Attachments and Voice Messages
Fix common problems when customers send images, PDFs, or voice messages to your agent.
There’s no paperclip or microphone in the chat
- Attachments are off. They’re off by default. Turn on Accept attachments in the agent’s Settings.
- Only the microphone shows. The agent’s AI model can’t read images or PDFs, so only voice messages are offered. Choose a model that reads them, or keep voice only.
- No microphone. The visitor’s browser doesn’t support recording. Most current browsers do.
File errors in the chat
| Message | What to do |
|---|---|
| “You can send up to 3 files at a time.” | Send the rest in another message. |
| “Each file must be smaller than 10 MB.” | Send a smaller file. Large photos are resized automatically, so this is usually a large PDF. |
| “Send an image (JPEG, PNG, WEBP), a PDF, or a voice message.” | Other file types aren’t supported. |
| “This assistant can’t read images or PDFs. You can send a voice message instead.” | The agent’s model only supports voice messages. |
Recording doesn’t work
- “Microphone access is unavailable. Allow it in your browser to record a voice message.” means the browser blocked the microphone. Allow it in the browser’s site settings and try again.
- “We couldn’t process that recording. Please try again.” means the recording couldn’t be prepared. Record it again.
- Recordings stop automatically at 5 minutes.
The agent ignores a photo or document
The agent only uses attachments to help with questions it can answer for your business. If a file is unrelated, it says what it can help with instead. If the file is related, add the missing information to the agent’s knowledge or instructions.
WhatsApp files aren’t read
- Accept attachments must be on. When it’s off, files sent on WhatsApp aren’t opened.
- Files must be JPEG, PNG, WEBP, PDF, or audio, up to 20 MB.
Attachments use more credits than expected
Reading images and PDFs, and transcribing voice messages, use credits. Check Usage Analytics, or set a credits limit for the agent.