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Set up text message support

Last Update: Sep 2024 • Est. Read Time: 3 MIN
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The Kustomer Twilio integration allows you to set up SMS support for your support teams. Once SMS is set up, you can create a support number inside of Kustomer or bring your number, support short codes from Twilio, and send and receive text and picture messages directly from the Kustomer web app.

When a customer sends an SMS message, Kustomer can create new customers and conversations from those messages. If an existing customer contacts you through SMS, Kustomer will create a conversation on the customer’s timeline.

Who can access this feature?
User typesAdmins can set up the SMS integration.


In this article

Prerequisites for integrating Twilio - SMS

Before starting this integration, you must have a Twilio account and access to your Twilio Account SID and Auth Token. You can find this information by logging into your Twilio console and viewing your Dashboard.

Only one Twilio account can be added to a Kustomer organization at a time. Before setting up this integration, you should consolidate your Twilio phone numbers into a single Twilio account.

Install Twilio - SMS

To begin offering support via SMS, install the Twilio - SMS app from within the Kustomer App Directory.

To install Twilio - SMS:

  1. Go to Appsand select Explore Directory.
  2. Search for Twilio - SMS in the App Directory, and then select Install.

Connect your Twilio account

Once you install Twilio - SMS, you need to add your Twilio SID number, authentication token, and phone number to start sending and receiving messages.

To connect your account:

  1. Go to Appsand select Twilio - SMS in the sidebar.
  2. Enter your Twilio SID number and your Authentication token in the appropriate boxes.
  3. Select Connect. You can now enter your Twilio phone number for SMS.
  4. Select Add new phone number.

    Note: For assistance with using Short Codes, or connecting your Twilio Copilot number, please contact support@kustomer.com and provide your Copilot SID (also referred to as a Messaging Service SID).

  5. Enter the phone number and select Add. The number will be added to the Text Messaging window. All connected numbers will show as a list if you previously added a phone number.

You are now ready to communicate with your customers using SMS.

When communicating with customers via SMS, keep in mind the following:

  • Customer messages that are received within a 24 hour period are threaded into the same conversation. Customer messages received after 24 hours will create a new conversation. Outbound messages from agents will always remain threaded in the conversation they are sent from.
  • Outbound Text/SMS messages have a maximum character limit of 1,600 characters. A single SMS message has a limit of 160 characters, so longer messages will be split across multiple texts. The maximum limit per reply is the equivalent of sending ten 160-character SMS messages at once.
  • Since customers may pay for individual SMS messages, it's a good support practice to be mindful of character usage to avoid making users pay for unnecessarily long messages. If you have extensive information to share with a customer, consider following up with the customer on another channel like email.

Disconnect a Twilio account

If you need to change Twilio accounts or turn off this integration, you can remove your account from the Twilio app settings in Kustomer. This will remove your account SID and Twilio authentication token from Kustomer.

To disconnect your account:

  1. Go to Appsand select Twilio - SMS in the sidebar.
  2. Select Delete.