Chat SMS
- Last updated on August 31, 2022 at 3:36 PM
The Chat SMS module allows you to communicate via a conversational chat head in real time in the portal.
You must have a VMN assigned to your account to enable Chat SMS. If you do not have a VMN, please get in touch with your Account Manager. The VMN must be dedicated for the Chat SMS module so if you have another VMN assigned you are already using for other purposes then you will need a second.
To begin with, you will need to create a new keyword on your Chat SMS VMN.
Keywords can be found under 'Inbound SMS'. Type the asterisk symbol into the box and click on “Search”. Select your Chat SMS VMN from the list:
Click on Next to continue to the set up.
In the 1st Action box, click on the dropdown and select “Send to Chat SMS”.
In the days to archive box, select the amount of days you want to keep the conversation for. Please note that it will automatically be archived after 90 days.
Click on the “Save” button to complete the configuration.
You will be able to see that the keyword is successfully set up in the keyword manager.
In the left hand navigation, click “Chat SMS” to go the the Chat SMS module.
To start a new chat, click on the “+” button in the top left.
Enter the number that you want to send a message to and the chat will appear.
Type your message in the box.
You can see that the sender ID is set as the VMN so your recipient can reply directly. This is the number your message will appear from on the recipient’s mobile phone.
When your recipient replies, this will appear as a chat.
To be able to easily identify the contact you are having a conversation with, you can add a nickname to the chat by clicking on the pencil icon next to the number.
For more information on adding nicknames, see the nicknames feature article here.
To archive conversations, click on the archive button in the top right hand side.
To download the conversation as a CSV, click on the download CSV button.
If you have any further queries about the Chat SMS module, please get in touch with the team today.
If you would like to be able to chat with your customers via email, please see the article on Chat SMS with email here.