SMS reaches customers who have no data, and works on every phone. Customers text your sender ID or number, and their messages appear as conversations in an SMS inbox in Texa Desk. Texa AI can answer them the same way it answers on WhatsApp.
Set it up
- Go to Texa AI → Agent and inboxes, and open SMS.
- Under Provider account, choose your Provider: MSG91, Africa’s Talking or Termii.
- Enter your Sender IDs, separated by commas. Each one has to be registered with the provider, such as
ADAFOODS. - To send through your own provider account, enter its API key. For MSG91, also enter the Flow template ID: the Flow template whose one variable carries the message. For Africa’s Talking, enter the Username.
- To send through Texa’s account instead, leave the API key empty.
- Under SMS inboxes, add an inbox with a Name, its Provider and its Sender ID.
When you use your own account, the page shows two addresses: Incoming messages and Delivery reports. Copy each one into your provider’s dashboard, so customers’ texts and delivery reports reach Texa Desk.
What it costs
Through your own account, Texa doesn’t charge for the SMS. Your provider bills you directly. Through Texa’s account, each SMS page costs 15 credits. See What things cost.
Good to know
- A sender ID has to be approved by the provider and the networks before it can send. This can take a few days.
- Long messages are split into several pages, and each page is charged.
- SMS has no photos or voice notes. Customers who need to send a receipt should use WhatsApp or the website chat.