> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.recepta.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# SMS

> Two-way texting from your business numbers — replies, reminders, and outbound.

Recepta.ai sends and receives SMS on the same numbers that take your calls. Conversations are threaded per contact and visible to your whole team.

<Warning>
  US texting requires approved [A2P 10DLC registration](/phone/a2p-10dlc). Until that's through, messages will be filtered or blocked by carriers.
</Warning>

## What SMS is used for

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Customer replies" icon="comments">
    Inbound texts to your business number land in a conversation your team can answer, with the agent able to handle routine questions from the same knowledge base it uses on calls.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Appointment lifecycle" icon="calendar-check">
    Booking confirmations, reminders ahead of the visit, and follow-up after. See [Appointments](/booking/appointments).
  </Card>

  <Card title="Sequence steps" icon="list-ol">
    SMS as a step in an outbound [sequence](/outbound/sequences), often as the follow-up to an unanswered call.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Programmatic sends" icon="code">
    One-off messages from your own systems via the [SMS API](/api-reference/sms).
  </Card>
</Columns>

## Conversations

Each contact has one running thread per number, regardless of what started it. Threads show inbound and outbound messages in order, with the sending user or agent attributed, and can be marked active, archived, or closed as your team works through them.

Find them under **SMS** in the dashboard, or list them over the [API](/api-reference/sms).

## Writing texts that work

* **Identify yourself in the first message.** "Hi, it's Dan from Coral Plumbing" — an unidentified text from an unknown number reads as spam.
* **One message, one ask.** Split anything longer.
* **Include opt-out on the first message of a thread**, and on anything marketing-adjacent.
* **Watch your hours.** Reminders at 7am and follow-ups at 10pm both cost you goodwill, and late-night marketing texts carry legal exposure.

## Opt-outs

STOP, UNSUBSCRIBE, and the other standard keywords are processed automatically. The number is suppressed and further sends to it are blocked — including from sequences and the API.

<Warning>
  Never route around a suppression. Beyond the carrier consequences, texting someone who opted out is a direct TCPA exposure. If a customer asks to be re-added, have them text START.
</Warning>

## Consent

You need permission before texting a customer. In practice that means a checkbox on your booking or contact form, a line on your web form, or explicit verbal agreement on a call. Keep a record of where and when consent was given — it's what a carrier or regulator will ask for.

<Card title="Recording & consent" icon="scale-balanced" href="/phone/recording-and-consent">
  The consent obligations that apply to calls and recordings.
</Card>

## Metering

SMS is billed per conversation, not per message, from the same pool as web chat. See [Plans](/plans) and [Usage & overages](/account/usage-and-overages).