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SMS

How to alert your team by text when a customer replies by SMS

Build a workflow under Automation › Workflows with the Customer Replied trigger filtered by Reply Channel = SMS, add a Send Internal Notification action of type SMS, include the contact's name and the message body, and publish. The original text stays in Conversations; the team gets a separate alert.

Updated on

Before you start

  • You need access to Automation and an SMS-capable number on the account.
  • The user who will get the alert needs a valid mobile number on their profile (Settings › My Staff).
  • Know that a number's call forwarding does not forward texts: inbound messages always stay in Conversations. This workflow creates a new alert with the content; it doesn't move the original message.
  • Each SMS alert is an outbound text with the usual sending cost. For high volumes, consider email or in-app notifications instead.
Where to find it

Automation › Workflows › Create Workflow › Customer Replied trigger

Step by step

Build the workflow

  1. Open Automation › Workflows and click Create Workflow › Start from Scratch.
  2. Click Add New Workflow Trigger and choose Customer Replied.
  3. Click Add Filters, choose Reply Channel and select SMS. Save the trigger.
  4. Click the + below the trigger and pick the Send Internal Notification action.
  5. Under notification type choose SMS and select who receives it (a user, the contact's assigned user or a team).
  6. In the message, type something like "New SMS from " and insert, via the custom values picker, Contact › First Name followed by Message › Message Body. The body carries the exact text the customer sent.
  7. Save the action and publish the workflow.
  8. Test it: send a text from a contact to the business number and confirm the message shows in Conversations and the alert reaches the chosen phone.

Allow alerts for follow-up replies

  1. In the workflow settings, turn on Allow Re-entry. Without it, each contact triggers the alert only once.
  2. Keep the workflow short (just trigger and notification) so it finishes before the same contact's next reply. A contact still inside the workflow can't re-enter.

Tips

  • To get alerts for email or WhatsApp replies too, build one workflow per channel (or change the filter) so each channel alerts in its own way.
  • If the customer should get an automatic reply, add a separate Send SMS action; the internal notification only alerts your team.
  • For large teams, prefer email or in-app alerts: no SMS cost per person.

Common problems

  • The workflow doesn't fire → Check the Customer Replied trigger, the Reply Channel = SMS filter and that the workflow is published. If the contact already went through it, turn on Allow Re-entry.
  • The action ran but no alert arrived → The user has no valid mobile number on their profile. Also check the execution history and the SMS error in Conversations.
  • The alert wasn't sent because it was too long → A text over roughly 1,600 characters fails. If customers send long messages, use email or in-app notifications.
  • I only got an alert for the customer's first message → Allow Re-entry is off. Turn it on in the workflow settings.

Frequently asked questions

Is the original message forwarded to my phone?

No. The message stays in Conversations; the workflow sends a new alert with the content copied in.

Can I alert more than one person?

Yes. Internal notifications accept users, roles or teams. Each SMS recipient counts as one send.

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