Outgoing SMS Messages
Outgoing SMS Messages runs when an SMS is sent from your two-way SMS number, by a team member replying in the Team Inbox or by an automation. Use it to tag contacts your team has answered or close the conversation.
This trigger needs an SMS provider connected in Two-way mode under Integrations > SMS. See SMS.
Conditions
Conditions are optional. Click Add Condition, then pick a Field, an Operator and a value. Choose All (AND) or Any (OR) under Condition Type to decide whether every condition or just one must match.
| Condition | Operators | Values |
|---|---|---|
| Outgoing Message | includes any, does not include all, is a valid date, is not a valid date, matches regex pattern, does not match regex pattern, equals, not equals | Keywords, a regex pattern or exact text |
| Message Sender | equals, not equals | Human Agent, Automation Bot |
| Message sent time | is between, is on, is before, is after, is less than X period ago (past), is more than X period ago (past) | A time of day, weekdays or a period |
| Contact | is an existing client, is not an existing client | No value needed |
| Client Tags | includes any, does not include all, is part of all, is part of any, is not part of all | Your client tags |
| Contact Group | is part of all, is part of any, is not part of all | Your contact groups |
| Contact Tags | includes any, does not include all, is part of all, is part of any, is not part of all | Your contact tags |
| Contact Stage | equals, not equals | Subscriber, Lead, Engaged, Marketing qualified lead (MQL), Sales qualified lead (SQL), Opportunity, Follow-up Required, Customer, Evangelist, Other, Lost, Inactive |
Use Message Sender to tell replies from a Human Agent apart from Automation Bot messages.
Actions
Click Add Action and choose from Select Action. Actions run in order; use the arrows to reorder them. To delay an action, click Add wait time (or Add wait & Schedule time on template and email actions). Wait times count from the trigger event, not from the previous action.
| Action | What it does | Wait time |
|---|---|---|
| Send SMS | Sends an SMS through your SMS provider (Integrations > SMS). In an SMS conversation it goes to that contact, otherwise to the client's phone number. Skipped when no provider is connected, the client has no phone number or the number opted out (STOP). | Minutes to months |
| Add the Contact to Group | Adds the contact to a contact group, which you can check in later conditions. | Minutes to months |
| Remove the Contact from Group | Removes the contact from a contact group, for example so a rule does not run twice. | Minutes to months |
| Add Contact Tags | Adds tags to the contact. | Minutes to months |
| Remove Contact Tags | Removes tags from the contact. | Minutes to months |
| Update Contact Stage | Moves the contact to a stage, such as Lead or Customer. | Minutes to months |
| Assign Chat to Unassigned Queue | Moves the chat to the unassigned queue so a team member can pick it up (bot-to-human handover). | Up to 1 day |
| Assign Chat to Staff | Assigns the chat to the team member you choose. | Up to 1 day |
| Auto-Assign Chat to Staff - Round Robin | Assigns the chat to team members in turn (round robin). | Up to 1 day |
| Auto Close Conversation | Closes the conversation, so automations answer again the next time the person writes. | Minutes to months |
| Notify Staff via WhatsApp | Sends a WhatsApp template message to the team members you choose. | Minutes to months |
| Add Contact Notes | Adds a note to the contact. | Minutes to months |
Example
Tag contacts your team has answered by SMS
- Create a rule with the Outgoing SMS Messages trigger.
- Add the condition Message Sender equals Human Agent.
- Add the action Add Contact Tags with the tag "Replied".
Good to know
- Messages sent by your automations also fire outgoing triggers. Add Message Sender equals Human Agent if the rule should only react to your team, or a rule that sends a message can keep triggering itself. See loop protection.