Release notes

This page provides information about changes in Business Messages.

October 16, 2023

• Session inactivity timeout has been increased from 12 business hours to 24 business hours for Human-only and Human-Bot sessions. If there are < 24 business hours in next 7 days, we will use 24 hours instead.

September 20, 2023

• PLACESHEET entry point is available for all major browsers on Desktop.

July 19, 2023

• FEATURED_SNIPPETS entry point is available for all major browsers on Desktop.

April 20, 2023

• The ADS and PHONE entry points are removed along with all related documentation.

March 21, 2023

• The ADS and PHONE entry points are deprecated. These entry points and their associated APIs will be removed on April 20, 2023.

January 27, 2023

• A new guide explains how to prepare your webhook for high message volume situations.

December 29, 2022

• A marketing conversation sample demonstrates best practices for designing a lead capture flow.

November 4, 2022

• A new guide explains how to use the new Business Messages test framework to test your webhook.

October 31, 2022

• Business Messages has a new entry point for Google Ads. Now you can support advertisers who run Search ads using message assets. Message assets allow prospective customers to chat with a brand directly from an ad.

  You can design a custom greeting for each ad you support. Your custom greetings for Google Ads can include multiple welcome messages with rich functionality like rich text and rich cards, as well as conversation starters.

  You can use links for Google Ads to test your customized messaging experience, and send links to advertisers so they can preview the experience and connect it to their message assets on Google Ads.

October 4, 2022

• A new Quality assurance section collects related guides, including a new Troubleshoot your agent guide.

September 30, 2022

• An overview of data security information for Business Messages is now available on the Support page.

September 26, 2022

New

• Now you can integrate with Dialogflow CX using the Business Communications API.
• The new Integration API has replaced the deprecated dialogflowAssociation and related APIs, which were turned down today.

September 12, 2022

• An updated feature gallery describes Business Messages features.

July 13, 2022

New

• A sample customer support conversation demonstrates best practices for conversation design.

July 6, 2022

New

• When creating an agent, enable the Business Messages Helper Bot to help you explore the platform. The Helper Bot lets you quickly start a conversation with your agent so you can try out the features and find resources to help you implement them. This is especially useful when creating your first agent.

• Now you can scan QR codes from the Business Communications Developer Console to test an agent on your mobile device.

June 17, 2022

New

• User message payloads now include deflected phone numbers (numbers that users viewed but opted not to call when starting a messaging conversation) in the context object.

June 3, 2022

New

• An OpenAPI document is now available for the Business Messages and Business Communications APIs, enabling you to create client libraries in dozens of languages, and more.

June 2, 2022

New

• A new guide explains how to set partner-level and agent-level webhooks.

May 31, 2022

New

• Added bootstrap sample to demonstrate how to receive and validate messages, and how to reply to users with rich cards, carousels, images, links, suggestion chips, and more.

April 25, 2022

New

• A new learning pathway collects guide pages related to onboarding a location. Completing the learning pathway earns a new DevSite badge.

April 1, 2022

New

• A sample sales conversation demonstrates best practices for conversation design.

March 16, 2022

New

• Integrate with Dialogflow CX to automate more complex conversations, including Live agent handoff.

March 8, 2022

New

• Agents that don't meet minimum performance thresholds may be suspended. If you have a suspended agent, see Fix a suspended agent.

February 1, 2022

New

• Set agent-level webhooks to customize where you receive messages on an agent-by-agent basis.

January 31, 2022

New

• Read receipts can be sent from users and agents to indicate that messages were read. See Send and receive message receipts.

December 13, 2021

New

• A series of how-to guides describes best practices for conversation design, along with sample text to help you design a complete conversation flow; see Conversation design for Business Messages.

December 01, 2021

Removed

• Removed the bot feedback feature and related documentation.

November 30, 2021

New

• Debug message delivery issues using the Business Communications Developer Console.

October 26, 2021

Deprecated

• Location.locationEntryPointConfigs is deprecated and new locations will always be configured for both PLACESHEET and MAPS_TACTILE entry points.

October 18, 2021

New

• Onboard, verify, and launch Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) locations quickly.

October 12, 2021

New

• Business Messages now supports Dialogflow ES custom intents. see Add automation with Dialogflow.

October 11, 2021

New

• Agent metrics are available in the Business Communications Developer Console and via BigQuery. See Monitor agent performance with metrics.

September 20, 2021

New

• Bot feedback responses enable user feedback on messages sent from BOT representatives. See Send and receive events and Begin the conversation.

September 09, 2021

Changed

• Agent logos are recommended, but no longer required, when creating and launching agents. See BusinessMessagesAgent.

July 28, 2021

Changed

• Surveys now support up to five questions: a required question, up to two template questions, and up to two custom questions. The survey response format is updated to support the new options.

Deprecated

• surveyResponse.rating is deprecated in favor of surveyResponse.questionResponseText. See Receive survey responses.

July 1, 2021

New

• Added documentation for the Business Communications Developer Console.
• User management adds support for managing access to your partner account.

April 16, 2021

Update

• The Business Communications Developer Console now supports updating non-local agent information and launching agents in non-local regions.

April 13, 2021

New

• The Dialogflow integration adds easy automation to Business Messages agents with FAQ bots and automatic responses.

March 29, 2021

Update

• The URL entry point has moved from beta to being generally available. This entry point lets you start conversations with agents from links. See Start conversations from URLs.

March 24, 2021

New

• New phone-based entry point is available.

  For details, see Entry points: Where conversations start.

