Rich content

This page documents ABL’s rich content output formats: voice configuration, format-specific content (Markdown, Adaptive Cards, HTML, Slack, WhatsApp), carousels, interactive actions, feedback surveys, and reusable templates. For the expression language (operators, functions, {{}} interpolation syntax), see Expressions and functions.

ABL supports multi-format output for delivering responses across different channels (web, mobile, voice, messaging platforms). The VOICE:, RICH_CONTENT:, and ACTIONS: blocks can be attached to any RESPOND statement, COMPLETE condition, or lifecycle handler. A pure reasoning agent (no FLOW:) may also declare top-level RICH_CONTENT: and ACTIONS: blocks that attach to its generated responses.

Overview

A single response can include:

Plain text — the default RESPOND string.
Voice configuration — SSML markup or natural language voice instructions.
Rich content — Markdown, Adaptive Cards, HTML, Slack Block Kit, WhatsApp, or AG-UI.
Carousels — scrollable card collections with images and buttons.
Interactive actions — buttons, select menus, and input fields.
Templates — reusable named response definitions with interpolation.

The runtime selects the appropriate format based on the delivery channel.

Voice configuration

Voice configuration provides channel-specific voice output. The VOICE: block can appear alongside any RESPOND.

Syntax

RESPOND: "Your booking is confirmed for December 15th."
VOICE:
  ssml: |
    <speak>
      Your booking is confirmed for <say-as interpret-as="date" format="mdy">12/15/2025</say-as>.
    </speak>
  instructions: "Speak in a warm, congratulatory tone"
  plain_text: "Your booking is confirmed for December fifteenth."

Voice properties

Property	Type	Required	Default	Description
`provider`	`string`	No	—	TTS provider (for example. `elevenlabs`, `google`, `azure`, `openai`).
`voice_id`	`string`	No	—	Provider-specific voice identifier.
`speed`	`number`	No	`1.0`	Speech-rate multiplier (`1.0` = normal).
`ssml`	`string`	No	—	W3C SSML markup for TTS engines (Google, Azure, Amazon Polly).
`instructions`	`string`	No	—	Natural language voice style instructions (OpenAI Realtime, Gemini Live).
`plain_text`	`string`	No	—	Voice-optimized plaintext. Used by ElevenLabs and as a fallback for all engines.
`pace`	`number`	No	—	Numeric speaking-rate multiplier (authoring alias for speed/pace controls).
`temperature`	`number`	No	—	Provider-specific TTS sampling/variation control.
`auto_tts_language_switch`	`boolean`	No	—	Switch the TTS voice/model to match the detected language of the response.

SSML example

VOICE:
  ssml: |
    <speak>
      <prosody rate="slow" pitch="+2st">
        Your wire transfer of <say-as interpret-as="currency">$50,000 USD</say-as>
        has been executed.
      </prosody>
      <break time="500ms"/>
      The confirmation number is
      <say-as interpret-as="characters">WR-2024-88431</say-as>.
    </speak>

Natural language instructions

For voice platforms that accept style instructions rather than SSML:

VOICE:
  instructions: "Speak slowly and clearly, emphasizing the confirmation number. Use a professional but warm tone."

Rich content formats

The rich-content block provides format-specific variants of a response. The runtime selects the variant matching the delivery channel.

RICH_CONTENT: is the canonical block keyword; FORMATS: is the original spelling, kept as an accepted alias. The .agent.yaml format accepts rich_content: or formats: the same way. Most places a rich-content block is authored — directly under a RESPOND: (in a flow step, ON_START, HOOKS:, or an ON_ACTION/ON_ERROR handler), in a tool’s on_result:/on_error: action block, and in a COMPLETE: condition (including one with no RESPOND: at all) — accept either spelling interchangeably.

Syntax

RESPOND: "Here are your flight options."
FORMATS:
  MARKDOWN: |
    ## Flight Options
    | Flight | Departure | Arrival | Price |
    |--------|-----------|---------|-------|
    | AA 142 | 8:00 AM   | 11:30 AM | $349 |
    | UA 891 | 10:15 AM  | 1:45 PM  | $289 |

  ADAPTIVE_CARD: |
    {
      "type": "AdaptiveCard",
      "body": [
        {"type": "TextBlock", "text": "Flight Options", "size": "large"}
      ]
    }

  HTML: |
    <div class="flight-results">
      <h2>Flight Options</h2>
      <table>...</table>
    </div>

  SLACK: |
    {
      "blocks": [
        {"type": "header", "text": {"type": "plain_text", "text": "Flight Options"}}
      ]
    }

