What is a Message Template?

On the KakaoTalk channel, companies can initiate conversations and send messages using different APIs:

Friends Talk : This allows your o send messages to users who have added your company as a friend on KakaoTalk.

Alim Talk : This enables you to send informative messages and services to users event if they have not added your channel as a friend.

Natively, Friends Talk doesn't offer a message template with an pre-approval system (unlike WhatsApp). To streamline brand communications, Alcmeon has replicated a template system similar to WhatsApp.

In contrast, Alim Talk is more restrictive and does have a message template system. These templates must be submitted to KakaoTalk and are manually approved.

Rules

1. Friends Talk imposes time restrictions on message sending to respect user privacy. Sending messages via Friends Talk is typically limited to between 9:00 AM and 8:00 PM Korean local time. Messages sent outside this timeframe will be blocked.

2. When sending a service template via AlimTalk, using the “Contact Customer Service” button type is the only way to ensure conversations are correctly reconciled. This is essential for these service templates to appear on the processing page.

3. AlimTalk templates can currently only be created in English and Korean languages.

4. AlimTalk templates are designed to be sent to customers automatically via API calls. The technical documentation is available here: https://developers.alcmeon.com/reference/get_v1-KakaoTalk-templates

Create a Message Template

In Alcmeon, you can create your message templates by navigating to the “Settings / Message Templates” section. Here you'll find a list of your templates and their approval status. For messages sent via Friends Talk, the approval status will be “OK” by default .

To create a new template, click the “Add New Template” button.

Defining your Template

Define:

• Your Model Name: Use only lowercase alphanumeric characters and the underscore (_) character. Maximum 512 characters.
• One or more languages : This allows you to create the same template in multiple languages. A separate tab for each language you select will be displayed in the next interface.
• KakaoTalk Account : Choose the KakaoTalk account that will be used to send this template.
• The category of your Model.
• Usage : This determines where in Alcmeon the template can be used. For Friends Talk templates, you can choose to make them available in chatbots, available to advisors, or visible through APIs. For AlimTalk templates, the only available usage is “API.”

When AlimTalk is selected, two new blocks are displayed:

• “Review status”
• Template Content

Since AlimTalk templates undergo manual approval, it is recommended that you provide a clear explanation (in English or Korean) for the approver. You should explain why it is legitimate to send this template to users who are not “friends” with your brand. For example, “We want to inform the client of the brand that the product he ordered has arrived at the nearest store.”

The "Review Status" block also allows you to track exchanges with the KakaoTalk approver, who may request changes before the template is accepted.

Regarding the content of the template, it is divided into 3 subsections: the Header, the Body and the Buttons.

The header

You can add a header that appears above your template's text message. This can be either text-based or an image.

For an image header, you can force your advisors or your bot scenario to use the file you upload here. Or on the contrary, allow dynamic selection, meaning you let them choose a different file each time they use the template. In this case, the file you upload here serves only as an example.

The body

The body of the message is a text that can contain variables and have a maximum length of 1024 characters. Variables are expressed using the format {{variable}}. The list of detected variables will be displayed below the text field.

The buttons

There are 2 two types of buttons available: “Contact Customer Support” and “URL”.

The “Contact customer support” button is used to send additional information to the CStalk API. This function enables the full conversation history between a brand and a user to be displayed in the agent interface.

KakaoTalk supports three types of user identifiers:

• app_user_id: retrieved via KakaoLogin
• user_key: A unique internal ID
• and the phone number.

Each messaging channel relies on a different type of ID user:

• CStalk returns only the user_key,
• AlimTalk uses the phone number,
• FriendTalk is based on the app_user_id.

To reconcile conversations across different IDs, the button plays a crucial role by passing key identifiers when the message is sent. This ensures, agents always have a complete view of the customer's history, allowing them to respond with greater relevance and accuracy.

How it works:

• For an AlimTalk template: The button transmits the user’s phone number. When the user responds, KakaoTalk sends back both the user_key and the phone number.
• For a FriendTalk template: The button transmits the app_user_id. When the user replies, KakaoTalk provides both the user_key and the app_user_id.

The “URL” button redirects the user to the specific URL when they click on it.

It is possible to add up to 5 different buttons.

Template Validation and Verification Process

Once you have completed all the required sections of your template, click the “Save” button at the top right of the page. This action will initiate the verification process.

For Friends Talk: Your template will be automatically approved. This is because, as explained above, it is an “Alcmeon” template and not KakaoTalk.

For AlimTalk: A manual review process begins. This can take several days, during which your template will be in a “Pending” status. An approved template can't be modified.