Connecting Twilio SMS to your tawk.to Inbox
The instructions below are for desktops and laptops only.
You can add Twilio SMS to your tawk.to Inbox and seamlessly support your customers across multiple channels from a single place.
In this guide, we’ll show you how to:
Connect Twilio SMS to your Inbox
Send and receive messages via Twilio SMS
Troubleshoot message delivery issues
Set the message status and priority, add tags, and assign team members
Assign an AI agent to your Twilio SMS inbox (if you’ve enabled AI Assist)
Note: You’ll need an existing Twilio SMS account. To learn more about creating a new Twilio account, check out Twilio’s guide.
Connect to Twilio SMS
3. Click Administration in the top menu.
4. In the left menu, click Twilio SMS under Channels.
5. Click + Connect at the top-right corner.
6. On the Add New Inbox page, you can add:
- Account: Your Twilio Account
- Phone Number: The phone number purchased from your Twilio account. Ensure this number is SMS-enabled.
- Inbox Name: An alias name for your inbox
7. To add a new account, select + Connect new Account from the Account dropdown.
8. Select your Phone Number.
9. Enter the Inbox Name and click Connect.
10. After a successful connection, Twilio SMS will appear under Channels in the left menu.
Note: Once a Twilio account is connected to one property, it cannot be connected to another.
Viewing, sending, and receiving SMS
You can use shortcuts in SMS conversations.
Status, assignees, priority, and tags
Use the tools at the top of each conversation to manage status, assign team members, set priorities, and add tags.
The message status
SMS messages can be in one of the following states (shown under Status):
Open: The message is unanswered. If the customer left contact information, respond promptly.
Pending: The customer has been answered, and the issue is being resolved.
Closed: The conversation is resolved.
To change the status, click the current status and select a new one.
Assign a team member
You can assign the conversation to yourself or a team member (if you have multiple support agents).
Click the assignee field, select a team member’s name, and they will be assigned to the conversation.
Set the priority
Click the priority indicator and select the desired priority.
Adding tags
Click the tag icon to see available tags, and click + to add tags to the conversation. To learn more about tags, check out this guide: Tagging chats, contacts, and tickets
More options
Click the 3 dots for more options to help keep your inbox organized:
Mark as Spam: Moves the conversation to Spam.
Delete: Moves the conversation to Trash.
Troubleshooting message delivery issues
If your messages aren’t going through via the Twilio SMS channel, check the following:
Check your settings at Administration > Channels > Twilio SMS.
Ensure you’ve granted tawk.to the necessary permissions.
Ensure your Twilio account is active, connected, SMS-enabled, and has enough credit.
For international messages, check if the destination country supports SMS via Twilio and if the phone number is set to receive international SMS.
See this guide to learn more about troubleshooting message delivery issues:
Twilio SMS: Troubleshooting message delivery issues
Assign an AI agent
If you’ve enabled AI Assist, you can assign an AI agent to handle SMS conversations 24/7.
AI Assist limits each response to 2 messages (up to 320 characters) to keep your SMS charges low.
Follow these steps to assign an AI agent:
1. Go to Channels on your AI agent’s Settings page.
2. Scroll down and enable the toggle for SMS.
Your AI agent will now be able to respond to your SMS conversations.
On your AI agent’s settings page, scroll down to enable AI Commands and Smart Reply.
After enabling the above settings, you can use AI Commands and Smart Reply in your SMS conversations.
Additional resources
For more tips on using the Inbox, Shortcuts, and AI Assist, explore the following guides:
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