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Text messages

Your receptionist answers texts sent to your number, and people can reply to your reminders and other texts.

With Text messages on, texts sent to your business number are answered by your receptionist, the same way it answers the website chat. It can take bookings by text, and each text conversation appears in Conversations. It also lets people reply to the texts your receptionist sends: a YES to a cancellation-list offer, an answer to a review request, a YES to booking confirmations.

What it does

  • One conversation per number. After a day's quiet, the next text starts a new conversation.
  • Replies to an offer from the Cancellation list, a question from Review requests or a YES for Appointment reminders confirmations are picked up first. Anything else goes to your receptionist.
  • HELP or INFO gets a short reply with your number and how to stop texts.
  • A picture or other message with no words gets: "Sorry, I can only read text. Could you type what you need, or call..." followed by your number.
  • One number can send up to 15 texts an hour. Beyond that, texts are not answered until the hour is up.

STOP and START (exact)

  • A text that says only STOP, STOPALL, UNSUBSCRIBE, CANCEL, END or QUIT (capitals don't matter) opts that number out. They get one reply: "You won't get any more automatic texts from [your business]. Reply START to undo."
  • After that, no automatic text goes to that number: reminders, confirmations, review requests (by text or WhatsApp), cancellation-list offers, missed-call texts, on-call and routing texts.
  • A text that says only START or UNSTOP turns them back on: "Thanks, texts from [your business] are back on."
  • STOP and START work whether or not this plugin is switched on, as long as texts to your number reach CallsCovered.
  • STOP inside a longer message ("please stop texting me") isn't treated as an opt-out. Your receptionist reads it like any other message.

See Texts and opt-outs for more.

Who texts come from (sender ID)

Send texts from:

  • Your number, so people can reply (the default). Every automatic text comes from your business number, so people can reply, including STOP.
  • Your business name (people can't reply). Texts show your business name instead, which looks smart but can't be replied to.

What this means in practice:

  • With Twilio and this plugin off, or set to your business name, texts come from a sender name CallsCovered sets up for you (up to 11 letters and numbers). If a network won't accept a name, the text goes from your number instead.
  • With other phone providers (SignalWire, Telnyx, Vonage, Plivo), texts always come from your number.
  • While this plugin is on, your number is the better choice: people can't answer a name.

What you need

  • Your phone line set up in Settings > Phone line, with a number that can send and receive texts.

Setting it up

  1. Switch the plugin on from the Plugins page (see Plugins overview).
  2. Choose Send texts from.
  3. Press Save and test. With Twilio, this points your number's incoming texts at your receptionist for you, and says "Connected" when it's done.

With another provider, the automatic connection doesn't work, so the test asks for Twilio details. Your choice is still saved. Point the number's incoming texts at the texts address shown in Settings > Phone line yourself, in your provider's own settings.

What it costs

Free. Your phone provider charges for each text sent and received, on your own account with them.

Privacy

Texts are sent and received through your phone provider. Messages are read by the AI that runs your receptionist, and kept with your other conversations.

Limits

  • Only words are read. Pictures, voice notes and attachments aren't.
  • Long replies are cut to about 1,400 characters.
  • Automatic texts only go to UK mobiles.

Still stuck? Write to hello@callscovered.ai with your business name and what you were trying to do, and a person will reply.