---
title: "Attachments and Voice Messages"
description: "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](/docs/agents/attachments#turn-attachments-on).
- **Only the microphone shows.** The agent's [AI model](/docs/agents/ai-models) 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](/docs/knowledge) or [instructions](/docs/agents/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](/docs/billing/understanding-credits). Check [Usage Analytics](/docs/analytics/usage-analytics), or set a [credits limit](/docs/agents/settings#credits-limit) for the agent.