What is 2-Way SMS?

What is 2-Way SMS?

2-Way SMS lets customers reply to the texts you send. Unlike one-way “blasts,” it creates a live, back-and-forth channel for support, confirmations, surveys, and more.

📑 Table of Contents

🔄 How 2-Way SMS works

Step

What happens

1

Your system sends an outbound SMS from a long code (10-digit number) or short code (5–6 digits).

2

The recipient replies to that number.

3

The carrier routes the inbound message back to your SMS gateway.

4

Your app, CRM (Customer Relationship Management system), or help-desk can:

  • Display it to an agent in real time
  • Trigger an auto-reply (e.g., “Thanks—ticket #123 logged!”)
  • Update data (e.g., mark an appointment confirmed) |

Alt-text: Diagram showing: Outbound SMS → Customer Reply → Carrier → Gateway → CRM/Agent.

✨ Key features

  • Bi-directional chat – true conversations, not one-way alerts
  • Auto-responses & keywords – e.g., “Reply 1 to confirm, 2 to cancel”
  • Threaded view – full history per contact in dashboard
  • Webhook/API – push replies straight into CRM or chatbot
  • Opt-in / Opt-out compliance – automatic handling of STOP and HELP

📋 Typical use-cases

Use-case

Example

Customer support

“Text us your order ID for quick help.”

Appointment confirmations

“Reply YES to confirm your visit tomorrow 3 p.m.”

Two-factor auth (2FA)

User texts back the OTP (One-Time Password) sent by the app.

Surveys & polls

“Rate us 1–5 and add a comment.”

Flash promotions

“Want 20% off? Reply CODE.”

🚀 Benefits for your business

  • Higher engagement – SMS reply rates are stronger than email/push.
  • Instant feedback loop – act on replies in seconds.
  • Improved CX – customers prefer texting over hold music.
  • Actionable data – every inbound SMS is a structured data point.

⚙️ Setup in MyOperator

  1. Activate inbound routing on your long code or short code.
  2. Create auto-reply rules in Automation → Rules (e.g., keyword = “YES”).
  3. View threaded conversations in Dashboard → SMS Inbox, or push to CRM via Webhooks → Inbound SMS.
  4. Measure response rates and sentiment in Reports → SMS Analytics.

Screenshot (example):


Caption: Threaded view of inbound and outbound SMS in the dashboard.

📡 API & webhook examples

Send outbound SMS (specifying 2-Way enabled sender ID):curl -X POST https://api.example.com/v1/messages \ -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{ "sender_id": "LONGCODE1234", "to": ["+14155550101"], "text": "Hi , reply YES to confirm your booking." }'

Sample inbound webhook payload (reply received):{ "from": "+14155550101", "to": "LONGCODE1234", "text": "YES", "timestamp": "2025-09-01T12:34:56Z", "conversation_id": "conv_4567"}

🛠️ Troubleshooting

Symptom

Likely cause

Fix

Replies not received

Inbound routing not enabled

Activate inbound routing on number.

Messages delayed

Carrier congestion or TPS (Transactions per Second) limit

Use short code or higher TPS long code.

Replies dropped overseas

Some countries block foreign long codes

Use localized sender IDs or VMNs (Virtual Mobile Numbers).

Opt-outs not honored

Missing STOP/HELP handling

Enable compliance keywords in automation.

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