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Messages

What it's for

Messages is your inbox for text message (SMS) conversations. When customers text one of your business numbers, your AI agent replies, and the conversation shows up here. You can read each thread, see a summary and the customer's mood, flag threads for follow-up, and step in with your own reply.

The list updates on its own as new texts arrive. You don't need to reload the page.

At the top of the page you'll see three totals: Total Conversations, Ongoing, and Flagged.

Before you start

Texting must be set up first. Link a chat agent and turn on SMS for a number on the SMS Setup page.

Find a conversation

  1. Click Messages in the sidebar.
  2. Type in the Search number, name, summary… box. Search matches the phone numbers, the contact's name, or the conversation summary.
  3. To narrow the list, open the status menu and choose All statuses, Ongoing, Ended, or Error.

Each entry shows the contact's name (or number), a short summary, and when the conversation started.

Read a conversation

  1. Click a conversation in the list.
  2. The right panel shows:
    • The contact's name, and the number they texted from and to.
    • A sentiment badge (Positive, Neutral, or Negative) and a status badge (for example ongoing or ended).
    • A short summary of the conversation, when one is available.
    • Every message, with the time it was sent. Messages from the customer have a person icon. Messages from your side have a bot icon.

Reply as a person

You can jump in and send your own text.

  1. Open the conversation.
  2. Type in the box at the bottom (Type a reply…).
  3. Press Enter or click the send button.

Your reply is sent to the customer by text. In the thread it's marked agent (human) so you can tell it apart from the AI's replies.

Note

Replies are sent through your Twilio connection, so Twilio must be connected first. See Twilio setup.

Tip

Your reply goes to the customer, but the AI agent doesn't see it as part of the conversation. If the customer texts again, the AI won't know what you said.

You can only reply to an existing conversation. You can't start a new one from this page.

Flag a conversation

  1. In the list, click the small flag icon next to the contact's name.
  2. The flag turns red. Click it again to remove the flag.

The Flagged total at the top updates.

Troubleshooting

  • "No SMS conversations yet.": No texts have come in, or nothing matches your search or status filter. Clear the search and set the menu to All statuses.
  • "Failed to send reply" (or another error message): Check that Twilio is connected and that the number can send texts.
  • Texts aren't showing up: Check the number on SMS Setup. It needs a chat agent and the SMS switch turned on.