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Facebook Messenger Integration

Connect your AI assistant to Facebook Messenger for automated customer conversations.

Requirements at a Glance

  • Active Facebook Business Page
  • Admin access to the Page
  • Messaging enabled in Page settings

What You Get

Automated Responses

Your AI assistant responds to Messenger conversations on your Facebook Page.

24/7 Availability

Handle customer inquiries around the clock without additional staffing.

Unified Inbox

All Messenger conversations appear in your Functional AI dashboard.

Requirements

Requirement Details
Facebook Page Active Facebook Business Page
Page role Admin access to the Page
Functional AI Active account with configured assistant

Setting Up the Integration

Step 1: Prepare Your Facebook Page

  1. Ensure you have a Facebook Business Page
  2. Verify you have admin access
  3. Enable messaging on your Page settings

Step 2: Connect in Functional AI

  1. Go to Integrations or Social in your dashboard
  2. Find Facebook Messenger integration
  3. Click Connect

Step 3: Authorize with Facebook

You'll be redirected to Facebook's OAuth authorization flow. This secure process lets you grant Functional AI access to manage Messenger conversations on your Facebook Page.

Understanding the Permissions

Permission Why We Need It What We Can Do What We Can't Do
pages_messaging To read and send messages View incoming messages, send replies Post on your Page or access other Page content
pages_manage_metadata To access Page information Get Page name, ID, and basic info Change Page settings or roles
pages_read_engagement To read comments (if enabled) View comments on your posts Delete comments or moderate content

Page-Level Permissions

Messenger permissions are tied to your Facebook Page. You must be an admin of the Page to connect it.

Authorization Steps

  1. You'll be redirected to Facebook's authorization screen
  2. Log in to your Facebook account (if not already logged in)
  3. Select the Facebook Page(s) you want to connect
  4. Review the permissions requested
  5. Click Continue to grant permissions
  6. Confirm the Page selection
What happens behind the scenes 
sequenceDiagram
    participant User
    participant FunctionalAI
    participant Facebook
    participant Messenger

    User->>FunctionalAI: Click "Connect Messenger"
    FunctionalAI->>Facebook: Redirect to OAuth with scopes
    Facebook->>User: Show Page selection & permissions
    User->>Facebook: Select Page & approve
    Facebook->>FunctionalAI: Return authorization code
    FunctionalAI->>Facebook: Exchange code for Page access token
    Facebook->>FunctionalAI: Return long-lived token
    FunctionalAI->>Messenger: Subscribe to webhook events
    Messenger->>FunctionalAI: Confirm webhook subscription
    FunctionalAI->>User: Connection successful

Token Management: - Long-lived Page access token (60+ days) - Automatic token refresh - Encrypted storage (Fernet) - Webhook verification (HMAC-SHA256)

Step 4: Configure Settings

After connecting:

  1. Select which assistant handles Messenger
  2. Enable chat webhooks
  3. Set response delay (optional)
  4. Save settings

Configuration Options

Basic Settings

Setting Description
Enable chat webhooks Toggle auto-responses
Assistant Select responding assistant
Response delay Add delay before responding

Response Delay

Configure natural timing:

  • Instant: Immediate response
  • Short (5-15 sec): Brief pause
  • Medium (15-30 sec): More natural
  • Long (30-60 sec): Very human-like

Advanced Options

Option Description
Greeting message First message users see
Away message Response when disabled
Escalation keywords Words that flag for human review

Best Practices

Assistant Instructions

Optimize for Messenger conversations:

You are the customer support assistant for [Brand] on Facebook Messenger.

Communication style:
- Friendly and conversational
- Keep messages concise
- Use short paragraphs
- Respond to one question at a time

You can help with:
- Product information
- Order status inquiries
- General questions about [Brand]

If you can't help:
- Acknowledge the limitation
- Offer to connect them with a human
- Provide alternative contact: support@example.com

Conversation Design

Do: - Keep messages short (under 320 characters ideal) - Break long responses into multiple messages - Use friendly, conversational tone - Provide clear next steps

Don't: - Send walls of text - Use overly formal language - Ignore the conversational context - Spam with promotional content

Managing Conversations

Viewing Messenger Messages

  1. Go to Conversations
  2. Filter by Messenger channel
  3. View all conversation threads

Manual Replies

For conversations needing personal attention:

  1. Open the conversation
  2. Review the full thread
  3. Type your reply
  4. Send

Handling Escalations

Set up automatic flagging: - Customer frustration signals - Specific keywords - Request for human

See Channel Rules.

