Text Agent

Written By Simon Thompson

Last updated 17 days ago

Text Agent is an AI-powered SMS assistant that automatically follows up with callers via text message. It works alongside your phone agent to make sure no customer enquiry falls through the cracks.

Overview

When a phone call doesn't go to plan — a customer hangs up early, asks a question that isn't fully resolved, or calls outside business hours — Text Agent can automatically send them a text message to continue the conversation.

The AI handles the full SMS conversation: answering questions, sending links, collecting information, and requesting callbacks when needed. You can see every conversation in your inbox and jump in at any point.

Requirements:

  • Premium plan

  • Australian mobile numbers only (customers with +61 4xx xxx xxx numbers)

Call Rescue Workflow

Call Rescue is the core workflow for Text Agent. It identifies calls that didn't go well and follows up automatically.

How it works

Step 1: Call assessment After every call, the AI evaluates whether the caller would benefit from a follow-up. Calls are automatically flagged for rescue if:

  • The caller hung up within 7 seconds

  • The caller never spoke

  • The call was classified as a hang-up

For longer calls, the AI reads the transcript and makes a judgement call on whether the conversation was resolved.

Spam calls are always filtered out.

Step 2: Eligibility check Before sending a text, the system verifies:

  • Text Agent is enabled for your business

  • The Call Rescue workflow is active

  • The caller has an Australian mobile number

  • The caller hasn't opted out of SMS

  • You haven't already texted this caller within your frequency cap window

Step 3: Outreach After the configured delay (default: 20 seconds), the AI sends an opening text message. In production, the AI may adapt your opening message based on context — for example, referencing what the caller asked about on the phone.

Step 4: Conversation If the customer replies, the AI continues the conversation. It can:

  • Answer questions using your business description, FAQs, and custom instructions

  • Send links (booking pages, pricing pages, etc.)

  • Collect information via message questions

  • Request a callback on behalf of the customer

  • Escalate to you when needed

Step 5: Notifications When the AI takes an important action — like a customer requesting a callback or the AI escalating a conversation — you'll be notified via your configured channels (email, SMS, Slack, Google Chat, or webhook).

Setup

1. Enable Text Agent

Navigate to your business dashboard and open Text Agent from the sidebar. Toggle Enable Text Agent on.

Text Agent requires a Premium plan. If you're on a lower tier, you'll see an upgrade prompt.

2. Configure the Call Rescue workflow

Opening message Write the first message customers will receive. Keep it casual and short (1–3 sentences). Example:

Hey! Sorry I couldn't help on the call. I'm the AI assistant for [Business Name] — happy to help over text if that's easier?

Delay (5–300 seconds, default: 20) How long to wait after a call ends before sending the text. A short delay feels natural; a long delay gives customers time to call back if they want to.

Frequency cap (1–168 hours, default: 24) Prevents repeat opening messages to the same customer within this window. This only applies to the initial outreach — if a customer is already in an active conversation, replies are not affected.

Agent knowledge access Choose what information the AI can use when responding:

  • Business description

  • FAQs

  • Custom instructions

Agent action access Choose what the AI is allowed to do:

  • Send text links (URLs to booking pages, pricing, etc.)

  • Collect answers to message questions

Callback requests are always enabled.

3. Activate the workflow

Toggle the workflow to Active. The AI will begin monitoring calls and sending follow-up texts automatically.

Testing

Before going live, use test mode to try the full flow.

  1. In Text Agent settings, enter your mobile number in the Test phone number field

  2. Call your AI phone agent from that number

  3. Hang up early or ask a question and end the call

  4. Within seconds, you'll receive a text message

  5. Reply to test the full conversation flow

Test mode behaviour:

  • The workflow triggers even if it's not activated yet

  • Frequency caps are ignored (you can test repeatedly)

  • Conversation history is cleared on each test call

  • The opening message is sent as-is (no AI adaptation)

Once you're satisfied, remove your test number and activate the workflow.

Inbox

All Text Agent conversations appear in your Text Agent inbox on the dashboard. Each thread shows:

  • Customer phone number and name (if collected)

  • Full message history

  • The triggering call details

  • AI reasoning for each response

  • Any data collected during the conversation

Replying manually

You can reply to any conversation directly from the inbox. When you send a manual reply:

  • The AI pauses and stops responding automatically

  • Your message is sent as a human response

  • The AI will auto-resume after the configured period (default: 24 hours)

You can configure auto-resume timing in the Text Agent settings:

  • 1, 4, 12, 24, 48, or 72 hours

  • Never (manual only) — you'll need to resume the AI yourself

Customer opt-out

Customers can opt out of SMS at any time by replying with any of these keywords:

  • STOP

  • UNSUBSCRIBE

  • CANCEL

  • END

  • QUIT

Once opted out, they will not receive any further text messages from your business.

Usage & billing

Your Premium plan includes a monthly allowance of text messages. Usage is tracked per calendar month.

  • Included messages: Varies by plan tier

  • Overage rate: $0.09 per message beyond your allowance

  • Notifications: You'll be notified at 80% and 100% of your included allowance

You can view your current usage in the Text Agent settings page.

Rate limits

To prevent excessive messaging, the following limits are enforced:

  • Maximum 15 AI responses per hour per thread

  • Minimum 5 seconds between AI responses

  • Frequency cap on opening messages (configurable, default 24 hours)

FAQ

Can I use Text Agent without the phone agent? No. Text Agent currently only triggers from phone calls via the Call Rescue workflow.

Does it work with landlines? No. Text Agent only supports Australian mobile numbers (+61 4xx).

What if a customer texts my number without calling first? If there's an active thread, the AI will respond. Cold inbound texts to new customers are handled if a thread exists.

Can I have multiple workflows? Currently, only the Call Rescue workflow is available. More workflow triggers are coming soon.

What happens if I run out of included messages? Messages continue to send, and overages are billed at $0.09 per message. You'll be notified before this happens.