Rich content properties

Rich content supports two kinds of properties. Channel-specific string formats carry a payload written for one channel. Structured template formats define content once, and the runtime renders it for each channel. Channel-specific string formats:

Property	Type	Required	Default	Description
`MARKDOWN`	`string`	No	—	Formatted markdown text.
`ADAPTIVE_CARD`	`string`	No	—	JSON string conforming to the Microsoft Adaptive Cards schema.
`HTML`	`string`	No	—	HTML content for web-based channels.
`SLACK`	`string`	No	—	JSON string conforming to the Slack Block Kit format.
`AG_UI`	`string`	No	—	JSON string for AG-UI / CopilotKit events.
`WHATSAPP`	`string`	No	—	JSON string for WhatsApp interactive messages.

Structured template formats (channel-neutral; the runtime renders them per channel): Structured templates describe content as data, such as a carousel, table, or chart. The runtime converts each template to the native format of the target channel. Templates fall into two groups: basic templates for simple display, and data-rich templates for structured data. Basic templates — display-only, no aggregation or layout options beyond their own items:

Property	Type	Description
`CAROUSEL`	`object`	Scrollable card collection. See Carousels.
`QUICK_REPLIES`	`array`	Quick-reply chips: each `{ id, label, iconUrl? }`. See Quick replies.
`LIST`	`object`	`{ title?, items: [{ title, subtitle?, imageUrl?, defaultActionUrl? }] }`. See Lists.
`IMAGE`	`object`	`{ url, alt?, thumbnailUrl?, caption? }`. See Media.
`VIDEO`	`object`	`{ url, alt?, thumbnailUrl?, caption? }`. See Media.
`AUDIO`	`object`	`{ url, alt?, thumbnailUrl?, caption? }`. See Media.
`FILE`	`object`	`{ url, filename, sizeBytes?, mimeType? }`. See Files.

Data-rich templates — designed to present structured/tabular data, with extra options like adaptive narrowing:

Property	Type	Description
`KPI`	`object`	`{ label, value, unit?, trend?: up/down/flat, iconUrl? }`. See KPIs.
`TABLE`	`object`	`{ columns: [{ key, header, align?: left/center/right }], rows, maxVisibleRows? }`. See Tables.
`CHART`	`object`	`{ type: bar/line/pie, title?, data: [{ label, value, color? }] }`. See Charts.
`FORM`	`object`	`{ title?, fields: [ActionElement], submitLabel? }`. See Forms.
`PROGRESS`	`object`	`{ label?, value, max?, variant?: bar/circle }`. See Progress.
`FEEDBACK`	`object`	Rating/feedback survey. `{ FEEDBACK_TEMPLATE?, prompt, type: thumbs/star/scale, max?, submit_label?, pending_message?, success_message?, error_message?, comment_threshold?, comment_prompt?, comment_placeholder?, when?, <field>_rules? }`. See FEEDBACK surveys.

Named templates (in the TEMPLATES: block) may also declare a RENDERABLES: list — customer-owned structured payloads with name, payload, optional targets (api/sdk_websocket/http_async), fallbackText, and schemaRef. Several structured templates also support collection binding — from:/template: — to render one entry per array item; see Collection binding for exactly which ones.

Template modifiers

Two cross-cutting modifiers apply to structured templates:

when — a conditional render guard (expression). On an agent-level rich-content block, the template renders only when the expression is truthy at reasoning finalization. Available on the rich-content block and on each structured template. See Expressions and functions for expression syntax.
adaptive — on LIST, KPI, and TABLE templates whose items/rows are bound to a tool variable, set adaptive: true to let the reasoning agent narrow which items/rows/columns render for the user’s request.

Collection binding

Several structured templates have an array-valued property — CAROUSEL.cards, QUICK_REPLIES itself, LIST.items, TABLE.columns and TABLE.rows, CHART.data, and FORM.fields. Each of these accepts three forms:

A literal array — write the items directly, as shown in every static example on this page.
A from/template binding — resolve the array from a session variable at render time, and render one entry per array item:
data: from: "{{tool_result.output.sectors}}" # or bare, without {{ }}: tool_result.output.sectors template: label: "{{name}}" value: "{{percentage}}"
from names the session/tool-result path holding the array (the {{ }} wrapper is optional — both forms resolve identically). template is applied once per array item; inside it, {{ }} placeholders resolve against that item’s own fields merged over the outer session data — so an item shaped {name: "Equities", percentage: 45} is referenced as {{name}}/{{percentage}}, not {{item.name}}. If an array element isn’t an object (a bare number or string), it’s exposed as {{value}} instead.
A bare string reference — when the tool result is already shaped exactly like the target items (for example, a tool that already returns {label, value, color} objects for a chart), skip template: entirely:
data: "{{tool_result.output.pre_shaped_points}}"

template is optional within a from binding — a binding with only from behaves like the bare-string form above, applied to the resolved array. options on a select-type action element (used inside FORM.fields and ACTIONS) is itself collection-bound the same way, so a select’s options list can also be tool-driven.

