Does the Messages link bubble support per-URL Advanced App Clip Experience cards, or only the default experience?

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We have six Advanced App Clip Experiences configured for our production app, each mapped to a different path under a single domain, each with its own title and image.

When a user without the full app installed receives one of these links in Messages, iOS always presents the default App Clip card -- never the matching advanced experience card. The same URLs resolve the correct advanced card in Safari.

What we've already verified (so this isn't a basic setup problem):

Opening the exact same URL in Safari shows the correct advanced card, including the expected per-path title.
A Local Experience (Settings → Developer → App Clips Testing) for the same path + bundle ID validates and launches the correct flow.
Associated Domains validation is green in Settings.
The AASA at app-site-association.cdn-apple.com contains the appclips component with our App Clip bundle ID, and the applinks components include all six paths.
In App Store Connect, all six Advanced App Clip Experiences show "Received" with successful domain validation, and the app + App Clip are live in the App Store.
Reproduced on multiple devices on iOS [version], none with the full app installed. Messages does show a card — it's just always the default card.

Our questions:

Is per-path Advanced App Clip Experience card selection supported in the Messages link bubble at all -- or is Messages documented to always present the default experience metadata regardless of which advanced-experience URL is shared? Apple's App Store Connect help states the default metadata is used "in the app clip link bubble in Messages," which suggests this may be by design -- can someone confirm?
If advanced cards in Messages are supported, what conditions cause Messages (but not Safari) to fall back to the default card for the same URL?
Does "Received" status indicate an advanced experience is fully live, or is there a later state that confirms Messages rollout?

If Messages is expected to always show the default card, we'll plan around that -- we just want a definitive answer rather than continuing to chase a configuration cause.

Thanks!

Answer 1

DTS Engineer OP

Apple

1d

Thanks for the post. Very interesting and also will be good to know exactly what you are trying to accomplish so I’ll know how to reply in detail of what you need to but I’m guessing you already look at this documentation https://developer.apple.com/help/app-store-connect/offer-app-clip-experiences/offer-an-advanced-app-clip-experience/

There are many engineers here that can help answer all your questions in better detail than my answers here.

Advanced App Clip Experiences are specifically designed for physical and location-based invocations: NFC tags, visual codes like QR codes,, Maps, and Siri location-based suggestions. They are not used to populate rich links in Messages.

Messages intercepts the URL, recognizes the domain is associated with an App Clip, and queries App Store Connect directly for the App Clip's experience metadata to render the special App Clip link bubble. It ignores Advanced Experience routing tables for this visual rendering.

When Safari presents an App Clip card or Smart App Banner, it can read the HTML <meta> tags directly from that specific URL's webpage. Because your web server likely serves path-specific HTML metadata, Safari displays the per-path title and image. Please take a look at Smart App Banners https://developer.apple.com/documentation/webkit/promoting-apps-with-smart-app-banners

Advanced App Clip Experience once Apple has successfully ingested the URL and domain validation is green. There is no subsequent "Published" or "Rolled Out" state for the experience itself. As long as your app version is live in the App Store, those Advanced Experiences are fully active for their intended invocation methods QR, NFC,, etc..

Since Messages will always show the default card, you should ensure your Default App Clip Experience in App Store Connect uses generic, welcoming metadata that makes sense for all six of your underlying paths. Rely on the internal routing of your App Clip and also look at intercepting urls using Universal Links with TN3155: Debugging universal links | Apple Developer Documentation

Albert  WWDR