How to specify in Conversation API whether a message will be AlimTalk or FriendTalk?

[Donna_M]

AlimTalk is a KakaoTalk channel-specified template message and it requires approval by KakaoTalk. FriendTalk is a marketing message and you don't need KakaoTalk approval for this message type.

When sending an AlimTalk message, you need to specify the template id, recipient, and the set of parameters that you may have defined in the template relevant for the recipient. Here is an example of an AlimTalk template:

Template id : package_template

Template description:

A package #{package_id} has been scheduled to be delivered to you.
The expected delivery time is #{expected_delivery}

The following code snippet provides an example of a JSON payload to send package_template to a KakaoTalk user:

{
  "message": {
    "template_message": {
      "channel_template": {
        "KAKAOTALK": {
          "template_id": "package_template",
          "parameters": {
            "package_id": "PACKAGE123",
            "expected_delivery": "7th June 9:00"
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

When sending a FriendTalk message, you can send it as a generic message type provided by Conversation API. 

It is also possible to create an omni-channel template using the Conversation API's Message Composer or using the Template Management API. The omni-channel templates can be used with any Conversation API channels as it will automatically transcode to the format required by the sent channel. 

The Sinch Developer Documentation site contains comprehensive documentation that illustrates how Sinch supports KakaoTalk through the Conversation API.