LINE Pilot

Updated 9 September 2026

Decision

Build LINE next for the second-channel demonstration. It has a documented direct Official Account / Messaging API setup path. Reuse the existing Inbox, Teams bot, owned HTTPS host and SQLite store. No new Azure resource or broker is needed. WeChat follows after choosing Official Account versus WeChat Customer Service and confirming the available account/API access. A sandbox demonstration would not prove production account eligibility.

Current Status

The direct adapter is deployed. The isolated test account uses the Singapore Communication plan, with a verified allowance of 500 messages and no paid upgrade. Signed webhook verification passed; webhooks and redelivery are enabled. Default greetings and auto replies are disabled. A real enquiry reached the Teams Inbox, was claimed by the tester, and its reply was accepted by LINE. The tester replied "LINE received" from their phone; it appeared in the same case and returned to Mine / Needs Reply. WhatsApp remains in the same Inbox.

One-to-one incoming text routes to the shared Inbox with a LINE label. Staff use the existing claim, notes, handover and explicit reply actions. LINE user IDs remain separate from WhatsApp numbers; names never merge identities. This pilot uses a short account-specific customer label without fetching extra profile data.

Group Tickets — 11 September 2026

LINE group and legacy room messages use a separate ticket identity for the group, never the sender's private chat. Each message retains its member identifier; when LINE omits the sender ID, it is shown as Identity Unavailable. Display names and group names are not fetched in this first release. Transfers retain the group destination, and a new message after resolution starts a new ticket for that group.

Staff replies go to every member. Internal notes stay in OCDIT. Individual customer profile linking and Past Conversations consent are unavailable on group tickets: one member's YES cannot authorize the group's history. The transferred transcript remains available to the receiving staff under the existing transfer access rules.

To accept invitations, enable Allow Bot to Join Group Chats in the LINE Developers Console, under the channel's Messaging API settings. A customer can then invite the Official Account and send a message to open a ticket. Only one Official Account can belong to a group. Existing messages before the invitation are not imported. Removing the account prevents further group participation; failed or uncertain sends retain the usual delivery handling.

The same seven-day reply restriction and account message quota apply. No paid upgrade is required by this code change. Live invitation and two-member reply acceptance must be verified separately from automated tests.

Source: LINE Group Chats.

WhatsApp group routing is implemented, but the current test number was rejected by Meta's Groups API with error 131215 (number not eligible). An eligible Official Business Account number is required before live acceptance. The current WeChat Official Account connector also has no group support. Do not promise that adding either account to an ordinary group creates an OCDIT ticket.

Delivery Rules

Staff replies use the direct push endpoint. Reply tokens are single-use and must be used promptly, so they are unsuitable for a waiting support queue.
The pilot permits replies only within seven days of a customer message, even for friends. This is a conservative pilot limit; friends may have broader push eligibility under LINE's rules.
Push messages consume the account's plan allowance. Verify region, quota and free plan in the actual account before enabling sends. No paid upgrade authorized.
Accepted means LINE accepted the API request. It does not prove delivery or reading; blocked recipients can yield HTTP 200 without receiving the message.
Each push carries the durable outbound UUID as X-Line-Retry-Key. Timeouts and server failures remain uncertain; the worker does not automatically resend.

Full prerequisites and portal sequence: WhatsApp and LINE Setup.

Open Official Account Manager and create an isolated OCDIT Pilot test account. The human completes sign-in and accepts required terms.
Select the appropriate region and free plan. Keep real customer accounts untouched.
Enable Messaging API and select a dedicated pilot provider. Confirm its owner before saving: LINE does not permit moving the channel to another provider later.
Open Developers Console. Store the channel secret and access token privately; obtain the bot user ID from /v2/bot/info.
Set LINE_CHANNEL_SECRET, LINE_CHANNEL_ACCESS_TOKEN, LINE_BOT_USER_ID in the isolated service environment. Use a backup and deploy only the OCDIT runtime.
Add only /webhooks/line to its nginx site; configure that HTTPS webhook in LINE. Verify the callback, enable webhooks/redelivery, and disable duplicate auto replies on this pilot account if necessary.
Add the pilot as a friend from the tester's phone. Send a fictional enquiry.
In Teams → OCDIT → Inbox, pick it up and Send to LINE. Confirm receipt on the phone, then send a follow-up and verify the same case returns to Needs Reply.

The LINE provider/account must be replaced with 99 Venture-owned assets before production; do not promise a direct transfer of this pilot's provider identity.

Validation and Remaining Scope

Local checks cover raw HMAC signatures, wrong destination rejection, empty webhook verification, duplicate capture, channel-separated cases, a seven-day limit at queue and send time, exact push request/retry key and uncertain responses. Existing WhatsApp and Teams checks remain passing. Browser preview confirms LINE labels, pick-up and the correct reply destination. Real inbound routing, claim and API acceptance passed on 7 September 2026. The phone response "LINE received" returned to the same case and Needs Reply.

Groups, profile enrichment, media, unsend redaction, block/friendship state, delivery reconciliation, regional production onboarding and sustained quota/load testing are outside this text-only technical demonstration. Address unsend handling and retention before any real-customer rollout. Reuse the existing Azure deployment path.