Messages
Two-way SMS with your callers — booking confirmations, follow-ups, and back-and-forth conversations all in one place. Also the canonical home for messaging configuration: tone, sender, caps, deliverability.
The Messages tab is where every text message and email connected to your business lives. Booking confirmations your AI sent, follow-ups, replies from customers, manual texts you send from here, plus voicemails and the notes callers leave for you. Each conversation is grouped by the person on the other end.
What this tab is
- Inbox — the main view. A conversation list on the left, newest first; the selected thread's full history on the right, with a reply box so you can respond without leaving the dashboard. The Inbox unifies SMS and email threads, voicemails, and the relay notes callers leave when they ask the AI to pass along a message.
- Filters above the list — All, SMS, Email, Notes (caller relay messages), Voicemails, and List sends. The "List sends" filter swaps the pane to the bulk-send view (see below).
- Compose — a first-class action. You can start a brand-new conversation right from Messages; you don't have to go to Contacts first.
- Auto-sends — the second sub-tab. Every message that fires automatically (booking confirmation, reminders, no-show follow-up, post-visit thank-you, cancellation) and its editable template.
- Settings — opened from the gear button in the toolbar, not a sub-tab. Tone, sender identity, caps, opt-out language, and deliverability status live there. Brand owns visual chrome; Messages owns everything about how the words go out.
How to use it
- 1When a customer replies to a confirmation or follow-up, their message appears in the Inbox. The conversation moves to the top so you don't miss it.
- 2Click into any conversation to read the history and reply. Notes and voicemails callers left show up in the same list.
- 3To start a new conversation, use Compose — pick a recipient and send. You can also start one from a contact in Contacts; texts initiated there link back to the contact record.
- 4Watch for the unread count in the sidebar — that's how you know someone's waiting on you.
- 5Open the Auto-sends sub-tab to edit the wording your AI uses for automatic messages. Templates support variables — {name}, {business}, {type}, {date}, {time}, {duration}, {cancel_link}, {address}, {map_link} — that get substituted per message. The editor only shows the variables that make sense for each event.
Your AI can reply to texts, not just send them
Two-way SMS means your AI can answer customer texts the same way it answers calls. Each conversation has its own handling mode: full (the AI replies on its own), hybrid (the AI drafts a reply and parks it for you to review and send), or none (you handle it yourself). Set the mode per thread from the conversation header, or leave it on your account default.
About SMS deliverability
In the US, business text messages have to pass a one-time carrier registration (A2P 10DLC) before they reliably reach customers. EMOR submits this for you when you sign up, and approval usually takes a few business days. During that window, some texts may show as failed or just not arrive. Once approved, deliverability stabilizes — you don't need to do anything; we handle the registration end-to-end. Status shows on this tab once submission is in.
Common questions
My AI sent a confirmation but the customer says they didn't get it.
Check the conversation here. If it shows "delivered", the carrier accepted it — sometimes it lands in the customer's spam-text folder, or the carrier blocked it without telling anyone (this happens occasionally with newer business numbers). If it shows "failed", your AI will note it on the next call. If you see lots of failures, check the SMS troubleshooting guide.
Can I send a text to multiple people at once?
Yes — to people you pick by name. In Compose, add a single contact or a hand-picked group of contacts and your AI texts each of them. Sending to a whole saved list or a filter segment goes by email, not text: a text blast to a segment is promotional-scope messaging that needs its own carrier registration, so the "List sends" view is email-only for now. Either way, every send respects each recipient's consent and opt-out status, daily caps, and quiet hours.
Did my AI get blocked from texting this cycle?
Probably not — Starter and Professional don't hard-stop SMS at the included pool. Past your included messages, each send bills at $0.03 through the unified overage pool. The only thing that pauses outbound SMS mid-cycle is the unified overage cap on Settings → Plan & billing being reached (the combined minutes + SMS overage safety rail). Demo plans do hard-stop SMS at the included limit.
A customer texted "STOP" — what happens?
They're unsubscribed from automated messages immediately. You'll see the conversation marked as opted-out. Your AI won't send them booking confirmations or follow-ups again unless they re-opt-in.
Can I disable automatic SMS confirmations?
Yes — on the Receptionist tab, turn off SMS confirmations for bookings and let your AI confirm verbally on the call only.
I changed the sender name and it still shows the old one to customers.
Sender identity is part of the carrier registration. Most edits propagate quickly but a name change can require a re-submission. The Messages tab shows the current registered sender and whether a pending change is in flight.
SMS not working — troubleshooting
If messages aren't reaching customers, this walks through the most common causes.
Contacts
Your customer roster — pick recipients for a conversation or a list send.
Related articles
Still stuck? Email support — we usually respond within a business day.