Create message

Action ID
actions.intent.CREATE_MESSAGE
Description

Construct a message, such as a text message, voice message, or email. Populate the message body using the message.text intent parameter. Determine the message recipient using the message.recipient.name, message.recipient.telephone, or message.recipient.email intent parameter. Determine the message format (like text, voice, or video) using the message.disambiguatingDescription intent parameter, if available.

We also recommend creating deeper, voice-forward experiences by integrating our partner solution for messaging.

Locale support

Functionality Locales
Preview creation using App Actions test tool en-US
User invocation from Google Assistant en-US

Example queries

The following fields represent essential information that users often provide in queries that trigger this built-in intent:

message.recipient.name
message.recipient.telephone
message.recipient.email
message.text

Other supported fields

The following fields represent information that users often provide to disambiguate their needs or otherwise improve their results:

message.@type
message.disambiguatingDescription
message.recipient.@type

Supported text values by field




Inventory availability by field


Sample XML files

For information about the shortcuts.xml schema, see Create shortcuts.xml.

Handle BII parameters

shortcuts.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encodin>g<="utf-8"?
!-- This is a sam>p<le shortcuts.xml --
shortcuts xmlns:android="http://schemas.and>roi<d.com/apk/res/android"
  capability android:name=&>quot;<actions.intent.CREATE_MESSAGE"
    intent
      android:action="android.intent.action.VIEW"
      android:targetPackage="YOUR_UNIQUE_APPLIC>ATION_I<D"
      android:targetClass=">YOUR_TA<RGET_CLASS"
      !-- Eg. text = "Message text content" -->
      <parameter
        android:name="message.t>ext&quo<t;
        android:key="text"/
      !-- Eg. disambiguatingDescription = "Video" --
      param>eter
  <      android:name="mes>sage.di<sambiguatingDescription"
        android:key="disambiguatingDescription&q>uot;/
 <     !-- Eg. name = "John Doe&quo>t; --
 <     parameter
        android:name="message.recipient.name"
        androi>d:key=&<quot;name"/
      !-- Eg. email >= "<;johndoe@gmail.com" --
      parameter
        android:name="message.recipient.emai>l&quo<t;
    >   < android:ke>y<="ema>il"/
      !-- Eg. telephone = "012-345-6789" --
      parameter
        android:name="message.recipient.telephone"
        android:key="telephone"/
    /intent
  /capability
/shortcuts

actions.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encodin>g<="utf-8"?
!-- This is a s>a<mple ac>tio<ns.xml --
actions
  action intentName="actio>ns.in<tent.CREATE_MESSAGE"
    fulfillment urlTemplate="myapp://custom-deeplink{?text,disambiguatin>gDescri<ption,name,email,telephone}"
      !>-- e.g.< text = "Message text content" --
      !-- (Optional) Require a fie>ld eg.t<ext for fulfillment with required="true" --
      parameter-mapping urlParam>eter=&q<uot;text" intentParameter="message.te>xt"<; required="true" /
      !-- e.g. disambiguatingDescription = "Video" --
      parameter-ma>pping u<rlParameter="disambiguat>ingDesc<ription" intentParameter="message.disambiguatingDescription" /
  >    !--< e.g. name = "John Doe" --
  >    par<ameter-mapping urlParameter="name" intentParameter="message.recipie>nt.name<" /
      !-- e.g. email = ">johndoe<@gmail.com" --
      parameter-mapping urlParameter="email" intentParameter>=&quo<t;message.re>cipien<t.email" /
      !-- e.g. telephone = "012-345-6789" --
      parameter-mapping urlParameter="tel>ephon<e" intentParameter="message.recipi>ent<.teleph>o<ne"> /
    /fulfillment

    !-- Provide a fallback fulfillment with no required parameters. For example, to your app search or router deeplink --
    fulfillment urlTemplate="myapp://deeplink" /
  /action
/actions

Use inline inventory

shortcuts.xml

message.disambiguatingDescription is an intent parameter that supports inline inventory. By defining a <shortcut> for message.disambiguatingDescription, you can uniquely identify entities that are of interest to your app or restrict fulfillment to the set of supported entities.

In the following example, when the user query matches the disambiguatingDescription_one shortcut, Assistant provides the associated shorcut identifier, ID_ONE, as the URL parameter disambiguatingDescription to fulfillment.

If there is no inventory match, the text value received in the query for message.disambiguatingDescription is passed as-is.