Carousels

Carousels display a horizontal scrollable collection of cards, each with a title, subtitle, image, and action buttons.

Syntax

FORMATS:
  CAROUSEL:
    - title: "Economy Class"
      subtitle: "$289 - UA 891"
      imageUrl: "https://cdn.example.com/economy.jpg"
      defaultActionUrl: "https://booking.example.com/ua891"
      buttons:
        - id: select_economy
          type: button
          label: "Select"
          value: "ua891_economy"

    - title: "Business Class"
      subtitle: "$1,249 - UA 891"
      imageUrl: "https://cdn.example.com/business.jpg"
      buttons:
        - id: select_business
          type: button
          label: "Select"
          value: "ua891_business"

Carousel card properties

Property	Type	Required	Default	Description
`title`	`string`	Yes	—	Card title.
`subtitle`	`string`	No	—	Card subtitle or description.
`imageUrl`	`string`	No	—	URL for the card image.
`defaultActionUrl`	`string`	No	—	URL opened when the card itself is tapped.
`buttons`	`array`	No	—	Action buttons. See Interactive actions.

CAROUSEL also accepts a when render guard, and cards supports collection binding — resolve the cards from a tool result instead of writing them statically:

FORMATS:
  CAROUSEL:
    when: hotel_results.length > 0
    from: "{{search_result.output.hotels}}"
    template:
      title: "{{name}}"
      subtitle: "{{price_display}}"
      imageUrl: "{{photo_url}}"

Quick replies

Quick-reply chips give the user a small set of one-tap responses.

Syntax

RESPOND: "Would you like to proceed?"
FORMATS:
  QUICK_REPLIES:
    - id: yes
      label: "Yes, proceed"
    - id: no
      label: "No, cancel"

Quick reply properties

Property	Type	Required	Default	Description
`id`	`string`	Yes	—	Value posted back when the chip is tapped.
`label`	`string`	Yes	—	Chip display text.
`iconUrl`	`string`	No	—	Optional icon shown on the chip.

QUICK_REPLIES itself supports collection binding — the whole list can come from from/template — but, unlike the other structured templates, it has no when guard: the property is the raw collection, with no wrapping object to hang a render guard on.

Lists

A vertical list of items, each with an optional subtitle, image, and tap action.

Syntax

FORMATS:
  LIST:
    title: "Nearby Branches"
    items:
      - title: "Downtown Branch"
        subtitle: "0.4 miles away — open until 6 PM"
        imageUrl: "https://cdn.example.com/downtown.jpg"
        defaultActionUrl: "https://maps.example.com/downtown"
      - title: "Uptown Branch"
        subtitle: "1.2 miles away — open until 5 PM"

List properties

Property	Type	Required	Default	Description
`when`	`string`	No	—	Conditional render guard. See Template modifiers.
`adaptive`	`boolean`	No	`false`	Let the reasoning agent narrow which items render. See Template modifiers.
`title`	`string`	No	—	List heading.
`items`	`array`	Yes	—	List items. Supports collection binding.

List item properties

Property	Type	Required	Default	Description
`title`	`string`	Yes	—	Item title.
`subtitle`	`string`	No	—	Item subtitle or description.
`imageUrl`	`string`	No	—	URL for the item’s image.
`defaultActionUrl`	`string`	No	—	URL opened when the item itself is tapped.

Dynamic example — one list item per branch a tool returns:

FORMATS:
  LIST:
    title: "Nearby Branches"
    items:
      from: "{{search_result.output.branches}}"
      template:
        title: "{{branch_name}}"
        subtitle: "{{distance_label}}"

Media (image, video, audio)

IMAGE, VIDEO, and AUDIO share an identical shape — a single media item, not a collection.

Syntax

FORMATS:
  IMAGE:
    url: "https://cdn.example.com/receipt-12345.png"
    alt: "Payment receipt"
    caption: "Your receipt for confirmation #12345"

Media properties

Property	Type	Required	Default	Description
`when`	`string`	No	—	Conditional render guard. See Template modifiers.
`url`	`string`	Yes	—	Media URL.
`alt`	`string`	No	—	Accessibility text (also used as a text fallback where media can’t render).
`thumbnailUrl`	`string`	No	—	Preview thumbnail, mainly for `VIDEO`/`AUDIO`.
`caption`	`string`	No	—	Caption shown alongside the media.

