Channels’ supported features and restrictions

Before you start developing a bot, you need to find out what features channels support and what restrictions they have. This will allow you to understand which channel is most suitable for achieving your goal.

This article summarizes the supported features and restrictions of the channels into which you can deploy your bots.

tip

Before proceeding to the information about the desired channel, we recommend that you first read the designations in tables.

Categories and designations

In the article, the channels are categorized in the following way:

• Chat widget.
• Messengers: WhatsApp from edna (2.0), Slack, Telegram, Viber, WeChat, WhatsApp.
• Platforms and services: Microsoft Teams, Zendesk Chat.

You can find the following designations in the tables:

Designation	Description
Both ways	The file transfer is available in both directions: from the bot to clients and from clients to the bot.
To clients	The file transfer is only available from the bot to clients.
To bot	The file transfer is only available from clients to the bot.
Yes	The feature is supported.
No	The feature is not supported.
?	There is no information about the feature.
N/A	The functionality restriction is not applicable to this channel.

Chat widget

File transfer

Feature	Chat widget
Audio	Both ways
Video	Both ways
Audio message	No
Images	Both ways
GIF images	Both ways
PDF files	Both ways
Arbitrary file format	Both ways
Max video size	50 MB
Max image size	50 MB
Max file size	50 MB

Bot features

Feature	Chat widget
HTML markup	Yes
Pushgate	Yes
SMS	Yes
Text campaigns	Yes
Buttons	Yes
Inline buttons	Yes
Carousel	Yes
Location	No
Contact transfer	No
Transfer to agent	Yes

Messengers

File transfer

Feature	edna: WhatsApp 2.0	Slack	Telegram	Viber	WeChat	WhatsApp
Audio	Both ways	To bot	Both ways	No	No	Both ways
Video	Both ways	Both ways	Both ways	Both ways	To clients	Both ways
Audio message	To bot	To bot	Both ways	No	No	Both ways
Images	Both ways	To bot	Both ways	Both ways	Both ways	Both ways
GIF images	No	To bot	Yes	No	No	No
PDF files	Both ways	To bot	To bot	No	To bot	No
Arbitrary file format	Both ways	To bot	Both ways	To bot	No	To clients
Max video size	16 MB	1 GB	50 MB	50 MB	100 MB	16 MB
Max image size	16 MB	1 GB	10 MB	1 MB	10 MB	5 MB
Max file size	100 MB	1 GB	50 MB	50 MB	100 MB	100 MB

Bot features

Feature	edna: WhatsApp 2.0	Slack	Telegram	Viber	WeChat	WhatsApp
HTML markup	No	No	Yes	No	No	No
Pushgate	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
SMS	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Text campaigns	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Buttons	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Inline buttons	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Carousel	No	No	No	No	No	No
Location	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Contact transfer	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Transfer to agent	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Other usage details

Channel	Feature	Description
Telegram	Buttons	1. For each set of text buttons or inline buttons, there should be at least one text reply in the bot message. 2. The maximum number of characters in text buttons is 20 and the maximum number of characters in inline buttons is 15. Button text over the limit moves to the next line. 3. If the data size specified in callback_data exceeds 64 bytes, the excess data will be cut.
	Transfer to agent	1. When adding several closing chat phrases in closeChatPhrases for the switch reply type, only the first phrase of the array will be displayed as a button. However, the chat can be closed with any of the listed phrases. 2. Any button must be followed with a text message. Otherwise, the button will not be displayed until the agent sends their first message.
Viber	Buttons	1. If the focus is active on the message input form, the button will not be displayed for the client in the chat. 2. You can place 1, 2, 3, or 6 text buttons on a single row. 3. The maximum number of inline button rows is 7.
	Transfer to agent	When adding several closing chat phrases in closeChatPhrases for the switch reply type, only the first phrase of the array will be displayed as a button. However, the chat can be closed with any of the listed phrases.
WeChat	Images	1. Image size must not exceed 1,000×1,000 pixels. 2. Supported image formats are .jpg, .jpeg, and .png.
WhatsApp	Buttons	1. The maximum number of buttons on the screen is 3. 2. The maximum number of characters in each button is 20.
	Inline buttons	Can be created as raw reply type using a template.

Platforms and services

File transfer

Feature	Microsoft Teams	Zendesk Chat
Audio	To bot	No
Video	Both ways	No
Audio message	No	No
Images	Both ways	No
GIF images	Both ways	?
PDF files	Both ways	No
Arbitrary file format	Both ways	No
Max video size	50 MB	N/A
Max image size	50 MB	N/A
Max file size	50 MB	N/A

Bot features

Feature	Microsoft Teams	Zendesk Chat
HTML markup	Yes	No
Pushgate	Yes	Yes
SMS	Yes	Yes
Text campaigns	Yes	Yes
Buttons	Yes	Yes
Inline buttons	Yes	No
Carousel	No	No
Location	No	No
Contact transfer	No	No
Transfer to agent	Yes	No

Other usage details

Channel	Feature	Description
Microsoft Teams	HTML markup	HTML markup is only displayed when sending bot messages by passing reply objects with the text type into $response.replies.
Zendesk Chat	Text	Zendesk Chat does not support text markup. For example, you cannot add a hyperlink or a line break.
	Buttons	1. The maximum number of buttons in a single message is 3. 2. If the button’s text contains more than 20 characters, the text will be trimmed. When you hover over the button, the full name will be displayed.