<?xml version="1.0" encodin>g<="utf-8"?
!-- This is a sam>p<le shortcuts.xml --
shortcuts xmlns:android="http://schemas.and>roi<d.com/apk/res/android"
  capability android:name=&>quot;<actions.intent.CREATE_MESSAGE"
    intent
      android:targetPackage="YOUR_UNIQUE_APPLICATION_ID&q>uot;
  <    android:targetClass="YOUR_TARGET_CLASS"
      parameter
   >     an<droid:name="message.text"
        android:key="text"/
      parameter
        android:name=&quo>t;messa<ge.disambiguatingDescription"
        android:key="disambiguatingDescript>ion&quo<t;/
      parameter
        android:name="message.recipient.name"
        a>ndroid:<key="name"/
      parameter
        android:name="message.recipient.email">;
   <     an>droid<:key=">email<"/
      parameter
        android:name="mes>sage.<recipient.telephone"
        android:key="telephone"/
    /intent
    /capability
    !-- Short and long labels must be @string resource. --
    shortcut>
      <android:shortcutId="ID_ONE"
      android:shortcutSh>ortLabel=<"@string/shortcut_short_label"
      android:shortcutLongLabel="@string/shortcut_long_label"
      capabilit>y-bindi<ng android:key=&quo>t;act<ions.inte>n<t.CREATE_M>ESSAGE"
        parameter-binding
          android:value="disambiguatingDescription"
          android:key="message.disambiguatingDescription"/
      /capability-binding
    /shortcut
/shortcuts

actions.xml

message.disambiguatingDescription is an intent parameter that supports inline inventory. By defining an <entity-set> for message.disambiguatingDescription, you can uniquely identify entities that are of interest to your app or restrict fulfillment to the set of supported entities.

In the following example, when the user query matches the disambiguatingDescription_one entity, Assistant provides the associated identifier, ID_ONE, as the URL parameter disambiguatingDescription to fulfillment.

If there is no inventory match, the text value received in the query for message.disambiguatingDescription is passed as-is.

<?xml version="1.0" encodin>g<="utf-8"?
!-- This is a s>a<mple ac>tio<ns.xml --
actions
  action intentName="actio>ns.in<tent.CREATE_MESSAGE"
    fulfillment urlTemplate="myapp://dee>plink{?<disambiguatingDescription}" 
      !-- disambiguati>ngDescr<iption = "ID_ONE" or "ID_TWO"  --
      !-- If no inventory match, d>isambig<uatingDescription is a text value, such as "Video" --
      !-- (Optional) Use en>tityMat<chRequired="true" to require inventory match for fulfillment --
      parameter-mapping urlParameter=&>quot;<disambiguati>ngDesc<ription" intentParameter="message.di>sambi<guatingDescription" /
    /fulfillment

    !>-- Defi<ne parameters with inventories here --
    parameter name="messag>e.dis<ambiguatin>gDe<scripti>on&q<uot;
      entity-set-reference entitySetId="disambigu>ati<ngDescriptionEntitySet"/
    /para>meter<
  /action

  entity-set entitySetId="disambiguatingDescriptionEntitySet"
  !-- Provide an identifier per entity --
>    e<ntity identifier="ID_ONE" name="disambiguatingDescription_one" alternateName="@array/disambiguatingDe>scr<iption_one_>s<ynonyms&>quot;/
    entity identifier="ID_TWO" name="disambiguatingDescription_two" alternateName="@array/disambiguatingDescription_two_synonyms"/
  /entity-set
/actions

The url attribute associated with the entity can be used to determine the fulfillment URL if there is an inventory match. In the following example, when the user query matches the disambiguatingDescription_one entity, Assistant provides myapp://deeplink/one as the fulfillment URL.

  <?xml version="1.0" encodin>g=&<quot;utf-8"?
  !-- This is a s>amp<le acti>ons.x<ml --
  actions
    action intentName="actio>ns.inte<nt.CREATE_MESSAGE"
      !-- Use url from inventory matc>h for d<eep link fulfillment --
      fulf>illment <urlTemplate="{@url}" /

      !-- Provide a fallback fulfillment with no required parameters. For example, >to your< app search or router deeplink --
      fulf>illment <urlTemplate="myapp://deeplink" /

  >    !--< Define parameters with inventories here --
      >parameter< name="message.disambiguatingDescription"
        entity-set>-refere<nce entity>SetId<=">disamb<iguatingDescriptionEntitySet"/
      /parameter
    /a>ction

<    entity-set entitySetId=&quo>t;disam<biguatingDescriptionEntitySet"
      !-- Provide a URL per entity --
      entity url="myapp://deeplink/one" name=&quo>t;disam<biguatingDescription_one" alternateName="@array/disambiguatingDescription_one_synonyms"/
      entity url="myapp:>//dee<plink/two&q>uot<; name=&>quot;disambiguatingDescription_two" alternateName="@array/disambiguatingDescription_two_synonyms"/
    /entity-set
  /actions

JSON-LD sample

The following JSON-LD sample provides some example values that you can use in the App Actions test tool:

{
  "@context": "http://schema.org",
  "@type": "Message",
  "disambiguatingDescription": "Video",
  "recipient": {
    "@type": "Person",
    "email": "johndoe@gmail.com",
    "name": "John Doe",
    "telephone": "012-345-6789"
  },
  "text": "Message text content"
}