People text a business when the question is quick and they would rather not sit on hold for the answer: are you open Saturday, what's the address, can I drop off my tax documents after 5. An SMS agent answers those texts from the same facts your phone agent uses, at any hour. It is also how your phone agent hands callers the things that are easier to read than to hear.
What people text about, and what they still call about
Texts tend to be short, practical and not urgent:
- A tax client: "What's the address for dropping off documents? Is there parking?"
- A parent: "What time is early release on Friday?"
- A driver: "Do you do state inspections? How long does it take?"
- A resident: "Is trash pickup pushed back this week because of the holiday?"
Calls are for things that feel urgent, complicated or personal: a car that died on the highway, a letter from the IRS, a problem at school. Someone with a problem usually wants a voice. Someone with a question will often text, if the number they have will answer.
What an SMS agent handles
When a customer texts your ModPhone number, the agent writes a reply from your company information and knowledge base. It is told to answer only from that information and to say it doesn't have the answer rather than guess. Replies are plain text, usually two or three sentences.
That covers a lot of ground:
- Questions answered on your website or in your documents: hours, locations, fees, what to bring, deadlines.
- A link from your own site along with the answer, so "how do I register for kindergarten?" gets one line of explanation and the registration page.
- A running conversation. It reads the recent messages in the thread, so "and Sunday?" makes sense after "are you open Saturday?"
- Replies that take recent calls into account. A text and a call from the same mobile number belong to the same contact, so the agent can see that customer's recent calls with you.
If you use GoHighLevel for booking and connect it, the agent can check availability and book by text. Without it, booking happens on phone calls, where the agent checks your Google or Outlook calendar.
Texting a caller in the middle of a call
This is where texting earns its place even if hardly anyone texts you. Some things do not survive being read aloud: a web address, an email address, a street address with a suite number, the link to a form.
When a caller needs one of those, the ModPhone agent offers to text it. It asks whether to send it to the number they are calling from or a different one, sends the text, and confirms it went out. The parent gets the enrollment form link. The resident gets the page for paying a water bill online. The driver gets directions to the shop.
Texts also carry the follow-through from calls:
- After the agent books an appointment, the caller gets a text with the date and time and replies Y to confirm or C to cancel.
- If a caller wants details by email, the agent texts them asking for their address, so nobody has to spell "j dot smith at" over the phone.
- If a returning caller asks about an earlier conversation, the agent texts a 4-digit code to their phone and asks them to read it back before it discusses their history.
What it cannot do
It only knows what you have given it. "Is my car ready?" or "Did you file my extension?" needs someone who can check the shop system or the client file. Unless that system is connected, the agent says it doesn't have that information. You will see the text in your SMS inbox and can answer it yourself.
Texts do not create follow-up items. In ModPhone, the Needs attention list is built from phone calls. For texts, add an alert so someone is emailed or texted whenever a customer writes in.
Once the agent is on, it keeps answering. If you reply to a customer by hand, the agent will still answer that customer's next message, because there is no per-conversation pause. If you want to handle texting yourself for a while, switch off AI auto-responses. Messages are still saved.
It also does not start conversations. From the SMS page you reply inside threads that customers began, and there is no button to text someone new. Keeping the agent in the position of answering people who asked is also the simplest position to be in on consent.
Opt-out and consent basics
This is general information, not legal advice. If you plan to send marketing texts, talk to someone who knows the rules where you operate.
- Replying is the low-risk case. A customer who texts your number started the conversation. A caller who agrees to have a link texted to them asked for that message.
- Promotions are the high-risk case. In the US, marketing texts are covered by stricter federal rules (the Telephone Consumer Protection Act) and by the mobile carriers' own policies. Get clear permission first.
- STOP means stop. Replying STOP is the standard way to opt out across US mobile networks, and customers can use it to stop messages from your number.
- Business numbers get registered. If you add a separate local texting number, ModPhone notes that it needs a one-time registration with the mobile carriers and works at a limited sending rate until that is done. If you expect to send a lot of texts, tell ModPhone support first.
Setting it up
Numbers you get inside ModPhone take calls and texts on the same number, so there is nothing to switch on: customers text the number they already call. If your voice number cannot text, you add a second number for texting, and customers text that one.
Then:
- Check that your knowledge covers the questions people text. Short, specific facts work as well in a text as they do on a call.
- Add at least one alert recipient for incoming texts, by email or by text.
- Text your own number the five questions you get most, and fix any answer that comes back wrong.
- Put the number where people will think to text it: the contact page, your email signature, the sign on the door.
Texting is one of four channels the same agent can run, and the knowledge is shared across all of them (how that works). The free trial includes 100 texts along with 100 voice minutes, and each plan's allowance is on the pricing page.
Common questions
Does the SMS agent use the same knowledge as the phone agent?
Yes. Texts are answered from the same company information and knowledge base as calls to that number, so a fact you fix once is fixed for both.
Can I read and answer texts myself?
Yes. Every conversation is in the SMS dashboard, and your replies go out from your agent's texting number. The agent keeps answering new messages in that conversation, so turn off AI auto-responses if you want to take over completely.
Can the agent text someone who has not contacted us?
Not from the SMS page. You reply inside conversations customers started, and the phone agent texts callers during a call after asking where to send the message.
How do customers opt out of texts?
Customers can reply STOP to stop receiving messages from that number, which is standard across mobile networks.
Is texting included on every plan?
Two-way texting is on every ModPhone plan, including the free 30-day trial, which comes with 100 texts. Monthly allowances by plan are listed on the pricing page.
A first step
This week, go through the last month of voicemails and emails and pull out the quick questions. Those are the messages people will text you instead. To see how the agent would answer them, try it on your own website.