Trigger: Message Reaction

The Message Reaction trigger (message.reaction) fires a workflow when a contact reacts with an emoji to one of your outbound messages on WhatsApp (or any channel that supports reactions). It's a quick way to gauge engagement and sentiment without the customer having to type anything.

When it fires

It fires as soon as Meta delivers a reaction event on a message you sent through that channel — regardless of how much time passed between the send and the reaction.

Requirements

• A connected channel that supports reactions (WhatsApp Cloud API).
• At least one prior outbound message the contact can react to.

Trigger configuration

• Specific channel: restrict the trigger to one channel.
• Reaction emoji: leave blank to catch any emoji, or set one (e.g. ❤️) to react only to that specific sentiment.

Available variables

• $reaction.emoji — The emoji the contact reacted with
• $message.id — ID of the original message they reacted to
• Standard $conversation.* and $contact.* variables

Example

You send a promo blast on WhatsApp. Build a workflow triggered by message.reaction with a condition on $reaction.emoji = ❤️: when it matches, tag the contact "Promo-fan" and add them to a priority remarketing list.

Tips

• Combine this with the Tag Added trigger to chain remarketing automations.
• Use it as an early warning too: a 👎 reaction can notify your team to follow up manually.

Troubleshooting

If nothing fires, check that the original message was truly outbound (not an internal note) and that the channel's access token is still valid — an expired token also blocks reaction event delivery.