Skip to main content
Your agent can answer and send text messages on a number that has texting switched on. In the US there are two things to do first: verify your identity, then register your business with the carriers, which takes a week or two. Once approved, you switch texting on per number.

​
Before you start

​
Steps

  1. Go to Settings and confirm your identity is verified in Trust Center.
  2. Register your business in Trust Center, then Register Brand, if your number is a US number.
  3. Wait for the registration to be approved, which usually takes a week or two.
  4. Open Phone numbers and select the number you want to text from.
  5. Switch texting on for that number.
  6. Choose which agent handles texts for the number. It can be the same agent that takes your calls, or a different one.

​
You will know it worked when

  • The number shows texting as enabled.
  • A text you send to the number gets a reply from your agent.
  • Text conversations appear alongside calls in your inbox.

​
Why there is no option to enable SMS

The option to switch texting on appears once the number can legally text. Three things hide it, and they are worth checking in this order. Your identity is not verified. Verification comes before everything else. See Verify your identity. Your business is not registered, or is still under review. A verified identity is not enough on its own for a US number. Registration is a separate 11 step form with a $49 carrier fee, and approval takes a week or two. This is the step that catches most people out, because verifying an identity takes minutes and feels like the finish line. See Register your business. The number itself does not support texting. Not every number can text. A number that takes calls perfectly well can be voice only, and toll free numbers follow a different carrier process from local numbers. Check the number in Phone numbers, and buy a texting capable number if it is not. If all three are in order and the option is still missing, contact support@brilo.ai with the number and your workspace name.

​
What your agent can do with texts

Your agent uses the same instructions and the same knowledge on texts as it does on calls, so you do not write a second agent for messaging.
  • Reply to texts people send to your number.
  • Send a text during a call, for example a booking confirmation or a payment link.
  • Text a list of contacts as part of a campaign. See Text message step.

​
What else you can do here

​
If it did not work

Texts are not delivered and there is no error. In the US this is almost always registration. An unregistered number fails quietly rather than reporting an error. See Register your business. Texts send but replies never reach my agent. No agent is set to handle texts for that number. Calls and texts are set separately, so this is easy to half configure. See Assign a number to an agent. Some recipients never get anything. They may have replied STOP at some point, which blocks further messages to them. See Let people unsubscribe.

​
FAQ

Usually because your business is not registered yet. A US number cannot text until registration is approved, which takes a week or two, and a verified identity alone is not enough. Check that the number supports texting too. See Register your business.
Because verification is the first of two steps. Identity verification unlocks outbound calling and lets you start business registration, and registration is what carriers require before a US number can send texts. Allow a week or two for approval.
Yes. One agent handles both, using the same instructions and the same knowledge, so there is no second agent to write. If you want a different style for texts, you can point texts at a different agent on the same number.
No. Registration is a US carrier requirement. Numbers in other countries have their own local rules for business texting, so check what applies where your number is before you rely on it.
Both. Your agent replies to incoming texts, can send a text during a call such as a confirmation or payment link, and can text a list of contacts as a campaign step. See Text message step.
No. Call minutes are for calls. Texts are counted separately from minutes and from your email allowance, so running out of minutes does not stop your texts. See Limits.
Yes, and that is the usual setup, because customers reply to the number that rang them. One number handles both, and you can send its calls and its texts to different agents if you want a different style on each.
That contact is unsubscribed and no further messages go to them. This is required by the carrier rules and is not something to switch off. See Let people unsubscribe.