Running into a weird issue with the Genesys Cloud Web Messaging SDK in Kotlin. I’m trying to pass custom guest attributes (email, firstName) to the widget after the user has authenticated via OAuth, but the attributes are dropping off in the Genesys Cloud UI. The initial configure call works fine, but subsequent updates via updateGuestAttributes seem to get ignored or overwritten.
Here’s the Kotlin snippet I’m using to update the attributes:
val attributes = mapOf(
"email" to "user@example.com",
"firstName" to "Tessa"
)
webMessagingSdk.updateGuestAttributes(attributes)
The SDK returns no error, and the callback onGuestAttributesUpdated fires successfully. However, when I check the conversation in Genesys Cloud, the participant data is empty. I’ve verified the OAuth token is valid and the user is linked correctly. I also tried calling setAuthenticated(true) before the update, but that didn’t help. Is there a specific sequence required for authenticated users? Or is this a known bug with the Kotlin SDK?
I’m using SDK version 2.4.0 and Genesys Cloud region US1. Any pointers would be appreciated. I’m stuck.
Are you merging the attributes or overwriting the whole object? The SDK expects you to send the full state of the guest attributes, not just the delta. If you only pass email, it wipes out firstName because the backend treats it as a replacement. Check your payload structure.
val guestAttributes = mapOf(
"email" to "user@example.com",
"firstName" to "Tessa"
)
webMessagingSdk.updateGuestAttributes(guestAttributes)
Make sure both keys are present in every call. The UI reflects the last full update received.
is spot on about the overwrite behavior. That’s the first trap. The second trap is timing. If you call updateGuestAttributes before the conversation ID is actually established or before the auth token has fully propagated to the messaging service, the update gets queued and then dropped when the session re-initializes.
You need to listen for the conversationCreated event before attempting that update. It’s a race condition that bites everyone. Here’s the pattern that actually sticks:
// Wait for the conversation to be fully established
webMessagingSdk.onConversationCreated { conversation ->
println("Conversation ID: ${conversation.id}")
// Now it's safe to push the full object
val guestAttributes = mapOf(
"email" to "user@example.com",
"firstName" to "Tessa"
)
webMessagingSdk.updateGuestAttributes(guestAttributes)
}
Also, double-check your Architect flow. If you’re using a Data Action or a Script to pull these attributes at the start of the interaction, ensure the Guest Attributes node is configured to “Merge” not “Replace”. If the Architect side is set to replace, it will wipe out whatever the SDK pushed just seconds earlier.
I’ve seen this exact issue where the SDK update hits the API successfully (check the Network tab for a 200 OK), but the UI doesn’t reflect it until the next message is sent. That’s because the UI refreshes on message events, not attribute update events. If you need it visible immediately, you might have to trigger a dummy message or force a UI refresh via the SDK’s refresh method if available in your version.
Don’t forget to log the response from updateGuestAttributes. If it returns a 400, your JSON structure is likely malformed. The keys are case-sensitive. firstName works. firstname does not.
Check the event delivery logs in Admin > Notifications > Webhooks if you have a webhook listening for routing:conversation:updated. You’ll see if the payload is leaving Genesys Cloud correctly. If it is, the issue is on the receiving end or the UI refresh cycle.