Please note: SMS is currently available only for numbers in the US, Canada, UK, France, Australia, & Germany.
Additionally: for UK, FR, AU, and DE only mobile numbers can be used for SMS. If you are using another number type (Geographic/Local, etc) you will be unable to send SMS with that number.
Aircall’s native SMS feature offers one-to-one messaging to better engage prospects and customers, and communicate efficiently.
Features
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Send / Receive
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View History
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Call from messaging window
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Add a contact from messaging window
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Notifications (Badge and Push)
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HubSpot logging
Platforms
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Desktop and Web application (including CTI)
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iOS
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Android
⚠️ Please note that SMS is only available for Classic numbers; IVR numbers will not be eligible for messaging. Users must also be added to the call distribution for a number - if a user is added as Outgoing Calling Only, they will not have access to SMS.
⚠️ While some authorization/verification, one-time password (OTP), or two-factor authentication (2FA) services may work with Aircall SMS, we can not guarantee this for a variety of reasons, and do not recommend or support the use of these services with Aircall SMS. More information can be found at: Multi-Factor Authentication and VOIP number limitations or restrictions
💡 Customers can now start a message from the new messaging section! This new functionality is available on Desktop and both mobile apps.
This release makes our new messaging section powerful! We’re creating a more intuitive and efficient experience for users, who can now initiate text conversations through the new messaging section so they can easily manage their messaging communications.
Plus, emojis are now available across all apps! 😄
Navigating the App
After you sign in to the app, you can navigate to the dialer (Keypad) where you will see a blue messaging icon on the bottom left of your window.
You will also see a dedicated section in the bottom of the app, marked “Messages” for easier access to SMS conversations. This section is where you’ll see a history of your SMS conversations. In addition, you’ll notice a badge counter to notify you of any unread messages.
Sending a Message
From the Keypad tab, use the search bar to find a contact or type in a number, then click on the messaging icon to start a message. Available on the desktop, iOS, and Android, you can also now start or resume an SMS conversation directly from a contact details page.
iOS and Android mobile apps
In addition to the contact details page, you can now start or resume an SMS conversation directly from the contact lists in the People section.
⚠️ Remember, SMS is enabled for domestic service only, so make sure the recipient number is in the same country as the number it is originating from (France for France, and the UK for the UK). The exception is US ↔ Canada which is possible.
Messaging
Type your message at the bottom of the phone window to start a conversation!
Viewing Messages
Navigate to the Messages section of your phone to locate your messages. Click on any of the messages to access your conversations.
Contacts
While you are in a conversation, you can click on the phone number at the top and select 'Add Contact' to save the number to your contacts.
For any previously saved contacts, you can click on their name to access their details. From that page, you will be able to edit contact information or select the phone icon to place a call from the messaging window.
Receiving a message
When you receive a text message, you will be alerted through two types of notifications: Push notifications and Badge notifications. All agents assigned to the number to which the message was sent will receive these notifications.
Push notifications
Push notifications are small pop-up alerts that help the user identify that there is a new message. They appear when the user has the Aircall Phone Application in the background, or in the foreground but they are in a different screen than the conversation view where they received the message. They also provide a quick link to the conversation and allow the user to respond to the conversation directly from the notification.
Badge notifications
Badge notifications appear as small red circles and show the number of unread messages for each conversation, and an aggregated total in the navigation bar in order to alert an agent that there is a new message to read. Once a user opens and views a message, the badge notification will disappear.
Please note that unread message counts will be dependent on each agent and changes made by one agent will not reflect on another's unread notification count.
Logging Your SMS in HubSpot
If you have SMS-enabled numbers and also have installed the HubSpot integration, you can log messages as HubSpot timeline events on a Contact or Company.
Learn more about how SMS messages are logged in HubSpot from Aircall here.
If you are an Aircall customer and would like to activate SMS on your eligible numbers, please make a request here.
Updates
New releases of our SMS UX/UI is now available across all 3 apps! Now users can start an SMS from the call details or call ended view, as well as being able to copy a number or text message and create a contact from the conversation, making makes it faster and easier for agents to follow up with / or resolve customer inquiries by providing them more options within the app to initiate a text.
Users can also now mark conversations as unread/read, and preview messages. Previewing messages without having to read whole conversations will save agents time and get them up to speed on previous customer conversations faster.
Agents can mark conversations as unread to come back to later, helping them prioritize what clients to attend first.
