--- title: "SMS Messaging - Auto-Respond Docs" description: "Reply to leads over text - a two-way SMS conversation channel with its own welcome, AI, and follow-ups, on a phone number Auto-Respond provides" source: https://auto-respond.com/docs/messaging-settings/conversation-setup/sms-messaging/ last_updated: 2026-08-29 --- ![SMS Messaging documentation guide](https://auto-respond.com/assets/docs/messaging-settings-conversation-setup-sms-messaging.svg "SMS Messaging Documentation") A visual guide to the SMS Messaging documentation, covering the setup, configuration, and workflow details explained on this page. Documentation illustration for SMS Messaging. # SMS Messaging **SMS Messaging** lets Auto-Respond hold a real two-way text conversation with your lead on a dedicated phone number. The lead gets a welcome text, can reply, and - if you turn on AI - the assistant keeps the conversation going over SMS, with its own follow-up sequence. It runs **alongside** the lead’s original channel (Yelp, Thumbtack, etc.), not instead of it. ⚠️ **SMS Messaging is not the same as the [SMS integration](https://auto-respond.com/docs/integrations/sms/).** The SMS _integration_ texts **you (the business)** a heads-up when a new lead arrives. SMS _Messaging_ texts **the lead** and carries on the conversation. This page is about the second one. ℹ️ Before texts actually go out, you complete a one-time **SMS Messaging registration** (carrier-required for business texting in the US). There’s a registration fee and a small monthly fee - see [Pricing and registration](#pricing-and-registration) below. ## Getting here In Auto-Respond, go to **Sources** → select a source → **Messaging Settings** → **Conversation Setup** tab. The Conversation Setup tab has two panels: - The **primary channel** panel - named after the source (e.g. **Yelp**, **Thumbtack**) - controls replies on the original channel. - The **SMS** panel - controls the text-message channel described here. Open the **SMS** panel to configure everything below. ## Turning it on ### Enable SMS messaging Flip the **Enable SMS messaging** toggle (default: **off**). The rest of the SMS options appear once it’s on. ### Pick a sender phone number Under **Sender Phone Number**, click **Select Phone Number**. This is the number SMS welcome messages and follow-ups are sent from - recipients see it as the sender and can reply to it. Use **Change Phone Number** later to swap it. ### Complete SMS Messaging registration Click the **SMS Messaging** button to open registration and submit your business for carrier review. SMS won’t actually send until registration is **approved** - until then you’ll see the notice _“SMS messages will start sending once your SMS Messaging registration is approved.”_ See [Pricing and registration](#pricing-and-registration). ### Choose how SMS replies are written Use the **Predefined Messages** / **AI Assistant** toggle to pick the mode (details below). ## Predefined vs AI mode Just like the primary channel, the SMS channel runs in one of two modes. They’re chosen independently - the primary channel can be on AI while SMS is on predefined, or any combination. ### Predefined Messages (SMS) You write a **single SMS welcome message** that’s sent when the lead’s conversation starts. Unlike the primary channel’s predefined list, the SMS welcome is one message (no keyword triggers). - Text only, **ASCII characters only**, **maximum 160 characters** (one SMS segment). - An optional **welcome message delay** is available (same control as the primary channel). ### AI Assistant (SMS) The AI writes the SMS welcome and, depending on the conversation mode, keeps replying to the lead over text. These are the same per-channel controls described on the [AI Assistant](https://auto-respond.com/docs/messaging-settings/conversation-setup/ai-assistant/#per-channel-settings) page - here they apply to the SMS channel. When the AI is on for SMS you can set: - **AI Conversation Mode** - how far the AI takes the SMS conversation: - **Only welcome message** - AI writes the first text and stops. - **Short conversation (up to five messages)** - **Long conversation (up to ten messages)** - **Delay conversation messages** _(only when the mode isn’t “Only welcome message”)_ - adds a short, human-like pause before each reply. - **Enable AI Follow-ups** _(same condition)_ - the AI automatically texts leads who haven’t responded. - **Max AI Follow-ups** _(shown when AI Follow-ups is on)_ - how many AI follow-up texts to send, **1–3**. ℹ️ **Two separate SMS delays.