Try rich messaging for live chat and WhatsApp in Contact Center in Dynamics 365

Try rich messaging for live chat and WhatsApp in Contact Center (Enhancing digital customer service with interactive elements like forms, carousels, and suggested replies).

Real-time User Journey: Interactive Troubleshooting

This journey demonstrates how rich messaging replaces tedious typing with intuitive visual interactions:

1. Customer Initiation: A customer messages a retail brand via WhatsApp to report a missing part in a furniture delivery.
2. Suggested Replies: The AI agent instantly provides Suggested Replies (e.g., “Missing Part,” “Damaged Item,” “Wrong Item”). The customer taps “Missing Part” instead of typing it out.
3. Interactive Form: The agent sends a Rich Form directly in the chat. The customer uses a dropdown to select the furniture model and a date picker to specify the original delivery date.
4. Visual Confirmation (Carousel): The system displays a Carousel of parts for that specific model. The customer swipes through high-quality images and taps the exact screw or bracket that is missing.
5. Agent Handoff: If the customer needs a human, the conversation is routed to a live agent. The agent sees the completed form and the selected part in the Agent Workspace, allowing them to finalize the replacement order without asking repetitive questions.
6. Confirmation: The agent sends an Adaptive Card showing the new delivery tracking number, which the customer can track with one tap.

Step-by-Step: How to Enable This Feature

Administrators can configure rich messaging templates that work across multiple digital channels:

• Step 1: Admin Center Access Sign in to the Customer Service admin center or Contact Center admin center.
• Step 2: Navigate to Rich Messages Go to Workforce Management (or Customer Support) > Rich messages.
• Step 3: Create a Message Template Select New and choose the message type:
  • Forms: For structured data collection (text, numbers, dates).
  • Suggested Replies: For quick decision buttons.
  • Custom JSON: For advanced Adaptive Cards.
• Step 4: Design for Channels Use the designer to build your message. The system is channel-aware, meaning you can design one template that automatically adapts its appearance for the Live Chat widget versus WhatsApp.
• Step 5: Preview and Publish Use the Preview Pane to see how the message will render on different devices. Once satisfied, select Publish to make the template available to agents and bots.
• Step 6: Integration with Copilot Studio In Microsoft Copilot Studio, use the Adaptive Card node to call these published templates, allowing your AI agents to send rich interactive content autonomously.

Infographic: Plain Text vs. Rich Messaging

Feature	Traditional Text Messaging	New Rich Messaging
User Input	Manual typing (high friction).	One-tap buttons & dropdowns.
Data Collection	Open-ended text (requires parsing).	Structured Forms (validated data).
Visuals	Basic attachments/links.	Interactive Carousels & Cards.
Accuracy	Prone to typos and ambiguity.	Precision through predefined choices.
Resolution Time	Slower (back-and-forth questions).	Faster (all data gathered in one card).

References

Try rich messaging for live chat and WhatsApp in Contact Center