What is the cost of SMS in Intercom?
If you have purchased the SMS add-on, your monthly price depends on the number of phone numbers you have activated and “SMS Segments Sent/Received” usage in the last billing month. See the price of these metrics for each country.
Can I use current phone numbers or do I have to choose a different number?
You'll need to choose a new number and activate it for each country you would like to send SMS in.
How do I transfer an existing number from Twilio?
This is dependent on your Intercom Plan. Reach out to our Support team through the Messenger to find out if you can transfer an existing number from Twilio.
The migration takes place on the Twilio side and this is the documentation you'll need to take to their team (see Requesting a Number Transfer). Once they confirm they've completed, we can help with the last steps to get it updated in Intercom.
Note: The number needs to be the same type of number that we support. e.g. US - Toll Free Numbers, CA - Local Numbers, AU - Mobile numbers. If migrating the number to Intercom, any other integrations that have been using that number won’t be supported such as voice calls.
Can I enable SMS on my Test Workspace?
No - it's not possible to enable SMS on your test workspace. SMS can only be used on a live workspace with an SMS subscription.
What types of messages can I send with SMS?
You can send a wide variety of messages via SMS - promotional, transactional, re-engagement, proactive support, just to name a few. The SMS editor is very flexible and enables you to send a wide variety of communications to your users.
What happens if a user calls the phone number we've set up for SMS?
When a user calls the number, they'll hear an automated voice message which tells them that it's an SMS only phone number.
It is not possible to change this automated message.
Does SMS replace or complement my current workflows for outbound messaging?
SMS is an excellent channel for reaching customers once they’re outside of your app, website, or product. Plus, unlike email, it has much higher engagement rates. We believe that to have an effective customer experience, you need a true omnichannel experience - with multiple connected communication channels. While SMS may unlock new workflows, it can and should be integrated with your existing workflows.
Can we support inbound messaging or outbound only?
We believe that the best customer experiences are conversational and that any opportunity to foster conversation results in a huge payoff. However, we understand that not every business is ready or willing to open up another direct line to their support or success team. That’s why our SMS product is flexible enough to offer both! We suggest using both inbound and outbound messaging to get the most out of SMS, however, you can also just enable outbound messaging as well. If supporting a whole new support channel feels like too big of a change or ask at the moment, first implement outbound SMS. See the value it can bring your business and later on explore opening up for inbound SMS as well.
Can I target inbound SMS messages in bot flows?
Yes, simply set up a workflow After a customer sends their first message to deflect, triage and route inbound SMS messages more efficiently.
Do we have a way to capture consent?
We’re enabling your customers to manage their consent and messaging preferences directly! Customers can manage what types of SMS messages (marketing, operational, conversations) they wish to receive. Keeping your customers happy and respecting their consent preferences.
Can we see when a user has opened an SMS?
No, we can't see an open rate but we can see that it has been received by the end user.
Are there character limits for a single message as seen on user end (so not accounting for segments)?
Yes, there is a limit of 1600 max.
What languages are supported for SMS?
All languages are supported. Some characters will change the encoding with the segment tool.
Is SMS available for group conversations?
No, not at this time.
Can users see messages sent via SMS in the Messenger?
Yes, SMS is omnichannel, and users will be able to see and reply to SMS conversations in the Messenger.
Can we see that a user has seen an SMS?
No, SMS doesn't support read receipts so it's not possible to see when a user has read a SMS. We do get a delivered status for when SMS is successfully sent to users.
Is there an API endpoint for SMS?
No, we do not have an API endpoint for SMS.
Does SMS support ShortCode?
No. Currently we don't support ShortCode.
How quickly will new user receive SMS?
In the first two hours after a new user is created in your Intercom account, Intercom will check for any SMS they should receive every time we receive a ping request. (This should happen each time they load a page in your web app where you have Intercom installed).
After the first two hours, Intercom will check every hour for any SMS that users should receive.
What content is supported in the SMS feature when send/receiving SMS/MMS messages?
The table below shows supported content being sent and received via SMS/MMS.
Content | Sending (outbound and Help Desk conversations) | Receiving (Help Desk conversations) |
Text | ✅ | ✅ |
Links | ✅Must be full format URLs in plain text which will be converted to hyperlink styling by the customer’s phone. | ✅ |
Macros | ✅Macros are supported but any non-text elements or formatting from the macro is stripped. We recommend separate macros for SMS. | n/a |
Images | 🚫Image sending is limited due to the additional costs incurred - if you need to send an image, we recommend sending a link to the image. | ✅ |
GIFs and Video | 🚫 | 🚫 |
Apps | 🚫 | 🚫 |
What is an SMS message segment?
Depending upon the length of attributes in your SMS, the message may be segmented multiple times. This is because SMS is a relatively old technology and there are a limited number of characters that can be transmitted in a message. On most smartphones, customers will still see the message stitched together as a single message.
The character limit of an SMS before it’s broken into another segment depends on a couple factors:
The encoding type - Text messages with no special characters are encoded in GSM-7 which is more efficient and supports up to 160 characters in a single segment, whereas the use of emojis requires UCS-2 encoding and can only support a maximum of 69 characters per segment.
The number of segments - Every message segment has start and stop codes to let phones know how to read the message, so if there are multiple segments then more code is required in the message to instruct the phone how to combine the multiple segments.
This usually means:
A short SMS message with less than 160 standard characters is sent as 1 segment.
A short SMS message with less than 69 characters (but including emojis or special characters) is sent as 1 segment.
A long message with over 160 standard characters will be broken into multiple segments with each segment limited to 153 characters.
A long message with over 69 special characters will be broken into multiple segments with each segment limited to 67 characters.
Use the Twilio Messaging Segment Calculator to see how this works with your particular message.
Which phone numbers are supported in which countries?
The table below shows the countries and numbers currently supported in SMS:
Country | Number type supported | Notes |
United States 🇺🇸 | Toll-Free Number (+1 833, +1 855 etc.) | Standard phone number for all US SMS senders. Requires verification (included in activation cost). |
Canada 🇨🇦 | Local Mobile (+1) | Standard phone number type of all CA SMS senders (included in activation cost). |
United Kingdom 🇬🇧 | Local Mobile (+44 7) | Standard phone number type of all UK SMS senders (included in activation cost). |
Australia 🇦🇺 | Local Mobile | Standard phone number type of all AU SMS senders (included in activation cost).
Australia requires the uploading of certain legal documents in order to register for a local number - contact support to set up. |
Important: Only one phone number can be activated in each country. At this time we do not support multiple number setups within a single country.
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