On the Desktop and Web apps, users are now able to filter messages by contact name, line, or date. Using filters, agents can find the conversations most relevant to them, faster. Filters can also be combined.
FAQ
How is text messaging priced?
For the US and Canada, domestic messaging is included at no additional charge up to 13,000 outbound messages per user per month and 20,000 outbound messages per line per month (messages are counted by “segments”). For other regions, we charge per outbound text at industry competitive rates. Contact your account manager for details.
What is a “Segment?”
The telco industry (carriers and providers), count text messages in "segments." Segments come from the SMS standard that was implemented in the 1990s, and is still in use today.
1 segment is 160 characters, using only a specific range of characters known as GSM-7 encoding. For example, using emoticons will reduce the numbers of characters of a segment.
When writing or receiving longer text messages, they are combined to appear as single messages, even if they contain several segments (up to 1600 characters).
To verify how many segments are in a message, segment calculators can be found online.
Will SMS be enabled for all eligible phone lines on an account?
Yes, all eligible numbers will have SMS enabled. If you are porting numbers into Aircall, or have put in a special request to purchase a number, please make sure to let us know so that we can ensure the number is eligible.
If I want to add additional lines, will these automatically be SMS enabled, or is this manual each time?
For any eligible numbers, SMS will be enabled automatically. Numbers purchased through the Admin Dashboard will be eligible, but for any special requests for additional numbers, please make sure to let us know they need to be eligible for SMS.
If I’m on multiple numbers can I choose the number that I want to send the text to be sent from?
Yes, the user can pick the number in the drop-down just as they do for calling.
Is it possible to enable texting for only a few users?
No, it is applied to all users at the company.
Can I send a text internationally?
No, for now, SMS service is only domestic, with the exception of US ↔ Canada which is possible. If you have a UK number, you can only send/receive messages from another UK number.
Can I send messages to Puerto Rico?
No. Even though Puerto Rico is part of the U.S., it is not included in domestic messaging at this time.
Can I receive authorization/verification codes, one-time passwords (OTPs), or two-factor authentication (2FA) codes by text?
Many services will send authorization/verification codes, OTPs, or 2FA texts with a short code number using an irregular format, such as 1234 instead of 123-456-7890. You will not be able to receive texts from short code numbers as they will not be recognized as 'valid' numbers.
To be safe, we recommend using an alternate verification method as you may not be able to see if a short code number is used to send a text like this ahead of time.
Is it possible to automatically send SMS with Aircall through CRM workflows (using the agent credential/phone number)?
Not at this time.
Does sending a text message to a new contact automatically create a new contact in HubSpot?
Yes
Can I use Aircall numbers for bulk messaging?
While Aircall’s native text messaging is designed for one-to-one conversations, and thus unable to offer bulk messaging, we do offer third-party integrations with several providers including Heymarket, Sakari, Salesmsg, and Textline. Using a third party may allow you to use Aircall numbers for bulk messaging, and you can learn more about each SMS provider and enablement here. You can use a 3rd party messaging service on the same account that uses Aircall native text messaging, but not on the same number.
Are there any analytics in the Dashboard for SMS?
You’ll find details about text messages sent or received during a selected period in our Overview Dashboard.
Can I send emojis?
Yes 🙂
Can I send images or files?
For eligible US and Canada numbers, MMS is supported in PNG, JPEG, GIF, and PDF formats. You can find more information on MMS here: MMS (Business Multimedia Messaging)
Can I send URLs?
Yes
Can I receive contact cards?
No
Can texts or message threads be deleted within the app?
No. At this time, texts or message threads cannot be deleted or archived within the Aircall app.
⚠️ Aircall's support team also does not have the capability to delete or archive your messages.
How can I share feedback about SMS and additional functionality I would like to have in the future?
We would love to hear from you so that we can understand your business needs and how we can better support you in the future. Customers can submit feedback here.
Are there any Limitations or Restrictions I should be aware of?
Please make sure to to visit: French Messaging Limitations, Messaging Compliance Requirements and Good Practices, & A2P 10DLC - Campaigns, Trust Scores, and Rate Limits.
Can I export SMS?
At this time, Aircall does not support individual or bulk downloads of SMS via the Aircall Dashboard or API.
Can I have Aircall's native SMS feature enable for only a specific number?
Not at the moment. When SMS is activated for your company, it's activated for all SMS capable numbers.
Can I send messages to toll-free numbers?
At the moment, outbound messaging to toll-free numbers is not possible.