How do I turn on missed-call text-back?
Short answer
Missed-call text-back is a workflow triggered by a call with a no-answer, busy, or voicemail outcome. It sends an SMS from your business number within seconds, apologizes for the miss, and asks one question that is easy to answer. Replies land in the shared inbox as a normal conversation, and a stop condition ends the sequence the moment someone replies or books.
Before you start
- A registered, SMS-enabled business number in your Pest AI account.
- Completed A2P 10DLC brand and campaign registration for that number.
- Someone who watches the shared inbox during business hours.
- Your booking link or calendar if you want the text to offer scheduling.
Step by step
Confirm the number is registered for SMS
Check that the sending number has completed A2P 10DLC brand and campaign registration. An unregistered number will look like it is sending while carriers quietly filter the messages, which produces the worst kind of bug: no error and no replies.
Watch out: Do not launch text-back on a number that has not finished registration. Filtered traffic can damage the number's reputation for months.
Create the workflow and set the call trigger
Build a new workflow with an inbound call trigger, then filter on call status: no answer, busy, or voicemail. Exclude answered calls and exclude outbound calls, otherwise the office will start texting people they just spoke to.
Add a short delay, then send
Insert a wait of 30 to 60 seconds before the send. That gap lets a fast callback or an agent pickup register first, so the caller does not get a "sorry we missed you" text while they are still on the phone with your CSR.
Write the first message
Keep it under 160 characters, identify the company in the first few words, and ask one specific question. Something like: "Hi {{contact.first_name}}, this is Ashley at Bay Pest — sorry we missed your call. What pest are you dealing with?" One question gets a reply; three get ignored.
Tip: Ask about the pest, not about a good time to call. Naming the problem gets people typing.
Handle the reply path
Add an if/else on reply received. On a reply, notify the assigned owner, move the contact into the pipeline, and exit the workflow so a human takes over. On no reply after a couple of hours, send one polite follow-up with the booking link and then stop.
Set business-hours and stop rules
Wrap the sends in a business-hours window so a 2am missed call gets its text at opening time. Add stop conditions for reply received, appointment booked, and opt-out, and make sure every message honors STOP handling automatically.
Watch out: Two follow-ups is the ceiling for a missed call. Beyond that, reply rates fall and opt-outs climb.
Test it with a real missed call
Call your business line from an outside mobile, let it ring out, and time the text. Reply to it and confirm the conversation appears in the shared inbox, the owner is notified, and the workflow exits instead of sending the follow-up.
Common mistakes
- Sending instantly with no delay, so people get a text while your CSR is calling them back.
- Sending from a number the customer has never seen instead of your published business line.
- Forgetting the business-hours window and texting households in the middle of the night.
- Leaving no stop condition, so a booked customer keeps getting chased.
Where this fits
This task lives inside Messaging AI. If you would rather not build it yourself, we set it up during implementation and hand it over documented — partners run the systems, we handle the hard parts. Existing partners can also reach the team through support.
Frequently asked
Want this built for you instead? We configure it with your services, your calendar, and your data, then train your team on it.
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