IMAGE/VIDEO/AUDIO are each a single object — there’s no array, so collection binding doesn’t apply here. To show several images, use a LIST or CAROUSEL instead.

Files

A downloadable file attachment.

Syntax

FORMATS:
  FILE:
    url: "https://cdn.example.com/statements/2026-08.pdf"
    filename: "August_2026_Statement.pdf"
    sizeBytes: 184320
    mimeType: "application/pdf"

File properties

Property	Type	Required	Default	Description
`when`	`string`	No	—	Conditional render guard. See Template modifiers.
`url`	`string`	Yes	—	File URL.
`filename`	`string`	Yes	—	Display filename.
`sizeBytes`	`number`	No	—	File size in bytes, shown to the user.
`mimeType`	`string`	No	—	MIME type, used to pick a file-type icon.

KPIs

A single metric tile — a label, a value, and an optional trend indicator.

Syntax

FORMATS:
  KPI:
    label: "Account Balance"
    value: 12450.75
    unit: "USD"
    trend: up

KPI properties

Property	Type	Required	Default	Description
`when`	`string`	No	—	Conditional render guard. See Template modifiers.
`adaptive`	`boolean`	No	`false`	Let the reasoning agent select this KPI among other `adaptive` templates. See Template modifiers.
`label`	`string`	Yes	—	Metric label.
`value`	`string` \| `number`	Yes	—	Metric value.
`unit`	`string`	No	—	Unit suffix (for example `"USD"`, `"%"`).
`trend`	`"up"` \| `"down"` \| `"flat"`	No	—	Trend indicator.
`iconUrl`	`string`	No	—	Icon shown on the tile.

KPI is a single value, not an array — there’s no collection binding here (that’s what distinguishes it from TABLE/LIST/CHART). To show multiple KPIs, author multiple KPI blocks or use a TABLE.

Tables

Columns and rows for tabular data.

Syntax

FORMATS:
  TABLE:
    columns:
      - key: date
        header: "Date"
      - key: description
        header: "Description"
      - key: amount
        header: "Amount"
        align: right
    rows:
      - date: "2026-09-01"
        description: "Direct deposit"
        amount: "$2,450.00"
      - date: "2026-09-03"
        description: "Grocery store"
        amount: "-$86.20"
    maxVisibleRows: 10

Table properties

Property	Type	Required	Default	Description
`when`	`string`	No	—	Conditional render guard. See Template modifiers.
`adaptive`	`boolean`	No	`false`	Let the reasoning agent narrow which rows/columns render. See Template modifiers.
`columns`	`array`	Yes	—	Column definitions. Supports collection binding.
`rows`	`array`	Yes	—	Row data — each row an object keyed by column `key`. Supports collection binding, independently of `columns`.
`maxVisibleRows`	`number`	No	—	Rows shown before the client truncates/paginates.

Table column properties

Property	Type	Required	Default	Description
`key`	`string`	Yes	—	Row property this column reads.
`header`	`string`	Yes	—	Column header text.
`align`	`"left"` \| `"center"` \| `"right"`	No	`left`	Column text alignment.

Dynamic example — columns declared statically, rows bound to a tool result (the two bindings are independent, so it’s common to declare columns statically and bind only rows):

FORMATS:
  TABLE:
    columns:
      - key: date
        header: "Date"
      - key: description
        header: "Description"
      - key: amount
        header: "Amount"
        align: right
    rows:
      from: "{{transactions_result.output.items}}"
      template:
        date: "{{posted_date}}"
        description: "{{merchant_name}}"
        amount: "{{formatted_amount}}"

Charts

Pie, bar, or line charts, rendered as SVG on channels that support them.

Currently, charts render on the Web SDK only. Color is optional — the SDK provides a default palette for dynamic charts.

Syntax

RESPOND: "Here is the allocation:"
FORMATS:
  CHART:
    type: pie
    title: "Portfolio Allocation"
    data:
      - label: "Equities"
        value: 45
        color: "#4f46e5"
      - label: "Bonds"
        value: 25
        color: "#06b6d4"
      - label: "Cash"
        value: 10
        color: "#10b981"

Chart properties

Property	Type	Required	Default	Description
`when`	`string`	No	—	Conditional render guard. See Template modifiers.
`type`	`"pie"` \| `"bar"` \| `"line"`	Yes	—	Chart type.
`title`	`string`	No	—	Chart title.
`data`	`array`	Yes	—	Data points. Supports collection binding.

