HubSpot workflows can automate outbound SMS and WhatsApp messages from your Aircall numbers, but when replies come back to those automated messages, they often sit until someone checks them.

Aircall AI Messaging Agents close this gap. They live on your business phone numbers and respond the moment a reply comes in to an SMS or WhatsApp message triggered by a HubSpot workflow.

How it works

HubSpot handles outbound SMS and WhatsApp message automation, while Aircall AI Messaging Agents handle the inbound conversations on either channel.

  1. A HubSpot workflow triggers and sends a message from an Aircall number, using either the Send SMS (Advanced) or Send WhatsApp action in the HubSpot workflow builder. For setup details, see Send SMS (Advanced) from HubSpot workflows with Aircall and Sending WhatsApp messages from HubSpot workflows.
  2. The message logs in the activity feed of the HubSpot record and also appears in Aircall Workspace.
  3. If the customer replies, an AI Messaging Agent assigned to that number picks up the conversation. It answers based on your company knowledge, collects any intake information you've configured, and can look up or update HubSpot records directly (more on this below).
  4. Every message, from either side, auto-logs back to the appropriate HubSpot record.
  5. If the AI agent can't fully handle the inquiry, or the customer asks for a person, the conversation is passed to your team in Aircall Workspace with full context attached.

Before you start

Confirm these before building anything:

  • Your Aircall-HubSpot integration is installed and connected.
  • At least one Aircall number is connected to that integration and enabled for SMS or WhatsApp.
  • At least one SMS or WhatsApp workflow is set up in your HubSpot account (popular use cases: meeting reminders, abandoned cart alerts, speed-to-lead outreach, and post-sale check-ins).

If not setup already, do so for SMS or WhatsApp. Then come back here to continue connecting your AI Messaging Agent.

Note: MMS (images, video, files) isn't supported through HubSpot workflows. Please see Aircall SMS messaging limits for other messaging constraints to be aware of.

Step 1: Create your AI Messaging Agent in Aircall

Before you can assign an agent to a number, you need to build one. This step is identical whether the agent will handle SMS, WhatsApp, or both. For the full walkthrough of each field below, see AI Messaging Agents: Overview and setup.

Steps

  1. Go to Aircall Dashboard > AI Agents > AI Messaging Agent and click Create Agent.

    AIMA Create an agent
  2. Name the agent, and set its language(s) plus a fallback language.
  3. Write the agent goal: a short, plain-language description of who the agent is and what it should do. Keep it tight, dense, heavily detailed prompts perform worse than clear, scoped ones.
  4. Add your company information so the agent can classify customer inquiries accurately.
  5. Add or connect your knowledge sources for the agent to pull from. Please see Using knowledge sources for your AI Messaging Agent for how to set these up.
  6. Write the greeting, farewell, and escalation messages the agent sends at each stage of a conversation.
  7. Set up an intake flow if you want the agent to collect specific information, like an email address.
Tip: Test the agent in the Aircall Dashboard before assigning it to a live number.

Step 2: Assign the agent to the number your HubSpot workflow messages from

This is what ensures your AI Messaging Agent can respond to the inbound messages on the phone number used in your HubSpot workflow.

Steps

  1. In your AI Messaging Agent's settings, click Connect number and select the same Aircall number your HubSpot workflow sends from.

  2. Decide when your agent should be active: Always on, or Scheduled to specific hours and days. Outside those hours, or while paused, customer replies route to your team via the number's normal user assignment.

    Schedule hours of AIMA
  3. Double-check that the number matches what your workflow sends from: the Aircall Number (From) field for Send SMS (Advanced), or the Aircall Number field for Send WhatsApp. If they don't match, HubSpot will still send the outbound message, but the AI Messaging Agent won't see the reply.
Note: AI Messaging Agents only work on SMS or WhatsApp-enabled lines, not voice-only numbers. A single number can be enabled for both SMS and WhatsApp at once.

What happens when a customer replies

The moment a customer replies, on SMS or WhatsApp, the AI Messaging Agent takes over on that same channel.

  • The agent responds using its knowledge base and any intake flow you've configured, continuing the conversation on the same line and channel as the original message.
  • Every message, in both directions, keeps logging to the appropriate HubSpot record. You'll see the full thread in the Aircall app as well.
  • If the agent can't help, or the customer asks for a person, it hands off to your team in Aircall Workspace with the full conversation and any collected intake data attached. A human agent can also step in and take over manually at any point on the same phone number.

Go further: AI agents read and update HubSpot records

AI Actions let AI Messaging Agents look up or update HubSpot records mid-conversation, not just reply to messages. This works the same way regardless of whether the conversation started as an SMS or a WhatsApp message. For the full list of available actions and how they're built, see Using AI Actions with AI Messaging Agents.

For example: a customer replies with an updated email address. The agent identifies them with Get Contact, updates the record with Update Contact, and confirms the change back over text, without anyone touching HubSpot directly.

Steps

  1. Go to Aircall Dashboard > Integrations > Apps, open your HubSpot integration, and enable the capabilities you want under the AI Messaging Agents section of the AI Actions tab (for example, Update Contact, Get Company information).

    AI Actions capabilities

  2. Go to AI Agents > AI Messaging Agents, open your agent, and add those actions under AI Actions.

    Add AI Actions under your AIMA
  3. Use Additional instructions to control how that action gathers input, for example, reusing the phone number already in the conversation instead of asking again.
  4. Use Conversation guidelines to define when the action should fire and what to do with what it returns, for example: "If Update Contact fails because no match is found, ask for their email before trying again."

Compliance

You're responsible for confirming your numbers and messaging comply with local regulations in every market you operate in. For more information, please see Messaging Compliance Requirements and Good Practices for SMS and WhatsApp in Aircall compliance for WhatsApp.

Pricing

AI Messaging Agent pricing is usage-based, billed per conversation, and separate from AI Voice Agent minutes. See the pricing page for current rates.

Troubleshooting

A number won't appear in the HubSpot action dropdown, or the AI Messaging Agent won't be able to activate on it, if any of the following apply: 

  • It's not connected to the Aircall-HubSpot integration
  • It's not enabled for that channel
  • It's set to skip the Aircall inbox
  • It's connected to a public API or third-party messaging service. 

Changes to number settings can take a few minutes to appear due to caching.

FAQs

Does this replace my existing HubSpot SMS or WhatsApp workflow?

No. The AI Messaging Agent complements it. HubSpot still sends the outbound message; the agent makes sure something intelligent happens when the customer replies.

Do I need separate numbers for SMS and WhatsApp?

No. A single Aircall number can be enabled for both channels at once, and one AI Messaging Agent can be assigned to handle both.

Can I use this with the Aircall API instead of HubSpot?

Yes. The same setup works for any outbound message sent through the Aircall API's "send message in agent conversation" endpoint, not just HubSpot workflows.

What if I already have an AI Voice Agent on this number?

No conflict. Voice and Messaging agents can run on the same number simultaneously.

What happens if I pause the AI Messaging Agent?

Replies route to your team through the number's normal call distribution, exactly as they would if you never activated the agent.

 

For general questions about the agent itself outside of this HubSpot setup, see AI Messaging Agents: FAQs.