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WhatsApp: media, buttons and lists

How the agent reads the photos, documents, locations and voice notes customers send on WhatsApp, what it sends back, and when it offers tappable choices instead of asking customers to type.

On this page

What customers send, and what the agent does with it
What the agent sends
Where attachments are read
Buttons and lists
In practice
What your team controls
Related

A customer can photograph a problem faster than they can describe it, and a contract can arrive in the chat instead of by post. The agent reads the images, documents, PDFs, location pins and voice notes customers send on WhatsApp, and sends documents and locations back. It also offers tappable buttons and lists when a choice is clearer than a typed answer. Rich media, buttons and lists are configured during implementation for the conversations that use them.

What customers send, and what the agent does with it

Customer sends	What the agent does	Example
A photo	Reads what the image shows and any text in it, and attaches it to the right record in your systems	A buyer's photo of a cracked tile in unit B-1204, logged as a snagging item against that unit
A document or PDF	Reads the content, checks it is what was asked for, and attaches it to the right record	A police report and a repair estimate for a motor claim, attached to the claim
A location pin	Reads the location and uses it in the conversation	A driver shares where the accident happened, and the location is added to the first notice of loss
A voice note	Has it transcribed, then treats it as a message	A guest records a request for early check-in while driving, and the agent replies in text

When a document is not what the process needs, the agent says so in plain terms. A policyholder who sends the front of a vehicle registration card when the claim needs both sides is asked for the other side, in the same thread.

Important

The agent reads, checks and files what customers send. It does not make decisions that belong to your people. A photo of vehicle damage is attached to the claim for your assessor; the agent does not judge the damage, liability or the settlement. See Decision boundaries.

What the agent sends

The agent sends documents and locations as part of the conversation, from your systems and approved material:

Documents and PDFs, such as a booking confirmation, a policy schedule, a payment plan or a handover checklist. Documents are generated or retrieved from your systems, not written freehand.
Location pins, such as the site office for a handover appointment, the hotel entrance for a late arrival, or the nearest approved garage.
Images, such as a floor plan from your approved materials.

Each document sent is recorded in the conversation, so your team can see exactly what the customer received and when.

Where attachments are read

Meta receives, processes and briefly stores WhatsApp messages, including attachments, on its own infrastructure before they reach your deployment. From there, everything happens in your chosen region.

Attachment	How it is read	Where
Voice notes	Transcribed by speech recognition	In your chosen region, always. No out-of-region speech provider is offered
Images, documents and PDFs	Read by a model	In your chosen region

Attachments and their contents are stored in your deployment only with your permission, for the period you set. Personal information in stored conversation content is redacted according to the settings you choose, and redaction applies to reports and exports by default. Card numbers typed in a conversation are redacted, and the agent sends payment links from your payment provider rather than handling card details. See Personal information redaction.

Buttons and lists

A choice between three handover slots is quicker to tap than to type, and a tap leaves no room for a misread date. Where a choice is cleaner than a sentence, the agent offers structured replies that WhatsApp supports:

Format	What the customer sees	Best for	Example
Reply buttons	A few buttons under the message	Short, fixed choices	"Confirm", "Change time", "Speak to someone"
List	A button that opens a menu of options, grouped under headings	Longer sets of options	Available viewing slots this week, grouped by day
Buttons in a template	Buttons attached to an approved template	Outbound messages	"Pay now" and "Speak to someone" on an instalment reminder

Meta limits how many buttons and list options one message can carry, and how long each label can be, so labels are written short and in each language you use. Arabic labels read right to left. The customer can always type instead, and the agent understands the typed answer in the same way.

In practice

Sahel Crest Properties, a Dubai developer, uses the agent for snagging on a newly handed-over tower.

Huda sends a photo of a cracked kitchen tile in Arabic. The agent reads the photo, confirms her unit from her number, and logs the defect in the maintenance system with the photo attached.
It asks whether there is anything else. She sends a voice note about a door that does not close. The note is transcribed in the developer's region, and a second item is logged.
The agent offers inspection times from the maintenance team's calendar as a list. Huda taps Tuesday at 11:30am, and the appointment is booked.
It sends a location pin for the building's maintenance office and the updated snagging checklist as a PDF.
Both items, the appointment and the documents sent are in one issue in her customer record.

What your team controls

Which conversations use media, buttons and lists, set during implementation.
Which documents the agent can send, and from which systems.
Where attachments are filed in your systems.
Whether attachment content is stored, for how long, and the redaction settings applied.
The wording of every button and list, in each language.

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