Set Participant Data action payload structure for IVR custom variables

Architect & Flows
1

Can anyone clarify the exact JSON schema required for the Set Participant Data Data Action when injecting custom variables into an active IVR flow? I am attempting to pass a customer_tier string via the REST API, but the action fails silently without returning a descriptive error code.

My current payload uses a flat key-value pair structure: { "attributes": { "customer_tier": "gold" } }. I expected this to map directly to the participant context, yet subsequent Data Actions cannot resolve {{interaction.customer_tier}}.

Is there a specific nested object requirement for Genesys Cloud Data Actions, or should I be using a different endpoint to update participant attributes mid-flow?

2

The official documentation states the payload must include a participant_id at the root level, not just nested attributes.

{
 "participantId": "uuid-here",
 "data": {
 "customer_tier": "gold"
 }
}

Verify the session ID via the Conversations API before sending.

3

It depends, but generally… the flat structure suggested above works for simple string overwrites, but it fails silently if you need to preserve existing participant data or handle nested objects. The Set Participant Data action in the Conversations API is additive, not replacement-based for the entire context, but the payload structure in the previous post lacks the explicit attributes wrapper that Genesys Cloud expects for custom metadata injection via the REST API.

If you are calling PATCH /api/v2/conversations/voice/{conversationId}/participants/{participantId} directly, you need to ensure the data object is nested correctly under attributes to avoid overwriting system fields. Also, verify your OAuth token includes conversations:participant:write.

Here is the robust payload structure I use in my SCIM sync jobs to ensure custom attributes persist without triggering silent failures:

{
 "attributes": {
 "customer_tier": "gold",
 "sync_source": "okta_scim"
 }
}

Send this via:

curl -X PATCH "https://api.mypurecloud.com/api/v2/conversations/voice/{conversationId}/participants/{participantId}" \
 -H "Authorization: Bearer {access_token}" \
 -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
 -d '{
 "attributes": {
 "customer_tier": "gold"
 }
 }'

If the action still fails, check the response headers for 422 Unprocessable Entity. This usually means the attribute name contains reserved characters or exceeds the 256-character limit. See Support Article #9921: IVR Attribute Persistence Limits for the full list of reserved keys.