SMS
SMS experience
SMS is the lowest-common-denominator channel, and that is exactly its value. It needs no app, no internet connection and no corporate account. For a warehouse worker with a basic handset or a new joiner who hasn't been provisioned yet, it may be the only way to reach the assistant at all.
Everything else about SMS is a trade-off. It is plain text, one message at a time, with no buttons, no images inline, no formatting and no webview surface. Design for it deliberately rather than treating it as a smaller Web App.
For number provisioning and provider credentials, see Voice & SMS setup.
How employees start a conversation
The employee texts the assistant's number and is recognised by their phone number, so the number held in your HR system needs to match the one they text from.
As with WhatsApp, the assistant cannot open the conversation with an introduction — but unlike WhatsApp there is no opt-in requirement or messaging window, so outbound notifications can be sent at any time.
Optional identity challenge
SMS can be configured to verify the employee before letting them into the assistant. The employee is asked for something only they should know — the last four digits of an ID, an employee number, a date — and is checked against their profile before the conversation proceeds.
This exists because SMS has no login. Anyone holding the phone can text the number, so if your flows expose salary, leave balances or personal data, turn this on.
There is no SSO on SMSThe Web App authenticates the employee. SMS authenticates the phone. If a handset is shared, lost or reassigned, the identity challenge is the only thing standing between the new holder and the previous employee's data.
How responses are formatted
Plain text only. No bold, no italics, no bullets, no headings — formatting markers are stripped rather than sent through, so employees don't see stray asterisks and hashes.
Long answers are split across several messages. The assistant splits at around 640 characters, at word or sentence boundaries so messages don't break mid-word. Your carrier then splits each of those further into 160-character segments and reassembles them on the handset, which is why a single answer can arrive as several notification buzzes.
Where a disclaimer is configured, it is appended once at the very end of the final message rather than repeated on every segment.
Response times are slower than every other channelCarrier networks add latency that has nothing to do with the assistant. Employees used to instant answers on the Web App will notice the difference, and a multi-part answer arrives progressively rather than all at once.
Interactive elements
There are none, natively. Buttons, quick replies and menus are all rendered as a numbered text list:
1. Raise a ticket
2. Check leave balance
3. MenuThe employee replies with either the number or the option text. Matching is forgiving — case and accents are normalised — so "raise a ticket" works as well as "1".
Thumbs up and thumbs down feedback is available and appears at the end of the option list, in the same numbered form.
Because options are text, keep them short and few. A list of ten choices is unreadable in a text message even though the assistant will render it.
Webviews are sent as links. Opening one requires internet access on the handset, which defeats much of the reason for choosing SMS in the first place — so avoid flows that depend on form filling.
Files and media
Practically, none in either direction.
Outbound: the assistant can include a link to a document, and images can be delivered only where MMS is enabled on your number. Where MMS is available, media is delivered through publicly reachable links rather than expiring ones, because the carrier needs to fetch the file itself.
Inbound: attachments an employee sends are not processed. The message arrives, the attachment does not.
Tables cannot be rendered at all on SMS — not even as an image. Answers that depend on tabular data will not land well here.
Notifications
SMS is a strong notification channel and a weak conversation channel, which is often the right way to use it.
- No opt-in and no messaging window, so notifications can be sent whenever needed.
- Employees who have never used the assistant can still be reached.
- Delivery receipts are supported, so you can confirm messages landed.
- Every message costs money through your provider, and long answers cost several messages.
A single sender number is used for the channel. Different numbers for different countries are not supported today, so international employees will receive messages from a foreign number, which some carriers treat with suspicion.
Compared with the Web App
| Capability | Web App | SMS |
|---|---|---|
| Login | SSO | None — phone number, plus optional identity challenge |
| Message length | No limit, Read more control | Split at ~640 characters, then into carrier segments |
| Formatting | Full markdown and HTML | Plain text, all formatting stripped |
| Buttons / menus | 10 / 6 interactive | Numbered text list, reply by number or text |
| Tables | Rendered natively | Not supported in any form |
| Images | Yes | MMS only, otherwise a link |
| Webviews | Full-page in-app | Links requiring internet |
| Employee can upload files | Yes | Received but not processed |
| Voice input | Yes | No |
| Parallel conversations | Multiple named chats | One continuous thread |
| Streaming responses | Yes | No |
| Typing indicator | Yes | No |
| Sources and citations | Shown | Not shown |
| Branding and theme | Configurable | None — no name, logo or colour |
| Response time | Immediate | Slower, carrier-dependent |
| Cost per message | None | Charged per message by your provider |
Designing flows for SMS
A few rules that save rework:
- Keep answers short. Every extra 640 characters is another message and another cost.
- Offer no more than three or four options at a decision point.
- Never require a file upload.
- Avoid anything that needs a form. Route those employees to a different channel at that step.
- Turn on the identity challenge before exposing anything personal.
- Prefer SMS for one-way notifications and short lookups; prefer WhatsApp or the mobile app for anything conversational.
Things to tell your employees
- Reply with the number of the option you want, or type it out — either works.
- Long answers arrive as several texts. Wait for them all before replying.
- Photos and documents you send won't be read. Describe the issue in words.
- Answers take a little longer than in the app.
Setting up the channel
Number provisioning, provider credentials, webhook configuration and delivery tracking are covered in Voice & SMS setup.
Updated about 1 hour ago