Chart data point properties

Property	Type	Required	Default	Description
`label`	`string`	Yes	—	Data point label (category / x-axis value).
`value`	`string` \| `number`	Yes	—	Data point value.
`color`	`string`	No	—	Optional hex color for this data point/slice.

Dynamic example — one data point per array item a tool returns:

RESPOND: "Portfolio for {{investor_id}}:"
FORMATS:
  CHART:
    type: pie
    title: "Allocation — {{investor_id}}"
    data:
      from: "{{tool_result.output.sectors}}"
      template:
        label: "{{name}}"
        value: "{{percentage}}"

Interactive actions

Interactive actions add buttons, select menus, and input fields to a response. Users interact with these elements, and the agent handles the interactions via ON_ACTION blocks.

Syntax

RESPOND: "How would you like to proceed?"
ACTIONS:
  - id: confirm_wire
    type: button
    label: "Confirm Wire"
    value: "confirmed"

  - id: modify_amount
    type: button
    label: "Modify Amount"
    value: "modify"

  - id: cancel
    type: button
    label: "Cancel"
    value: "cancelled"

Action element properties

Property	Type	Required	Default	Description
`id`	`string`	Yes	—	Unique action identifier. Referenced in `ON_ACTION` handlers.
`type`	`string`	Yes	—	Element type: `button`, `select`, or `input`.
`label`	`string`	Yes	—	Display label.
`value`	`string`	No	—	Hidden value sent when the user interacts with this element.
`url`	`string`	No	—	For `button` type only: clicking opens this link instead of posting the value back to the agent. (Aliases: `link`, `web_url`.)
`description`	`string`	No	—	Subtitle or help text (for list items).
`options`	`array`	No	—	Options for `select` type. Each has `id`, `label`, `description`.
`inputType`	`string`	No	—	Input type for `input` elements: `text`, `number`, `date`, `time`, `email`.
`placeholder`	`string`	No	—	Placeholder text for `input` elements.
`required`	`boolean`	No	—	Whether the input is required before submission.

Select element example

ACTIONS:
  - id: select_account
    type: select
    label: "Choose Account"
    options:
      - id: checking
        label: "Checking ****4521"
        description: "Available: $12,340.50"
      - id: savings
        label: "Savings ****8872"
        description: "Available: $45,200.00"

Input element example

ACTIONS:
  - id: amount_input
    type: input
    label: "Transfer Amount"
    inputType: number
    placeholder: "Enter amount"
    required: true

  - id: reference_input
    type: input
    label: "Reference (optional)"
    inputType: text
    placeholder: "Invoice number, memo, etc."
    required: false
  submitLabel: "Submit"
  submitId: "submit_transfer"

Form submission

When the ACTIONS block contains input elements, you can specify a submitLabel and submitId for the form submission button:

Property	Type	Required	Default	Description
`submitLabel`	`string`	No	—	Label for the form submit button.
`submitId`	`string`	No	—	Action ID emitted when the form is submitted.

ON_ACTION handlers

Handle user interactions with action elements in flow steps:

FLOW:
  review_wire:
    RESPOND: "Ready to proceed?"
    ACTIONS:
      - id: confirm
        type: button
        label: "Confirm"
      - id: cancel
        type: button
        label: "Cancel"
    ON_ACTION:
      confirm:
        DO:
          - SET: user_confirmed = true
          - RESPOND: "Executing your wire transfer."
            FORMATS:
              MARKDOWN: "**Executing your wire transfer.**"
          - GOTO: execute_wire_step
      cancel:
        RESPOND: "Wire transfer cancelled."
        GOTO: cleanup

The ON_ACTION handler properties are described below.

Property	Type	Required	Default	Description
`ACTION_ID`	`string`	Yes	—	Which action element triggered this handler.
`CONDITION`	`string`	No	—	Optional condition based on the action value.
`DO`	ordered action list	No	—	Preferred form when order or nested rich `FORMATS:` matters.
`RESPOND`	`string`	No	—	Response message; supports nested `FORMATS:` inside a `DO` action.
`SET`	`Record<string,string>`	No	—	Variable assignments.
`CLEAR`	`string[]`	No	—	Session variables to clear.
`CALL`	`string`	No	—	Tool call; use `AS result_key` to store the result.
`GOTO` / `TRANSITION` / `THEN`	`string`	No	—	Flow step to transition to.
`HANDOFF`	`string`	No	—	Declared handoff target agent.
`DELEGATE`	`string`	No	—	Declared delegate target agent; supports nested `RETURN` and `ON_RETURN`.
`COMPLETE`	`boolean`	No	`true`	Complete the current flow.

