OpenTulpa
Text messaging channel

SMS chatbot for business

An SMS chatbot answers text messages the way a trained front-desk person would — clarifying the service, checking availability, and booking — so after-hours texts still convert.

Hi — do you have cleaning openings this week?
Yes. I have Thursday 10:00 AM or Friday 2:00 PM for a standard clean. Which works better?
Thursday 10 works. 2-bed apartment.
Booked: Thursday 10:00 AM standard clean for a 2-bed. I’ll text a reminder the day before. What’s the best address for the team?

What an SMS chatbot should do

  • Answer service, hours, and pricing questions in plain text
  • Qualify the job (service type, timing, location)
  • Check live calendar availability and confirm bookings
  • Continue missed-call text-back conversations
  • Escalate complaints, emergencies, and VIP exceptions to a human

How to launch an SMS chatbot

1

Choose the business number customers will text

Use a dedicated business SMS number or a number already known from your website and missed-call workflows.

2

Write approved answers and escalation rules

List services, hours, pricing guidance, and what the chatbot must never promise. Define when a human takes over.

3

Connect calendar and booking rules

Link availability so the SMS chatbot never offers a taken slot, and decide which services are bookable by text.

4

Cover inbound texts and missed-call follow-ups

Handle customer-initiated texts and continue conversations started by a missed-call text-back so both paths convert.

5

Test common texting scenarios, then go live

Send sample threads for pricing, availability, reschedule, and edge cases. Fix gaps before expanding coverage.

OpenTulpa SMS chatbot

OpenTulpa handles SMS alongside Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and website chat with the same business knowledge. Pair it with missed call text back so phone misses become booked appointments instead of voicemail.

Related pages

SMS chatbot FAQs

An SMS chatbot is software that replies to text messages automatically. For local businesses, the useful version answers service questions, qualifies the lead, and books the next step — not only sends one canned reply.

No. Marketing blasts push one-way campaigns. An SMS chatbot holds a two-way conversation when someone texts your business number — or when you continue a conversation after a missed call text-back.

Yes for many local service businesses. SMS is universal on phones, works without installing another app, and is a natural follow-up when a call is missed.

OpenTulpa handles SMS conversations once the lead is in a text thread. Many teams pair a phone system’s missed-call text-back with OpenTulpa for the follow-up conversation and booking flow.

Yes when calendar availability is connected. The chatbot asks for service and timing, proposes open slots, confirms the booking, and can send reminders in the same channel.

Launch an SMS chatbot that books from texts

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