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Documentation Index

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SMS lets you follow up with contacts from the same phone-number setup you use for calls. Use it when an agent needs to share a link during a conversation, or when a workflow should send an automatic follow-up after a call or contact event.

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Before you start

You need:
  • A mobile SMS-capable phone number in telli. Check Telephony > Phone Numbers and look for the SMS capability badge.
  • A contact with a valid phone number.
  • Consent to message the recipient and a message that follows local messaging rules.
SMS to US recipients is not supported right now. Sends to US phone numbers are recorded as failed.
If you do not have an SMS-capable mobile number, buy a mobile number from Phone Numbers. Imported numbers, local numbers, and voice-only numbers do not support SMS.

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Send SMS from an agent

Use an agent SMS tool when the agent should send a configured message during a live call, such as a booking link, payment link, or confirmation message.
1

Open the agent

Open the agent you want to edit, then go to the agent tools section in the builder sidebar.
2

Add an SMS tool

Under SMS, click Add SMS tool.
3

Add a label

Give the message a label, such as booking_link or confirmation_sms. Labels must start with a letter or underscore and can contain letters, numbers, and underscores.
4

Choose the sender

Use Use current phone call when the SMS should come from the number used for the call. Select a fallback SMS-capable number in case the call number cannot send SMS. Use Manually select number when the message should always come from a specific number.
5

Write the message

Add the SMS body. You can insert available variables in the message so each send can include contact or call details.
6

Reference the tool in the prompt

Add the SMS tool reference to the prompt, for example @sendSms:booking_link, and explain when the agent should send it.
The agent can only send the SMS messages you configure. This keeps messages predictable and prevents the agent from composing arbitrary text at send time.

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Send SMS from a workflow

Use the Send SMS workflow action when telli should message a contact automatically.
1

Create or open a workflow

Go to Workflows, then create a workflow or open an existing draft.
2

Choose a trigger

Select the event that should start the workflow. SMS works especially well after Call ended triggers.
3

Add Send SMS

Add a Send SMS action block after the trigger or after a condition.
4

Choose the sender

Use the calling number with a fallback for call-based workflows, or manually select an SMS-capable number.
5

Check the recipient

The workflow sends the SMS to the contact phone number. Make sure the contact has a valid mobile number before you test or publish.
6

Write the message

Write the body and insert workflow variables when you need contact fields, call outcomes, collected data, or values from earlier blocks.
7

Publish and test

Publish the workflow, then run it manually against a recent call before enabling automatic sends.
See Workflows for the full workflow publishing and run-monitoring flow.

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Review SMS activity

SMS conversations appear in Conversations alongside calls when SMS is enabled for your account. Open a conversation to see the message history and delivery state. SMS also appears on the contact activity timeline, so you can review follow-ups next to the contact’s calls and scheduled activity. Common delivery states are:
StatusMeaning
queuedtelli sent the message to the SMS provider and it is waiting to be sent
sentThe provider accepted and sent the message
deliveredThe carrier reported delivery to the recipient
undeliveredThe carrier could not deliver the message
failedThe send failed before delivery
Inbound replies from known phone numbers are added to the matching SMS conversation. Replies from unknown numbers create a new contact from the sender number.

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Limitations

  • SMS supports plain text messages. Do not use it for media attachments.
  • US-recipient SMS is currently blocked for compliance reasons.
  • SMS requires a mobile phone number bought in telli with SMS capability.
  • The message body cannot be empty.