If a handler RESPOND includes rich FORMATS: before terminal routing, that payload is forwarded as the fallback final channel payload. The terminal target’s own rich payload takes precedence.

Reusable handlers (`ACTION_HANDLERS:`)

ON_ACTION inside a flow step handles actions for that step only. To define reusable action handlers available across the whole agent, declare a top-level ACTION_HANDLERS: section. Each entry is keyed by the action element id and uses the same grammar as ON_ACTION (an optional CONDITION, shorthand RESPOND/SET/TRANSITION, or a canonical DO: block of ordered actions — SET, CLEAR, LOG, RESPOND, CALL, GOTO/TRANSITION/THEN, HANDOFF, DELEGATE, COMPLETE).

ACTION_HANDLERS:
  open_summary:
    DO:
      - SET: selected_action = "open_summary"
      - RESPOND: TEMPLATE(account_summary)
      - TRANSITION: display_summary

  contact_support:
    CONDITION: user.tier == "premium"
    DO:
      - RESPOND: "Connecting you to premium support."
      - HANDOFF: Support_Agent

Forms

A form groups several action elements — typically input fields, plus a submit control — into one submission.

Syntax

RESPOND: "Let's set up your transfer."
FORMATS:
  FORM:
    title: "Transfer Details"
    fields:
      - id: amount_input
        type: input
        label: "Amount"
        inputType: number
        required: true
      - id: memo_input
        type: input
        label: "Memo (optional)"
        inputType: text
        required: false
    submitLabel: "Continue"

Form properties

Property	Type	Required	Default	Description
`when`	`string`	No	—	Conditional render guard. See Template modifiers.
`title`	`string`	No	—	Form heading.
`fields`	`array`	Yes	—	Form fields — the same shape as action elements (`id`, `type`, `label`, and the rest). Supports collection binding.
`submitLabel`	`string`	No	—	Label for the form’s submit button.

FORM doesn’t have its own submitId — submission is handled the same way as any other ACTIONS form submission; see Form submission and ON_ACTION handlers.

Progress

A progress bar or circle for a single value against a maximum.

Syntax

FORMATS:
  PROGRESS:
    label: "Document verification"
    value: 2
    max: 3
    variant: bar

Progress properties

Property	Type	Required	Default	Description
`when`	`string`	No	—	Conditional render guard. See Template modifiers.
`label`	`string`	No	—	Label shown with the progress indicator.
`value`	`number`	Yes	—	Current progress value.
`max`	`number`	No	—	Maximum value the progress is measured against.
`variant`	`"bar"` \| `"circle"`	No	`bar`	Visual style.

PROGRESS is a single value, not an array — there’s no collection binding here.

FEEDBACK surveys

A FEEDBACK block renders a rating/feedback card. Author it inside a RICH_CONTENT: (or FORMATS:) block.

Inline feedback is deprecated (DEPRECATED_INLINE_FEEDBACK). A FEEDBACK block without a FEEDBACK_TEMPLATE still compiles, but the compiler warns: “Inline feedback is deprecated and will be removed in a future version. Define a survey in the project Surveys area and reference it with FEEDBACK_TEMPLATE.” Prefer referencing a project survey template.

Referencing a survey template

Set FEEDBACK_TEMPLATE to a project survey name. The prompt and type (the survey’s measure) then come from the template, so they become optional here; any copy fields you do set act as per-string overrides (useful for translation):

RICH_CONTENT:
  FEEDBACK:
    FEEDBACK_TEMPLATE: Post_Chat_NPS
    prompt: "How likely are you to recommend us?"   # optional copy override

When a template is named you may not override the measure — type, max, scoring, range, and comment_threshold are owned by the template, and setting them alongside a template is a compile error. Naming a template that doesn’t exist in the project is an error (UNKNOWN_SURVEY_TEMPLATE). expires_after is the one exception to that rule — a numeric answer-window TTL (in seconds) that is overridable per-agent even when a template is referenced:

RICH_CONTENT:
  FEEDBACK:
    FEEDBACK_TEMPLATE: Post_Chat_NPS
    prompt: "How likely are you to recommend us?"
    expires_after: 600    # widen the answer window to 10 minutes for this agent

The effective window is the agent’s expires_after if set, else the template’s own TTL, else a 300-second platform default — clamped to 30–86400 seconds either way. A survey presented to the customer can only be answered within this window; a submission after it expires is rejected.

