How to get started with Instant AI SMS

What is Instant AI SMS?

Instant AI SMS lets you send text messages to your shoppers from your Instant AI dashboard. SMS runs inside your flows and campaigns, next to email, so you do not need a separate SMS tool.

Why you need it

  • SMS consent is separate from email consent. Without SMS, the phone numbers and SMS consent you collect go unused.
  • A shopper who signs up with a phone number and no email address gets no messages from you unless you send SMS.
  • If you send SMS from another platform, your SMS results and your email results are in two places. In Instant, the revenue for both channels shows in one dashboard.

How to set it up

Before you start

  • You can send SMS to shoppers with Australian (+61), US and Canadian (+1) phone numbers. Instant skips shoppers with numbers from other countries.
  • Mobile carriers restrict SMS for some business categories, for example tobacco, vapes and firearms. Check the full list in How SMS pricing and credits work before you apply.
  • SMS uses credits from a monthly SMS plan. For how credits work, see How SMS pricing and credits work.

Step 1: Ask us to switch on SMS

Your SMS plan must be set up before you can send SMS. To start, speak to your Customer Success Manager or contact our support team. Tell us which countries you want to send to.

Note: If your SMS plan is not set up, SMS does not send. This is true even when the carriers approve your verification.

Step 2: Verify your business

Mobile carriers only deliver business SMS after they verify the business that sends it. Verification depends on where your shoppers are, not where your business is. If you send to Australian numbers and to US or Canadian numbers, you must complete both verifications.

  1. Go to Configuration > SMS in your Instant AI dashboard
  2. Find the card for the country you want to send to
  3. Select Enable SMS
  4. Enter your business details
  5. Upload the documents for your region
  6. Select Submit

Each region needs different documents. See Enabling Instant AI SMS in Australia or Enabling Instant AI SMS in the US and Canada for what to prepare.

Tip: Most rejected applications have a business name or address that does not match the business registration. Copy your details directly from your registration document. Do not type them from memory.

Step 3: Set your brand prefix

Every SMS starts with a brand prefix, so shoppers know who sent it. You set the prefix one time, and it applies to all of your flows and campaigns.

  1. Go to Configuration > SMS in your Instant AI dashboard
  2. Open SMS Settings
  3. Choose a short prefix or a long prefix
  4. Enter your prefix

For the difference between the two options, see Customising your SMS brand prefix.

Step 4: Collect SMS sign-ups

Instant only sends SMS to shoppers who give explicit SMS consent. You can collect SMS consent in three ways:

  • Add a phone step to your Instant AI sign-up form
  • Make an SMS sign-up page with Shopify Forms
  • Turn on the SMS marketing checkbox at Shopify checkout

Instant also gets SMS consent automatically from Klaviyo, Shopify and integrated pop-up tools. You do not need to import a list.

You can start to collect sign-ups before your verification is complete. For the steps, see How to collect SMS sign-ups.

Step 5: Turn off SMS in your other platforms

If you send SMS from Klaviyo, Attentive, Postscript or another platform, turn off the SMS flows that Instant will replace. Do this before you turn on SMS in Instant. If both platforms send, your shoppers get two texts for the same thing.

Step 6: Turn on SMS in your flows

SMS is available in all abandonment flows and all stock flows. Instant writes the SMS for these flows, so you do not write any copy.

  1. Go to AI Flows in your Instant AI dashboard
  2. Open an abandonment flow or a stock flow
  3. In the Add SMS to This Flow banner, select Enable SMS on this Flow
  4. Do steps 2 and 3 again for each flow that you want to send SMS

To text new SMS subscribers, turn on the Welcome Flow SMS. You write the copy for this flow yourself. See How does the SMS Welcome flow work?

Step 7: Send a test SMS

Send a test to your own phone. Check how the message reads and that the link opens the correct page.

  1. Open the flow
  2. Select the three dots in the top-right corner of the flow
  3. Select Send test SMS
  4. Choose your country and enter your phone number
  5. Select Send test SMS

Note: A test SMS uses SMS credits, the same as any other send.

Step 8: Add SMS to your campaigns (optional)

You can add SMS steps to multi-step campaigns. You write the copy for campaign SMS.

  1. Go to Campaigns in your Instant AI dashboard
  2. Open a multi-step campaign
  3. Select New step
  4. Select Add SMS
  5. Write your message

For the full steps, see How to send an SMS Campaign with Instant AI.

How it works

Where SMS sends

  • Abandonment and stock flows: Instant sends one SMS for each enrolment, at touchpoint 2. Instant writes a different message for each shopper. If the shopper has no SMS consent or no supported phone number, they get an email at that touchpoint.
  • SMS Welcome flow: Instant sends your SMS when a shopper subscribes to SMS. You write the copy.
  • Campaigns: You choose one segment for the campaign. Email subscribers get the email steps, SMS subscribers get the SMS steps, and shoppers who subscribe to both get both.

What your shopper receives

Every SMS has the same parts:

[your brand prefix]: [message]
[link]
[opt-out instruction]

Instant adds the link and the opt-out instruction automatically. Instant keeps each SMS to one message, so each send has a predictable cost. For how much you can write, see Understanding SMS character limits.

Who the SMS comes from

  • Australia: Your SMS sends from an Australian number. You can apply to send from your brand name instead. See How to send SMS from your brand name in Australia.
  • US and Canada: Your SMS sends from your own toll free number. Carriers do not let a brand name show as the sender, so your brand prefix identifies you.

Unsubscribes

Email and SMS are separate subscriptions. A shopper can unsubscribe from SMS and still get your emails. If you have a Klaviyo integration, SMS unsubscribes sync between Instant and Klaviyo in both directions.

FAQ

Can I set up SMS myself? Partly. You submit your verification yourself from Configuration > SMS. Your SMS plan must be set up by our team first, so speak to your Customer Success Manager or contact our support team to start.

How long does verification take? It depends on the region. The setup article for your region tells you what to expect.

Do I need a US business to send SMS to US shoppers? No. Verification depends on where your shoppers are. An Australian business can verify for US and Canadian sending with its ABN.

Can I send SMS to shoppers in the UK or Europe? No. Instant AI SMS is available for Australian, US and Canadian phone numbers only.

Will shoppers who subscribed before I turned on SMS get texts? Yes, if they gave explicit SMS consent and have a supported phone number. Your SMS Welcome flow does not text them, because only a new SMS sign-up starts that flow.

Does Instant write my SMS? In abandonment and stock flows, yes. In the SMS Welcome flow and in campaigns, no. You write that copy yourself.

What happens if I use all of my SMS credits? Your SMS continues to send. We bill the extra credits at your plan’s overage rate. See How SMS pricing and credits work.

For more on SMS in your flows, see Instant AI SMS in Flows.