TikTok Business Messaging enables businesses to receive and respond to customer messages from TikTok directly in the respond.io platform. This page covers pricing, conversation entry points, supported file types, messaging windows, rate limits and known channel limitations.
- TikTok Business Messaging is in Open Beta and currently unavailable on respond.io for organizations registered in the United States.
- TikTok Accounts in the European Economic Area, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom cannot use the API to manage or send direct messages.
- If you're in one of these regions, see TikTok Messaging Ads for alternative ways to reach TikTok users on respond.io.
Pricing
You can use TikTok Business Messaging for free.
How customers start conversations
TikTok provides several ways for customers to find a business on the platform and start a conversation:
Chat links: TikTok does not support chat links. However, share your profile link for customers to initiate conversations.
QR codes: Place a QR code at physical locations like stores, cafes or event venues. When customers scan the QR code, it opens the chat directly at **https://tiktok.me/{username}** instead of the business profile. QR codes also support pre-filled messages, so customers jump straight into the conversation with context.
Profile link: Generate a direct link to your TikTok Business profile, allowing customers to visit the profile and initiate conversations from their app.
TikTok Messaging Ads: TikTok ads that direct users to your TikTok inbox when clicked. Learn more about TikTok Messaging Ads.
Channel capabilities
Supported file types
TikTok media sending is unavailable in the following regions: Australia, Colombia, European Union, India, Iran, Japan, Nigeria, North Korea, Philippines, Russia, South Korea, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States.
The following file types and maximum file sizes are supported by TikTok:
Text: Maximum of 6,000 characters.
Images: JPG and PNG formats, up to 3MB.
TikTok posts: supported for incoming and echo messages only.
Unsupported file types or large files will be displayed as fallback messages with a URL link in respond.io.
Examples of unsupported messages for TikTok Business Messaging are:
Video and voice messages
Stickers
TikTok avatars
Deleted messages
Sending and receiving image attachments via API are only available when both the sender and receiver are in countries that support image attachments in direct messages. Image sharing is not available in all markets.
Message status availability
The table below shows the availability of message statuses on TikTok Business Messaging.
Message status | Availability |
|---|---|
Sent | ✅ |
Delivered | ✅ |
Read | ✅ |
Failed | ✅ |
Messaging window
TikTok Business Messaging has a 48-hour messaging window. After receiving a message from a Contact, you can send up to 10 consecutive messages within this 48-hour window. If you reach the 10-message limit, you must wait for the Contact to send another message before continuing.
Each time a Contact sends you a new message, the messaging window and message limit reset, allowing you to send another 10 messages within the refreshed 48-hour period.
Messages sent outside the 48-hour window will not be delivered.
Rate limits
TikTok enforces a rate limit of 10 queries per second (QPS) for messaging operations. This rate limit is subject to change based on TikTok's policies.
Known limitations
Due to TikTok’s API limitations, the following features are not supported:
Business-initiated messages: You cannot initiate conversations with TikTok Contacts.
Broadcasts: Broadcasting messages to multiple Contacts at once is not supported.
Video and voice messages: Businesses cannot send video or voice messages via TikTok Business Messaging.
Quick replies & multiple-choice buttons: TikTok does not support interactive button elements. On respond.io, these will appear as plain text within the message. This includes buttons used in the "Ask a Question" Workflow step.
TikTok Messaging Ads routed to WhatsApp
When a Contact clicks a TikTok Messaging Ad that opens WhatsApp, the ad information may not always be available in respond.io.
TikTok currently attaches ad identifiers within the message content when routing conversations to WhatsApp. In some cases, these identifiers may not be included in the webhook payload received by respond.io. When this happens, the platform cannot determine which ad the message came from.
This may impact:
Workflow triggers configured for specific TikTok ads
Ad event preview visibility in the Inbox
TikTok low-funnel event tracking
TikTok has confirmed that this behavior reflects their current integration design, and there is no alternative available at this time. As such, this is a known limitation.
What's next?
Connect your TikTok Business Account to respond.io to start managing conversations.
Set up TikTok Messaging Ads to engage potential customers directly from TikTok ads.