Inline FEEDBACK (deprecated)

Without a template, prompt and type are required:

Field	Type	Description
`prompt`	`string`	The question (aliases: `question`, `label`).
`type`	`"thumbs"` \| `"star"` \| `"scale"`	Rating measure. `stars` is an accepted alias for `star`.
`max`	`number`	Maximum rating value (for `star`/`scale`).
`submit_label`	`string`	Submit-button label.
`pending_message` / `success_message` / `error_message`	`string`	Status copy.
`comment_prompt` / `comment_placeholder`	`string`	Free-text comment field copy.
`comment_threshold`	`number`	Rating at/below which the comment field is requested.
`when`	`string`	Conditional render guard (expression).

Condition-based wording (`<field>_rules`)

To vary wording by condition — the second way to translate a survey, kept next to the source copy — add a <field>_rules list. Each rule has a when expression and the field’s replacement text (the field key, or the alias value). Rules are ordered, first match wins:

FEEDBACK:
  FEEDBACK_TEMPLATE: Post_Chat_NPS
  prompt: "How likely are you to recommend us?"
  prompt_rules:
    - when: "language == 'es'"
      prompt: "¿Nos recomendaría?"          # or:  value: "¿Nos recomendaría?"
  comment_placeholder_rules:
    - when: "language == 'es'"
      value: "Cuéntenos más..."

Only wording fields accept rules: prompt, submit_label, pending_message, success_message, error_message, comment_prompt, comment_placeholder. There is no type_rules/max_rules — the measure is never rule-selectable.

Copy rules are evaluated before the customer answers, so a when expression may reference max, language, channel, and session (as session.<name>) but not rating. An invalid condition is a compile error (INVALID_SURVEY_CONDITION).

Post-transfer surveys (ESCALATE to a human agent)

When a human agent closes a conversation the bot escalated, the survey card shown on close is resolved from a FEEDBACK block — but that card renders with no bot turn running, so it can’t come from “whichever step the conversation happened to be on.” The platform instead picks one FEEDBACK block to stand for the whole agent:

The agent-level block, if the agent declares one directly under its top-level RICH_CONTENT: (outside any FLOW: step) — this always wins when present.
Otherwise, a FLOW step’s own FEEDBACK block. Both placements compile to the same thing: FEEDBACK nested under a step’s own RICH_CONTENT:, or under that step’s RESPOND:. The platform scans steps in FLOW: order:
- Exactly one step has a FEEDBACK block → that one is used.
- Several steps have a FEEDBACK block, naming the same FEEDBACK_TEMPLATE → treated as the same survey; the first step’s copy/wording wins.
- Several steps have FEEDBACK blocks naming different templates, or any of them is an inline (template-less) block → ambiguous. No post-transfer survey is shown at all, rather than guessing which one you meant.

FLOW:
  collect_card:
    REASONING: false
    RESPOND: "Let me get that taken care of for you."
    RICH_CONTENT:
      FEEDBACK:
        FEEDBACK_TEMPLATE: Post_Transfer_CSAT
    THEN: transfer_to_agent

A FEEDBACK block’s when guard is not evaluated for this purpose — closing the conversation isn’t a turn, and when conditions over turn-scoped values (like input) would never hold outside one. A block nested deeper than the step itself — inside an ON_ACTION handler, a GATHER field, a digression, or a reasoning zone — is never a candidate; only the step’s own RICH_CONTENT:/RESPOND:-level block counts.

The transfer record stays pending after the human agent finishes and only closes once the survey is answered or its answer window (expires_after) runs out — whichever happens first. The resulting rating is stored with the survey template, the escalating agent’s name, and its version, so it appears correctly scoped in that survey’s Feedback Insights.

Templates

Templates are named, reusable response definitions declared in the TEMPLATES: block. They support {{}} interpolation and multi-format variants.

Syntax

TEMPLATES:
  wire_confirmation:
    DEFAULT: |
      **Wire Confirmation -- {{confirmation_number}}**
      From: ****{{source_last4}} | To: {{beneficiary_name}}
      Amount: {{amount}} {{currency}} | Fees: {{fees}} | Total: {{total_debit}}
      Status: {{status}} | ETA: {{estimated_arrival}}
    MARKDOWN: |
      ## Wire Transfer Confirmation
      | Field | Value |
      |-------|-------|
      | Confirmation | {{confirmation_number}} |
      | Amount | {{amount}} {{currency}} |
      | Status | {{status}} |

  fee_breakdown:
    DEFAULT: |
      **Fee Breakdown for {{transfer_type}} wire**
      Wire fee: {{wire_fee}} {{currency}}
      {{#if intermediary_fee}}Intermediary fee: {{intermediary_fee}} {{currency}}{{/if}}
      **Total fees: {{total_fees}} {{currency}}**

