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The Message node, within the flow of a topic, sends a message from the agent to the user. Messages can be simple text messages, but can also include richer components, such as images, videos, quick replies, and cards.

Tip

All capabilities of the Message node are also available to the Question node.

Tip

Rename nodes to make them easier to identify. Select the node's name field to update the name directly, or select the More icon (…) of the node and select Rename from the menu. You can also rename nodes in the code editor.

It's not possible to rename Trigger nodes and Go to step nodes.

Node names can be up to 500 characters in length.

Prerequisites

To work with a message node, you need an agent and a topic created. To understand how topics works, see Create and edit topics.

If you need to create a new agent, see Quickstart: Create and deploy an agent.

Send a text message

  1. Open any topic, then select "+" Add node and choose Send a message to add a new message node.

  2. In the text box, enter the message you want the agent to send.

  3. Optionally, use the tools in the node's menu bar to add basic formatting, variables, and message variations.

    Screenshot of a text Message node in the Copilot Studio authoring canvas.

Use message variations

When you add message variations, the agent randomly picks one of them to use each time the node is triggered.

Add a message variation

  1. In the node's menu bar, select Add, and then select Message variation.

    Screenshot of a text Message node menu bar with message variation highlighted.

  2. Enter what you want the agent to say in the text box. Selecting outside of the Message node adds your variation to the list of messages.

  3. Repeat these steps to add as many variations as you like.

Remove a message variation

  1. Select a Message node with a variation.

  2. Select the Remove variation icon next to the variation you want to remove.

    Screenshot showing the Remove variation icon.

Add an image

To add an image, you need one hosted through a URL.

  1. Add a Message node.

  2. In the node's menu bar, select Add and choose Image.

  3. Under Image, enter the URL of your image.

  4. Optionally, enter a Title for the image.

Add a video

  1. Add a Message node.

  2. In the node's menu bar, select Add, and then select Video.

  3. Under Media URL, enter the URL of your video. The URL can either be a direct link to a publicly accessible MP4 file or a YouTube URL.

  4. Optionally, enter a Title, Subtitle, Image URL (the URL of a publicly accessible image file), or Text to be shown alongside the video on the card. You can also add one or more buttons, which have the same properties as quick replies.

    Screenshot of a Message node with a video card.

Add a basic card

A basic card is a general-purpose card used for adding text, images, and interactive elements to an agent response message.

  1. Add a Message node.

  2. In the node's menu bar, select Add, and then select Basic card.

  3. In the Basic Card properties pane, fill in the properties for the content of your card. You can also add one or more buttons, which have the same effect as quick replies.

Add an Adaptive Card

Adaptive Cards are platform-agnostic cards that you can customize. You can design Adaptive Cards using the Adaptive Cards Designer or author the JSON directly.

Important

Copilot Studio supports AdaptiveCard schema version 1.3 or lower.

  1. Add a Message node.

  2. In the node's menu bar, select Add, and then select Adaptive card.

  3. Under Edit JSON of the Adaptive Card properties pane, enter the JSON for your card.

    To open a larger view of the JSON editor, select the Expand icon.

    Screenshot of a Message node with an Adaptive Card, with the Expand icon highlighted.

Adaptive card example

If a message node informs users of your store's hours, you might create an adaptive card showing the hours with an image of the store.

Screenshot of a message node with an adaptive card that shows text and an image of the store.

View multiple cards in the same node and remove a card

If you add two or more cards to a node, two display options appear in the node menu of a selected card:

  • Carousel displays one card at a time.
  • List displays all cards in a vertical list.

Screenshot of image cards in carousel view and list view.

To remove a card from a node, select the Remove icon (trash can) at the upper-right corner of the item.

Screenshot of an image card with the Remove icon highlighted.

Use quick replies

Important

Not all channels support quick replies, which disable them for the user.

Some channels limit the number of quick replies shown at once.

Add quick replies to a message suggests responses or actions for the user. Actions taken by the user get sent back to the agent.

If the user chooses a quick reply text option, it gets shown in the chat history. The quick reply buttons are removed from the chat history when the agent or user sends another activity.

Users can choose to use a quick reply or ignore it by typing directly in the chat. To require the user to choose an option from a list, use a multiple-choice Question node instead.

Add a quick reply

  1. Add a Message node.

  2. In the node's menu bar, select Add and choose Quick reply.

  3. In the Quick replies box on the Message node, enter the text for one or more quick replies and press Enter.

    Screenshot of quick replies added to a Message node.

Change quick reply type

You can change the properties of quick replies to use other types of actions.

  1. Select the Quick replies box or an individual quick reply to open the Quick Replies properties pane.

    Screenshot of the Quick Replies properties pane.

  2. Select a value for Type:

    • Send a message (default): Send a message to the agent and show it in the chat history.
    • Open URL: Open a URL. The URL must start with https://.
    • Make a call: Call a phone number. Your entry must be in the format tel:1234567890.
    • Send a hidden message to the agent: Send a message to the agent, but hide it from the chat history.

The properties that are shown change based on the type of quick reply you selected. More options can be found under Advanced options.

Add a speech message override

On voice-enabled channels such as Omnichannel for Customer Service, the message text is used for both text display and voice. However, you can override the text message with a different one for speech.

  1. Select a Message node. In the upper-right corner, select Text, and then select Speech.

    Screenshot of a Message node, with the Speech mode selection highlighted.

  2. Add a message variation to the Message card. You see the menu bar changes.

  3. Enter what you want the agent to say. Add as many variations for the speech response as needed.

  4. Optionally, add SSML to your message variations to control how the agent speaks the message.

Use SSML to customize speech responses

Speech Synthesis Markup Language (SSML) is an XML-based markup language that specifies how text is converted into synthesized speech. SSML is one of the many ways Copilot Studio makes your agent's responses sound like natural speech.

In the Message node menu bar, select SSML tags, and then select the tags you want to add. You can add multiple tags to a single speech variation.

Screenshot of SSML tags in a speech message.

SSML tag Description
Audio Add prerecorded audio.
Break Insert pauses or breaks between words.
Emphasis Add levels of stress to words or phrases.
Prosody Specify changes to pitch, contour, range, rate, and volume.

SSML example

Screenshot of a speech message with SSML tags added.

Tip

You can manually enter SSML tags that don't appear in the helper menu. To learn more about other tags you can use, see Improve synthesis with Speech Synthesis Markup Language.