** _Delay sending of welcome message_ (in the SMS panel, available in both predefined and AI mode) holds only the **first** text. _Delay conversation messages_ (AI Short/Long only) adds a pause before each of the AI’s **later** replies. They’re independent. The AI’s instructions, pricing, and exclusions aren’t set here - they come from the shared [AI knowledge](https://auto-respond.com/docs/messaging-settings/conversation-setup/ai-assistant/#shared-ai-knowledge) on the AI Assistant page. You write those once and both the primary channel and SMS use them. ℹ️ The SMS AI channel keeps its own conversation and its own limits, separate from the primary channel. A lead can use up the primary channel’s AI allowance and still get AI replies over SMS, and vice versa. SMS replies are kept short to fit the text format. ## Consent and opt-outs - Outbound SMS is checked against the business’s phone suppression list before every send. - A reply consisting of `STOP`, `QUIT`, `END`, `REVOKE`, `OPT OUT`, `CANCEL`, or `UNSUBSCRIBE` suppresses the number immediately for that business. - An opted-out number is blocked from both outbound SMS and outbound voice calls for the same business. - Each send attempt and opt-out is stored with its lead-source snapshot and suppression state for phone-number audit queries. ## SMS follow-ups SMS has its **own** follow-up sequence, configured on the **Follow-ups** tab under the **SMS Follow-ups** sub-tab - separate from the primary channel’s follow-ups. SMS follow-ups only send while SMS Messaging is enabled here. See [Follow-ups](https://auto-respond.com/docs/messaging-settings/follow-ups/#sms-follow-ups). ## Pricing and registration US carriers require every business that sends application-to-person texts to register first. Auto-Respond walks you through it in the **SMS Messaging** dialog (titled **“Setup SMS Messaging”**). ### What it costs The dialog shows a **“SMS Messaging registration pricing”** panel - _“Review and approve charges before submitting for compliance review”_ - with: | Charge | Amount | When | | ------------------ | -------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **One-time setup** | **$20.00** | Charged only when a new registration or review fee is required - i.e. the initial submission, or renewing after a cancellation. Resubmitting after a rejection is free; the fee was already paid at submission. | | **Every month** | **$2 / month** | Charged after approval, while SMS Messaging is active. Usage-based SMS carrier fees on the texts you actually send may also apply. | ℹ️ These charges are **on top of** your normal per-source subscription. The “no setup fees” note on the [Pricing](https://auto-respond.com/docs/pricing/) page refers to source subscriptions - SMS Messaging registration is its own opt-in cost. ### What you submit Registration collects two groups of details: 1. **Business profile** - legal business name, business type and industry, registration ID type and number, regions of operation, website, physical address, and an **authorized representative** (name, email, phone, job position). 2. **SMS compliance** - company type, **Privacy Policy URL**, **Terms & Conditions URL**, a **campaign description**, **how customers agree to receive SMS** (opt-in flow), and **message samples**. Sensible defaults are pre-filled; edit them to match your business. ⚠️ The **Privacy Policy URL** and **Terms & Conditions URL** must be **two different pages**, and each one must actually open. Before the submission is accepted we load both links: a link that returns “page not found”, or two links that lead to the same document, is rejected in the form. Carrier reviewers open these pages by hand, so a wrong link costs a rejection plus a new review fee. After you submit, the business profile, SMS compliance product, brand, and campaign all go through carrier review, and **approval is not instant** (typically a few business days). ### Registration status | Status | What it means | What to do | | --------------- | ------------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Not started** | Nothing submitted yet. | Click **Submit for Review**. | | **In review** | Under carrier review. | Wait - fields are locked during review. | | **Approved** | Passed review; SMS can send. | Nothing - texts now go out. | | **Rejected** | Review failed; specific reasons are shown. | Fix the flagged details and click **Save & Resubmit**. | | **Cancelled** | SMS delivery is paused. | Click **Renew SMS Messaging** to resubmit (may incur a new review fee). | You can pause an approved registration with **Cancel SMS Messaging**; the monthly fee stops after cancellation is processed. ## Troubleshooting - **No texts are going out** - Confirm **Enable SMS messaging** is on, a **Sender Phone Number** is selected, and the **SMS Messaging** registration shows **approved** (a pending or error state on the button means it isn’t sending yet). - **The SMS Messaging button shows an error** - Registration isn’t in place (not submitted, rejected, or cancelled). Open it and submit / **Save & Resubmit** / **Renew**. - **SMS follow-ups aren’t firing** - They require SMS Messaging to be enabled on this source. The SMS Follow-ups tab warns _“SMS is not enabled. Enable SMS in Conversation Setup before SMS follow-ups can be sent.”_ - **My welcome text was cut off** - SMS welcomes are capped at 160 ASCII characters (one segment). Shorten the message or remove non-ASCII characters. *** Questions about SMS Messaging? Email . Last updated: August 29, 2026