Rich links & media

Not every message needs to be interactive. Most of a conversation is plain text, the occasional link, and media. This page covers the non-interactive content you can send in an Apple Messages for Business conversation: text, rich link cards, and attachments (images, video, audio, and files). For buttons, pickers, forms, Apple Pay, and sign-in, see Interactive messages.

Every example here uses the standard POST /v4/messages endpoint, addressed to the customer's opaque id from the inbound webhook. You can also send through POST /v4/channels/{channel}/messages (alias in the path) or POST /v4/chats/{chatId}/messages (sender and recipient fixed by the chat).

Text

Send plain text with the top-level text field:

curl -X POST https://api.blooio.com/v4/messages \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer bl_live_..." \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: 9a1f0c3b-2d4e-4f6a-8b1c-0d2e4f6a8b1c" \
  -d '{
    "from": "support",
    "to": "opaque-amb-customer-id",
    "text": "Your order #10482 is packed and ships today."
  }'

Note Markdown styling (format: "markdown") is a Blooio iMessage feature, not an Apple Messages for Business one — Apple Messages for Business carries plain text only. Send text as the exact string the customer should see; any Markdown delimiters would arrive as literal characters.

Rich link card

A rich link renders as a tappable card in the thread instead of a bare URL. Provide the rich_link object with a url (required) and an optional title:

curl -X POST https://api.blooio.com/v4/messages \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer bl_live_..." \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: 1b2c3d4e-5f60-4712-8a9b-0c1d2e3f4a5b" \
  -d '{
    "from": "support",
    "to": "opaque-amb-customer-id",
    "rich_link": {
      "url": "https://yourbrand.com/order/10482",
      "title": "Track your order"
    }
  }'

Attachments (images, video, audio, files)

Pass one or more public HTTPS URLs in attachments. Blooio fetches each file, stores a frozen copy, and delivers it — later changes to the source URL can't alter what was sent. Add text for a caption.

curl -X POST https://api.blooio.com/v4/messages \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer bl_live_..." \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: 7c8d9e0f-1a2b-4c3d-8e4f-5a6b7c8d9e0f" \
  -d '{
    "from": "support",
    "to": "opaque-amb-customer-id",
    "text": "Here is your updated receipt.",
    "attachments": ["https://cdn.yourbrand.com/receipts/10482.pdf"]
  }'

• Formats. Images, video, audio, and documents are supported, up to Apple's 100 MB per-file limit. A file over that limit is rejected before the send is accepted.
• Use stable URLs. Point attachments at durable CDN URLs. A short-lived signed URL can expire before Blooio fetches it, which fails the send.
• Inbound attachments. When a customer sends you a file, the decryption window is short and single-use — Blooio fetches and re-hosts it for you and hands you a Blooio-signed URL on the inbound webhook. Re-host it on your own CDN before showing it to an end user. See the attachment TTL ratchet in Capabilities & limits.

Typing indicator

Show a typing indicator before a reply so the pause reads as "thinking" rather than a stall. It's a separate call, covered in Conversation lifecycle:

curl -X POST https://api.blooio.com/v4/chats/chat_.../typing \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer bl_live_..." \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "state": "started" }'

Which content type should I use?

Related

• Apple Messages for Business overview
• Interactive messages
• Capabilities & limits
• Send a message