional context.
image_docs_wa_content_types_list_messages_01

Each list message consists of

image_docs_wa_content_types_list_messages_02

Implementation considerations

  • List messages are most effective for menus with up to 10 options or where additional context is required to make the decision.
  • List messages can provide an initial response to a customer message before transitioning to a human agent. They can be ‘chained’ in a flow with another list or Reply buttons to complete an action.
  • Payload and title on the list rows are mandatory.
  • When more than 1 section is used, the section title is mandatory.
  • Do NOT list messages for:
    • A list of products: List messages cannot contain images.
    • Messages with fewer than four options that require no context (e.g., Yes/No). Use Reply buttons or interactive notifications for these cases.

API Request for List Messages

curl –XPOST https://api.tyntec.com/conversations/v3/messages\
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -H 'apikey: <API KEY>' \
  -d '{
{
    "from" : "{{whatsAppBusinessNumber}}",
    "to" : "{{receiverPhoneNumber}}",
    "channel" : "whatsapp",
    "content": {
    "contentType": "interactive",
    "interactive": {
      "subType": "list",
      "components": {
        "header": {
          "type": "text",
          "text": "Choose your menu"
        },
        "body": {
          "type": "text",
          "text": "Hi Sarah, select your menu from the bottom list. Dressings and toppings are selected later on"
        },
        "footer" : {
            "type": "text",
            "text": "Your tyntec food team"
        },
        "list": {
          "title": "Your menu",
          "sections": [
            {
              "title": "Vegan",
              "rows": [
                {
                  "payload": "green-dream-34987-234897234-234",
                  "title": "Green dream",
                  "description": "A bowl full of tasty leaves, soybeans and cucumber"
                },
                 {
                  "payload": "rainbow-meets-rice-34987-234897234-234",
                  "title": "Rainbow meets rice",
                  "description": "A colorful selection of vegetables on a cozy bed of basmati rice"
                }
              ]
            },          
            {
              "title": "Vegetarian",
              "rows": [
                {
                  "payload": "italo-classic-34987-234897234-234",
                  "title": "Italo Classic",
                  "description": "Slices of tomatoes, with plucked pieces of mozzarella and basil leaves"
                },
                 {
                  "payload": "egg-and-peas-34987-234897234-234",
                  "title": "Egg & Peas",
                  "description": "Tasty slices of eggs, on a whole wheat pasta salad with peas"
                }
              ]
            }
          ]
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

The responses when the user selects a list item

{
	"messageId": "ABEGSRcolTdUAgo-sAv23434Wdf9fsdO32",
	"channel": "whatsapp",
	"from": "491728953754",
	"to": "4923147790813",
	"content": null,
	"event": "MoMessage::Postback",
	"whatsapp": {
        "description": "Slices of tomatoes, with plucked pieces of mozzarella and basil leaves",
        "title": "Italo Classic",
    	"senderName": "Peter @ tyntec"
	},
    "context": {
        "messageId": "7a9658bc-20ce-4877-8409-81432443a7fc"
	},
	"postback": {
    	"data": "9080923445nlkjß0_gß0923845083245dfg"
	},
	"timestamp": "2021-07-13T09:22:32Z"
}