February 4, 2021

Update

• Added documentation for business to consumer image support and updated Kitchen Sink sample to demonstrate the feature.

January 12, 2021

Changed

• The Authentication request suggestion is fully released without implementation changes. See Authenticate with OAuth.

December 15, 2020

Update

• Added support for non-local configuration of agents, verification, and launch to the API Explorer sample.

December 7, 2020

New

• Added Node.js, Java, and Python examples for all messages types in the Send messages guide.

November 24, 2020

New

• Beta: The URL entry point lets you start conversations with agents from links. See Start conversations from URLs.

November 23, 2020

New

• Test fallback text with the forceFallback field. See Send messages and Message.

November 19, 2020

New

• New non-location-based entry points are available to all agents:

  • Featured snippets and sitelinks start conversations within users' Search results.
  • The Business Messages widget lets you start conversations from a website. See the reference.

  For details, see Entry points: Where conversations start.

• Beta: Agents can use the Authentication request suggestion to prompt users to sign into compliant OAuth 2.0 providers, which may provide data to personalize conversations and enable agents to perform actions on behalf of users. See Authenticate with OAuth.

November 18, 2020

New

• Text messages with containsRichText set to true may include basic Markdown formatting. You can include hyperlinks or make text bold or italics. See Send messages.
• Added a Codelabs section and released the Buy Online Pickup In Store (Part 1) codelab.

November 10, 2020

New

• Added support for Business Messages in the Business Communications Developer Console. With the console, you can create, verify, and launch agents and locations.

September 3, 2020

New

• Agents now support multiple locales, including specifying a default locale. See Localization and locales and Begin the conversation.

August 7, 2020

New

• representative.avatarImage customizes your representatives' images on a message-by-message basis and helps users connect with and understand who they're chatting with.

August 5, 2020

New

• You can now customize conversation starters, welcome messages, and offline messages both for agents and specific locations. See Begin the conversation.

July 27, 2020

New

• Added an Appointment Agent sample, which uses Dialogflow and Node.js to power a conversational agent that helps a customer setup an appointment with a business.

July 22, 2020

New

• The live agent request suggestion guides users to interact with human representatives during complex interactions or when automation can't handle a user request.

July 20, 2020

New

• You can now delete brands, agents, and locations with the Business Communications API. See Create agents to manage brands and Manage locations.

June 17, 2020

New

• Added entry point configuration and agent launch to the Business Communications API. Agents with locations must now launch on the LOCATION entry point prior to launching locations. See Verify an agent or location, Launch an agent, and Business Communications release notes.
• Added the entryPointConfigs object to BusinessMessagesAgent to configure which entry points an agent supports.
• Added agent launch API calls to launch an agent on configured entry points. See brands.agents.requestLaunch, brands.agents.getLaunch, and brands.agents.updateLaunch.
• Updates sample implementations of the Business Communications API to reflect entry point and agent launch changes.

June 9, 2020

New

• In messages from users, the context.userInfo object displays user information such as a user's display name. See Receive messages.

June 8, 2020

New

• Added Node.js client libraries and sample implementations demonstrating common features available in the Business Communications API.

June 5, 2020

Changed

• Updated Echo Agent samples to include full client SDKs for Java, Python, and Node.js. Samples include expanded functionality for creating cards, carousels, and suggested replies.

June 1, 2020

New

• Added test URLs for Android web, Android Maps, and iOS Maps to BusinessMessagesAgent and Location.

• Updated sample implementations to include new test URLs.

May 21, 2020

New

• Added Java and C# client libraries and sample implementations demonstrating common features available in the Business Communications API.

May 18, 2020

New

• The Dial action opens users' default dialer app with the specified phone number pre-populated.

May 14, 2020

New

• Conversation starters now support suggested actions, including the Open URL action, which opens a user's default browser to the specified URL. See SuggestedAction.

May 12, 2020

Changed

• Updated the Business Communications API Explorer sample with image preview support and bug fixes.

May 08, 2020

Changed

• Updated the Business Communications API Explorer sample with a refactored client library and to support 5 conversation starters.

March 30, 2020

New

• Fallback text that displays if the user's device doesn't support the message type or content. See Send messages.

March 13, 2020

Changed

• Updated the Business Communications API Explorer sample to support postback data in conversation starters.

March 12, 2020

Changed

• In Register with Business Messages, updated the recommended service account role to Project > Viewer for enhanced security.

March 10, 2020

New

• Rich cards and rich card carousels send groups of related information, media, and suggestions to users in a straightforward interface.
• Typing indicators, representative joined/left events, and requests for live agents enrich conversations for both users and agents. See Events.

February 19, 2020

New

• Delivery receipts inform you when users receive your messages. See the guide and reference.
• Suggested replies and suggested actions guide users to the known and supported capabilities of your agent. See the guides for sending suggested replies, sending suggested actions, and receiving suggestion responses, and see the reference.
• Surveys track user satisfaction directly within your conversations. See the guide and reference.

Changed

• Updated Receive messages to include guidance on accepting, acknowledging, and processing incoming user messages.

February 13, 2020

New

• Added the agent field to incoming user messages to assist with per-message agent identification. Only applicable to agents using the Business Messages API.

February 6, 2020

New

• Metrics covers key agent metrics, improving metrics, and tracking your own metrics.

January 29, 2020

New

• Initial release of the Business Communications API for Business Messages.

January 8, 2020

New

• Begin the conversation covers how to guide users in new conversations with welcome messages and conversation starters.

December 3, 2019

Changed

• Best practices updated with content about incoming message de-duplication and handling at-least-once message delivery.