Open Messaging API: Quick Reply buttons not rendering in guest client

Hey folks. I’m working on a .NET backend service that injects structured messages into Genesys Cloud web chat sessions using the Open Messaging API. The goal is to send a card with quick reply buttons to guide the guest through a troubleshooting flow.

I’m hitting the endpoint POST /api/v2/conversations/webmessaging/contacts/{conversationId}/messages with a JSON payload that looks like this:

{
 "type": "message",
 "content": {
 "text": "Select an option below:",
 "actions": [
 {
 "type": "quick_reply",
 "label": "Check Order",
 "payload": "check_order"
 },
 {
 "type": "quick_reply",
 "label": "Speak to Agent",
 "payload": "agent_transfer"
 }
 ]
 },
 "from": {
 "id": "bot_user_id",
 "name": "Bot"
 }
}

The API returns a 201 Created status, and I can see the message in the conversation history via the GET /api/v2/conversations/webmessaging/contacts/{conversationId}/messages endpoint. The JSON structure seems correct based on the docs. However, when I look at the actual web chat widget from the guest’s perspective, the buttons don’t render. Instead, the guest just sees the plain text “Select an option below:”.

I’ve tried changing the type field to action_card as well, but that results in a 400 Bad Request saying the content type is invalid. I’m using the latest version of the .NET SDK for authentication, but I’m making the REST calls directly for the message injection.

Is there a specific capability flag I need to enable on the widget configuration? Or am I missing a required field in the action definition? The payload field feels like it might be the issue, but the docs are vague on whether it needs to match a specific schema.

Here’s the exact error I get when I try action_card:

{
 "code": "bad_request",
 "message": "Invalid message content type",
 "status": 400
}

Any ideas? I’ve been staring at this for two days.

The issue isn’t usually the payload structure itself, but how the client interprets the actions array inside the card. Genesys Cloud’s web widget expects specific formatting for quick replies to render as buttons rather than just text links. If you’re using a generic “message” type with a custom JSON body, the widget often ignores the interactive elements.

You need to ensure the type is explicitly set to quickReply within the actions, and the payload matches the schema strictly. Also, check that you aren’t sending this as a raw JSON blob in a standard message body. It needs to be a structured card.

Here is a working payload structure using the POST /api/v2/conversations/webmessaging/contacts/{conversationId}/messages endpoint:

{
 "type": "card",
 "title": "Troubleshooting Flow",
 "body": "Please select an option below to proceed.",
 "actions": [
 {
 "type": "quickReply",
 "label": "Reset Password",
 "value": "reset_password"
 },
 {
 "type": "quickReply",
 "label": "Contact Support",
 "value": "contact_support"
 }
 ]
}

If you are using the .NET SDK, make sure you are instantiating the Card object correctly rather than manually constructing the JSON string. The SDK handles the serialization nuances better.

Also, verify the guest client version. Older widget versions had bugs with nested action arrays. If the buttons still don’t show up, try sending a simple text message first to confirm the channel is active, then swap to the card payload. Sometimes the WebSocket connection lags on the initial handshake.

You’ll run into latency spikes if you keep polling the Conversations API for every quick reply click. The widget sends a webhook event, but your backend is likely waiting for the next API pull cycle. That delay breaks the UX flow.

Instead, hook directly into the webchat:interaction:updated event stream. It’s faster and gives you the full payload without extra API calls. Here’s how to set it up with the Node SDK:

const platformClient = PureCloudPlatformClientV2;
const eventsApi = new platformClient.EventsApi();

eventsApi.getEventsWebchatInteractionUpdated({
 'X-Genesys-Notify': 'true',
 limit: 100
}).then((response) => {
 response.body.events.forEach(event => {
 // Handle quick reply selection here
 console.log(event.payload.quickReply);
 });
});

Make sure you’ve subscribed to the webchat:interaction:updated scope in your OAuth client settings. Without it, the stream stays silent. You’ll also want to check the event.payload.type to filter out other interaction updates.