Template properties

Property	Type	Required	Default	Description
`name`	`string`	Yes	—	Template name (the YAML key). Referenced via `TEMPLATE(name)`.
`DEFAULT`	`string`	Yes	—	Default template body with `{{}}` interpolation.
`MARKDOWN`	`string`	No	—	Markdown variant.
`ADAPTIVE_CARD`	`string`	No	—	Adaptive Card JSON variant.
`ACTIONS`	`object`	No	—	Interactive actions attached to this template.
`VOICE`	`object`	No	—	Voice (TTS) overrides for this template. Same shape as Voice configuration.
`RENDERABLES`	`object[]`	No	—	Customer-owned structured payload contracts (`name`, `payload`, `targets`, `fallbackText`, `schemaRef`).

Referencing templates

Use TEMPLATE(name) in any RESPOND value:

RESPOND: TEMPLATE(wire_confirmation)

Template interpolation

Template bodies use the same {{variable_name}} interpolation and {{#if variable}}...{{/if}} conditional-section syntax as any other ABL string — see Template strings in Expressions and functions for the full syntax, including calling built-in functions inside {{}}.

DEFAULT: |
  Hello, {{customer_name}}.
  {{#if has_loyalty}}Your loyalty tier: {{loyalty_tier}}.{{/if}}
  How can I help you today?

Channel selection

The runtime selects the response format based on the delivery channel.

Channel	Priority format	Fallback
Web/SDK	`RICH_CONTENT` (Markdown, HTML, AG-UI)	Plain text
Mobile	`RICH_CONTENT` (Adaptive Card, Carousel)	Plain text
Voice	`VOICE` (SSML, instructions, plain_text)	RESPOND text
Slack	`RICH_CONTENT` (SLACK)	Markdown
WhatsApp	`RICH_CONTENT` (WHATSAPP)	Plain text

If the preferred format isn’t available, the runtime falls back through the priority chain until it finds a defined format. Plain text (RESPOND) is always the final fallback.

Related articles:

Expressions and functions — operators, built-in functions, {{}} template-string syntax, and type coercion rules
Lifecycle and hooks — ON_START and hooks that support rich content
Multi-Agent and supervisor — COMPLETE conditions with rich responses
Data Types and utilities — types used in rich content and template fields

​Rich content

​Overview

​Voice configuration

​Syntax

​Voice properties

​SSML example

​Natural language instructions

​Rich content formats

​Syntax

​Rich content properties

​Template modifiers

​Collection binding

​Carousels

​Syntax

​Carousel card properties

​Quick replies

​Syntax

​Quick reply properties

​Lists

​Syntax

​List properties

​List item properties

​Media (image, video, audio)

​Syntax

​Media properties

​Files

​Syntax

​File properties

​KPIs

​Syntax

​KPI properties

​Tables

​Syntax

​Table properties

​Table column properties

​Charts

​Syntax

​Chart properties

​Chart data point properties

​Interactive actions

​Syntax

​Action element properties

​Select element example

​Input element example

​Form submission

​ON_ACTION handlers

​Reusable handlers (ACTION_HANDLERS:)

​Forms

​Syntax

​Form properties

​Progress

​Syntax

​Progress properties

​FEEDBACK surveys

​Referencing a survey template

​Inline FEEDBACK (deprecated)

​Condition-based wording (<field>_rules)

​Post-transfer surveys (ESCALATE to a human agent)

​Templates

​Syntax

​Template properties

​Referencing templates

​Template interpolation

​Channel selection

Rich content

Overview

Voice configuration

Syntax

Voice properties

SSML example

Natural language instructions

Rich content formats

Syntax

Rich content properties

Template modifiers

Collection binding

Carousels

Syntax

Carousel card properties

Quick replies

Syntax

Quick reply properties

Lists

Syntax

List properties

List item properties

Media (image, video, audio)

Syntax

Media properties

Files

Syntax

File properties

KPIs

Syntax

KPI properties

Tables

Syntax

Table properties

Table column properties

Charts

Syntax

Chart properties

Chart data point properties

Interactive actions

Syntax

Action element properties

Select element example

Input element example

Form submission

ON_ACTION handlers

Reusable handlers (`ACTION_HANDLERS:`)

Forms

Syntax

Form properties

Progress

Syntax

Progress properties

FEEDBACK surveys

Referencing a survey template

Inline FEEDBACK (deprecated)

Condition-based wording (`<field>_rules`)

Post-transfer surveys (ESCALATE to a human agent)

Templates

Syntax

Template properties

Referencing templates

Template interpolation

Channel selection