What are KakaoTalk message types
KakaoTalk message types define how content is structured and delivered through KakaoTalk messaging services. KakaoTalk offers three services: Brand Message for marketing and promotions, Alim Talk for transactional notifications, and Sangdam Talk for customer support. Each service supports different message types with specific character limits, media specifications, button constraints, and coupon support.
The service you choose determines which message types, templates, and media formats are available.
When to use each service
| Service | Use case | How it works |
|---|---|---|
| Brand Message | Marketing, promotions, and general outreach | Free-form messages with flexible content types (text, image, carousel, commerce, video). No template approval required. |
| Alim Talk | Transactional and informational notifications | Template-based messages approved by Kakao Corporation Supports text, images, and linked-type buttons. |
| Sangdam Talk | Customer support and consultation | Two-way messaging with outbound (text, images, buttons) and inbound (text, images, video, audio) support. |
Service comparison
The following table compares message type support, media capabilities, and key constraints across KakaoTalk services.
| Feature | Brand Message | Alim Talk | Sangdam Talk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Template approval required | No | Yes (Kakao Corporation) | No |
| Message types | Text, Image, Wide image, Wide list, Item list, Carousel, Premium video, Commerce, Carousel commerce | Text, Image, Linked-type buttons | Text, Image, Linked-type buttons (outbound); Text, Image, Video, Audio (inbound) |
| Max text length | Maximum 1,300 characters (varies by type) | 1,000 characters | 1,000 characters |
| Max buttons | Maximum 5 (varies by type) | Maximum 5 | Maximum 5 |
| Coupon support | Yes | No | No |
| Video support | Yes (KakaoTV hosted) | No | Inbound only |
| Inbound messages | No | No | Yes (text, image, video, audio) |
| Supported languages | Korean, English | Korean, English | Korean, English |
For detailed specifications on each service, see the individual pages:
(Deprecated) Chingu Talk
Chingu is no longer supported.
Customers must use Brand Messages (free-form) for all Kakao messaging use cases. See the Kakao Chingu to Brand Message migration documentation for more information.