Send Files Using Webhook Blocks in Guided Conversations

Send Files Using Webhook Blocks in Guided Conversations

When your chatbot connects with external systems through APIs, webhooks play a key role in fetching and displaying information. Until now, webhook responses in Guided Conversations (GC) only supported the JSON format. While that works perfectly for exchanging data, it limits your bot’s ability to directly share or display files such as invoices, reports, or shipping labels.

With the new File response type, your Webhook block can now fetch and deliver files using APIs, allowing end users to preview or download them right inside the chat.

Learn more about webhooks: Introduction to Webhook Block in GC

What is the File Response Type?   

The File response type allows your chatbot to receive files from external systems through an API and present them to the end user within the conversation. This feature is ideal for cases where your bot needs to display or provide access to dynamic files such as:
  1. PDF invoices or reports
  2. Images or media files
  3. Documents like tickets or receipts
Instead of just showing data in text form, your bot can now handle real file responses for a more engaging chat experience.

When a file is received through the webhook, it is shared with the user as a downloadable link within the chat. Clicking the link will open the file in a new page, where the user can preview or download it based on the file type.
 

Why use the File Response Type?   

Use the File response type when your API returns a file that should be displayed or made available for download during a chat. It helps you:
  1. Deliver real-time files such as receipts, reports, or attachments
  2. Improve user experience by allowing previews and downloads within chat
  3. Fetch dynamic content directly from APIs without manual uploads

How to configure   

You can enable this feature in the Webhook block when you set the HTTP Method to GET.
Here’s how it works step by step:
  1. In the Webhook block, select Response type: File.
  2. Once selected:
    1. The Formatter field will be hidden automatically.
    2. The Response field will display a prefilled Status Code and Variable Name for you to choose from.
    3. The Data type field will have File selected by default.
  3. If you switch the Response type between JSON and File, the entered values in the Response field will be cleared.
    1. The Add Responses option will not be available in this mode.
    2. You can still enable the Multi-Path option for branching logic.
 

Server-side limits 

To maintain performance and security, the following limits apply when handling file downloads through webhooks:

Maximum file size: 14 MB

Category
Supported File Types
Images
BMP, GIF, JPEG, JPG, PNG, TIFF, HEIF, HEIC
Audio
WAV, VND.WAVE, MPEG, MP3, X-AIFF, OGG, VORBIS
Video
MPEG, MP4, APPLICATION/MP4, QUICKTIME, M4V, X-M4V, X-MATROSKA, X-MSVIDEO, 3GPP
Documents
PDF, MSWORD, X-MSOFFICE, VND.OPENXMLFORMATS-OFFICEDOCUMENT.WORDPROCESSINGML.DOCUMENT, X-OOXML
Others
PLAIN, ZIP, HTML, VND.MS-EXCEL, VND.MS-POWERPOINT, CSV, XML
  

Best practices   

  1. Ensure your API endpoint returns a valid file response (for example, a PDF, image, or document stream).
  2. Use the File response type only with GET methods.
  3. Check that the file type and size meet the supported limits.
  4. If your API provides both JSON data and a file, use separate Webhook blocks for each response type.
  5. Test the setup to confirm that files appear correctly in the Display Message block.
 

Benefits of supporting File Response   

  1. Makes conversations more interactive and useful
  2. Saves time by automatically fetching files instead of linking to external sources
  3. Enhances customer experience with instant previews and downloads