During a live AI Receptionist call, the system can send one-way SMS messages to the caller's phone — sharing links, forms, and payment URLs in real time. This article explains what SMS capabilities are available and what they cannot do.
How It Works
When the AI Receptionist is handling a call, it can text the caller directly using your practice's provisioned phone number. The caller sees the SMS come from the same number they're speaking with. All SMS messages are sent via Twilio with A2P 10DLC carrier compliance for reliable delivery.
What the AI Receptionist Can Send via SMS
1. Practice Links from Your Knowledge Base
The AI can text any link you've added to your practice's knowledge base — intake forms, scheduling pages, patient portals, telehealth links, and review pages. During the call, the AI decides when a link is relevant and sends it automatically.
- Links are looked up server-side from your knowledge base — the AI only references a link ID, never a raw URL
- All links must be HTTPS (no HTTP links allowed)
- Links are validated at send time to prevent broken or unsafe URLs
- Maximum of 5 link SMS per call
2. Secure Payment Links (via Stripe)
If your Stripe account is connected, the AI Receptionist can send a secure payment link during the call. The caller receives a text with a unique Stripe checkout URL where they can pay immediately.
- Amounts from $0.01 to $10,000.00
- Payment links are unique per transaction — no reuse
- Duplicate sends are blocked (same service + same amount won't send twice)
- Payment records are automatically saved and linked to the call log
3. Info Request SMS (Fallback for Voice)
When the AI has trouble hearing the caller (e.g., poor connection, background noise), it can text a short request asking the caller to reply via text with the information needed — such as their name, date of birth, or callback number.
- Used only after 2 failed voice capture attempts
- Maximum of 3 info-request SMS per call
- The AI waits up to 5 minutes for a text reply
- If the caller replies via text, the response is injected back into the live conversation
- If no reply within 5 minutes, the AI moves on
Two-Way SMS Inbox (Comms Hub)
In addition to the SMS the AI sends during calls, DeepCura includes a full two-way SMS inbox in the Comms Hub (accessible from the sidebar). From the SMS tab you can:
- Receive inbound texts — when a patient texts your AI Receptionist number, the message appears in your inbox with an unread indicator
- Reply to patients — select any conversation and type a reply. Messages are sent from your practice's provisioned number (1 credit per outbound SMS)
- Start new conversations — click "New Message," enter a phone number, and send an SMS to any patient
- View full conversation threads — all inbound and outbound messages are grouped into threaded conversations, sorted by time, with delivery status tracking (sent, delivered, failed)
Patient names are automatically resolved from your records when available. The SMS inbox works independently of the AI Receptionist — you can message patients at any time, not just during calls.
Note: The AI Receptionist itself does not auto-reply to inbound texts outside of a live call. Inbound messages land in your inbox for you to review and respond to manually.
Common Use Cases
- New patient intake: AI texts the intake form link so the patient can fill it out before their visit
- Payment collection: AI texts a copay or balance payment link during a billing inquiry
- Telehealth link: AI texts the video visit link to a patient calling about their upcoming appointment
- Patient portal: AI texts the portal URL when a patient asks how to access their records
- Scheduling page: AI texts an online booking link when the patient wants to schedule
Security
- The caller's phone number is always taken from the Twilio call context — the AI cannot fabricate or modify the recipient number
- All URLs are validated server-side (HTTPS only, no credentials embedded, no localhost)
- SMS is sent from your practice's provisioned phone number (or the company number for test calls)
- Per-call rate limits prevent abuse