I am developing a management system for lodging facilities. I want to use integration between LINE WORKS and LINE to automate tasks such as reservation handling and check-in via a bot.
Current situation
I created a bot in the LINE WORKS Developers Console, completed obtaining an access token using a Service Account (JWT), and set up a webhook.
When an internal LINE WORKS user (talk.worksmobile.com) sends the bot the message “Start”, the server receives the event via the webhook and replies with button menus and reservation-flow dialogues correctly.
I enabled “chat integration with external parties” with administrator privileges, scanned the QR code issued by the LINE WORKS account from my personal LINE, and successfully added it as a friend. Manual chats (LINE ⇄ LINE WORKS) work without problems.
The bot policy is set with the checkbox “Allow invitations to team/group or 1:N chat rooms.”
Problem
With the above setup, when I send “Start” from the personal LINE account that added the LINE WORKS account as a friend, no events arrive at the server webhook at all (no access logs). The LINE WORKS help documentation and specifications include wording that “bots cannot be used in talk rooms with external users (LINE users or LINE WORKS users of other tenants).”
Questions
Is this limitation still in effect? In other words, is it technically impossible for a LINE WORKS bot to participate in chats with external LINE users and receive messages or reply automatically?
If it is impossible, is my understanding correct that I would need to create a separate LINE Official Account (Messaging API) and operate the bot there to provide automated replies to inquiries from LINE users?
Are there any other ways to automate conversations with LINE users using LINE WORKS bots or APIs (for example, via LINE WORKS’s “Integration with LINE Official Accounts” or similar)?
I would appreciate it if you could confirm whether this is possible and recommend the preferred approach. Thank you for your time and help.