Let customers send photos and documents in the chat

"It's making a noise and there's a sort of stain near the bottom" takes three emails to understand. A photo takes one look. On Premium, visitors can send photos, screenshots and documents directly in the Allinaa chat.

Why a photo beats a paragraph

• A tenant shows the water mark on the ceiling instead of describing it.
• A homeowner sends the label from the furnace, so the technician brings the right part.
• A customer sends a screenshot of the error message they can't copy.
• A buyer attaches the spec sheet or packing list as a PDF.

In each case your team starts the reply already knowing what the problem is.

What happens to a file: malware check, private storage, alert

1. Type and size checks. The file's content must match its name. Accepted are images (JPG, PNG, WebP, GIF), PDFs, modern Word, Excel and PowerPoint files, CSV and plain text. HEIC photos, older Office formats, macro-enabled files, ZIP archives and damaged PDFs are refused. There are size limits and a daily limit per visitor.
2. Malware checks run before anyone on your team can open the file. Documents with embedded scripts, macros or other risky content are blocked.
3. Images are re-saved without hidden metadata, such as the location where a phone photo was taken.
4. Private storage per business. Files get random names in your business's own storage area. They are never attached to emails, and only checked, clean files can be downloaded from the panel.
5. Your team gets an alert, and the file sits in a folder of customer files. The visitor sees "File received. The team will see it soon." If they then send a request, the file is attached to it.
6. Retention: uploaded files are deleted after 30 days by default.

So the assistant can talk about a photo, the image is shown to the AI model once with the visitor's next message, and the assistant describes only what is clearly visible.

What to ask for, and what never to ask for

Write the "never" list into your knowledge as an instruction, for example: "Never ask visitors to upload ID or payment documents. If they offer them, tell them not to send them in the chat." For the wider picture, see Chatbot privacy basics.

Industries where uploads help

• Property management: maintenance requests with photos.
• Home services: leaks, broken fixtures and equipment labels.
• Auto repair: dashboard warning lights and damage.
• Printing and signage: artwork files and proofs.
• Manufacturing and wholesale: drawings and part photos.

When the goal is to find a product in your catalog rather than report a problem, see Product search from a photo.

Upload wording for your privacy notice

Your privacy notice should tell visitors that the chat accepts files and what happens to them. Here is a starting point to adapt with your own advisor. It is not legal advice.

Questions and answers

Can visitors on a Standard plan send files?

No. Uploads are a Premium feature. On Standard, visitors can describe the problem in the chat and the request form.

Who can open the files?

Members of your team in the Allinaa panel. Only files that passed the checks can be downloaded, and files are never sent as email attachments.

Why was a visitor's iPhone photo refused?

HEIC images are not accepted. Ask the visitor to send the photo as JPG or to take a screenshot of it, which phones save in an accepted format.

How long are files kept?

Uploaded files are deleted after 30 days by default. Download anything you need to keep for a job before then.