Automatically text a caller from a call flow (Send SMS node)

The Send SMS node texts the caller automatically as their call moves through your flow — without stopping the call. Common uses: texting your booking link while the caller waits, confirming "we got your call" on the after-hours path, or sending your address the moment someone selects a menu option. Leave the recipient empty to text the caller, or enter a specific number to alert someone else.

Before you start

• You need a call flow — see create a call flow.
• The phone number assigned to the flow must be able to send texts: local numbers need 10DLC verification and toll-free numbers need toll-free verification. Check the number's SMS-ready status first.
• Text messages count toward your plan's SMS usage.

Step 1 — Add the Send SMS node

1. Open your flow in Phone System → Call Flows.
2. Drag Send SMS from the Node Palette onto the canvas — for example after a Greeting, or hanging off an IVR option's numbered dot.

Step 2 — Set the recipient and the message

• To (leave empty for caller) — leave this blank and the text goes to the person calling (the field hints "Caller's number (default)"). Enter a phone number to text a fixed destination instead — like your own cell as a new-call alert.
• Message — the text body. The placeholder shows the idea: "Thanks for calling! We'll get back to you shortly." Write whatever fits the spot in the flow — a booking link, your address, a review link.

Step 3 — Wire it onward and publish

A Send SMS node never ends the call — it must have an outgoing connection. Drag a line from its bottom dot to the next step (the ring group, the voicemail, anything), or publish is blocked with the node's name and "has no outgoing connection." The Routing preview describes the step as "Sends an SMS during the call."

Press Publish when the preflight reads "All checks passed — safe to publish."

What your caller sees

Their phone buzzes with your text while the call keeps going — typically within seconds of passing the node. The message arrives from the same business number they dialed, so replies land in your Messages inbox like any other customer text.

Troubleshooting

• The text never arrives — the flow's number probably isn't SMS-ready yet. Open Phone System → Numbers and check the number's SMS status; a local number without approved 10DLC registration (or a toll-free number without verification) can receive calls but not send texts.
• Publish blocked with "has no outgoing connection." — Send SMS can't be the last node. Wire its bottom dot to the next step.
• The caller opted out of texts — a customer who previously replied STOP will not receive automated texts until they text START. This is carrier-level compliance, not a bug.
• You want the text only when the call is missed — use the missed-call text-back automation instead; the Send SMS node fires on every call that passes through it.