Message Flow

User messages your Page
        ↓
Facebook sends webhook
        ↓
AI assistant processes message
        ↓
Response sent via Messenger
        ↓
User receives reply
        ↓
Logged in dashboard

Attachments

Receiving Attachments

When users send you files, images, or videos via Messenger:

  • We display them in your Conversations dashboard
  • Media remains hosted on Meta's servers (we store a link)
  • Attachments may expire over time as Meta manages their CDN

Supported incoming types: Images, videos, audio, files, stickers

24-Hour Window & Attachment Expiration

You can only send free-form messages within 24 hours of the user's last message. Messenger media links may also expire over time.

Sending Attachments

When replying manually from the Conversations dashboard:

Message Type Supported Attachments
DMs Images, videos, audio, files
Page Comments Text only (no attachments)

Messenger has broader file support than Instagram - you can send documents, PDFs, and other file types in DMs.

AI and Attachments

The AI assistant is aware when users send media but cannot analyze image, video, or document contents. Consider training your assistant to:

  • Acknowledge when files are received
  • Ask clarifying questions about the content
  • Offer human support for document reviews

Platform Guidelines

Facebook's Policies

  • Standard messaging: Respond within 24 hours
  • Message tags: Required for messages outside 24-hour window
  • Content: Follow Facebook Community Standards
  • Automated: Follow Facebook's automation policies

Response Window

You can respond freely within 24 hours of user's last message. After that, limited message types are allowed.

Webhook troubleshooting

Facebook Messenger uses webhooks to notify us of new messages in real-time.

Common Issues:

Symptom Likely Cause Solution
No webhooks arriving Subscription not active Reconnect Messenger account
Webhooks delayed Facebook platform lag Check Facebook Status
Some messages missing Rate limit hit Reduce message volume
Signature verification fails App secret mismatch Reconnect integration

Webhook Events: - messages, messaging_postbacks, message_deliveries, message_reads

Security: - Signature verification (HMAC-SHA256) - Duplicate prevention (5-minute window) - Rate limiting (100 webhooks/user/minute)

Troubleshooting

Quick Diagnostics

Problem Check Fix
Can't connect Admin of Page? Messenger enabled? Verify admin access and Page settings
No messages Webhooks active? Page published? Check integration settings, reconnect
No responses Within 24 hours? Assistant public? Check timestamp, make assistant public

Standard Messaging Window

You can send free-form messages within 24 hours of the user's last message.

Detailed connection troubleshooting

Can't Connect:

  • Admin access to Facebook Page
  • Messenger enabled on Page
  • Page is published (not unpublished)
  • No restrictions on Page

Steps: 1. Facebook Page > Settings > Page Roles (verify admin) 2. Page Settings > Messaging (ensure enabled) 3. Clear previous authorizations: Facebook Settings > Business Integrations 4. Try connecting from different browser

Messages not appearing
  1. Send test message to your Page (should appear within 5-10 seconds)
  2. Check integration settings for error badges
  3. Verify Page Messenger settings: "Allow people to contact my Page privately" is ON
  4. Check Facebook platform status
Responses not sending

24-Hour Window Check: - Calculate time since user's last message - If > 24 hours: Cannot send free-form message - If < 24 hours: Check other issues

Common Issues: - Private assistant → Make assistant public - No assistant selected → Select in integration settings - Invalid token → Reconnect Messenger - Page unpublished → Publish the Page - Test manually in dashboard to isolate issue

Privacy Considerations

Data Handling

  • Follow Facebook's data policies
  • Inform users about AI assistance
  • Provide human escalation path

User Experience

Consider adding to your Page: - Information that AI assists with messages - Hours for human support - Alternative contact methods

Testing

Before Launch

  1. Test from a personal account
  2. Send various message types
  3. Verify responses are appropriate
  4. Check dashboard logging

Quality Assurance

  1. Review conversations regularly
  2. Identify common issues
  3. Refine assistant instructions
  4. Monitor response quality

Multiple Pages

If you manage multiple Facebook Pages:

  1. Each Page can be connected separately
  2. Different assistants can handle different Pages
  3. All conversations aggregate in your dashboard
  4. Filter by Page in Conversations view

Next Steps