Send a message

Important

Power Virtual Agents capabilities and features are now part of Microsoft Copilot Studio following significant investments in generative AI and enhanced integrations across Microsoft Copilot.

Some articles and screenshots may refer to Power Virtual Agents while we update documentation and training content.

The Message node sends a message from the bot to the user. Messages are usually 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.

Prerequisites

• Create and edit topics

Send a text message

1. Select Add node (+), and then select Send a message.

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

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

   

Use message variations

When you add message variations, the bot 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.

2. Enter what you want the bot to say.

3. Repeat the above steps to add as many variations as you like.

   

Remove a message variation

1. Select a Message node with a variation.

2. Select the trashcan icon (Remove variation).

   

Add an image

1. Add a Message node.

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

   

Add a basic card

A basic card is a general-purpose card that you can use to add text, images, and interactive elements to bot responses.

1. Add a Message node.

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

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

   

Add an Adaptive Card

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

Important

Microsoft 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, enter the JSON for your card.

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

   

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.

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

Use quick replies

Important

Not all channels support quick replies, in which case the user may not be able to interact them.

Additionally, some channels have a limit on the number of quick replies that can be shown at once.

Add quick replies to a message to provide suggested responses or actions for the user. If the user selects a quick reply, it sends a message back to the bot. The quick reply text is shown in the chat history as if the user had typed the message. The quick reply buttons are removed from the chat history when the bot or user sends another activity.

Users can choose to use a quick reply or ignore it. 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 then select Quick reply.

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

   

Change quick reply type

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

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

   

2. Select a value for Type:

   • Send a message (default): Send a message to the bot 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 bot: Send a message to the bot, but hide it from the chat history.

The properties that are shown change based on the type of quick reply you've 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.

   

2. Add a message variation.

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

4. Optionally, add SSML to your message variations to control how the bot 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. It's one of the many ways Microsoft Copilot Studio makes your bot's responses sound like natural speech.

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

The following table describes what each tag does.

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.

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.