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Business textingTexting where every thread has an owner.
Customers would rather text than call. TalkerIQ lets them text the same number they already call, puts every conversation in one shared inbox your team can answer from anywhere — and has AI reply instantly when nobody's free.
Team inbox · (512) 555-0187
Can I move my install to Saturday?
Maria · openWhat's the price for the 3-zone unit?
AI handlingThanks, see you Tuesday!
ResolvedWhat is business texting?
Business texting is two-way SMS and MMS sent from a company phone number instead of employees' personal cells, so every conversation stays with the business. TalkerIQ adds a shared team inbox, bulk SMS campaigns, WhatsApp, 10DLC registration help and an AI SMS agent that replies in seconds — inside the same cloud phone system as your calls.
- Channels
- SMS, MMS and WhatsApp
- Numbers
- Local, toll-free or ported — the one you already call from
- Included in
- All plans from $29/user/mo billed annually, counted per message segment
- AI SMS agent
- Pro plan ($149/user/mo) · 1.2s AI response · 12+ languages
- Logs to
- HubSpot, Salesforce, GoHighLevel and 20+ integrations
Sound familiar?
Our customers kept texting the office number — and nobody could see the texts, so half of them never got a reply.
Most teams already get texts. The problem is where they land and who owns them: personal phones, a landline that can't receive SMS, or a texting tool that sits apart from your calls and your CRM. Business texting fixes the ownership problem first — one number, one inbox, one owner per thread — and then adds the speed: an AI SMS agent that answers the 9 PM text before a competitor does.
Texts live on someone's personal phone
Reps text customers from their own cells. Nothing is logged, nobody else can follow up, and the history leaves when they do.
Nobody knows who's replying
Two people answer the same thread — or both assume the other did. The customer gets silence or a double reply.
Texts arrive after hours and sit until morning
The lead who texted at 9 PM asking for a quote has booked with someone else by the time you open the inbox.
Your campaign texts quietly don't arrive
Unregistered numbers get filtered by carriers. You find out when replies dry up, not when the messages fail.
How it works
How does business texting work, from first text to booked job?
Here's what happens to a text on TalkerIQ — and who handles each step.
Text-enable your number
Turn on texting for the numbers customers already call, or add new local and toll-free numbers. We help you register for 10DLC so messages are delivered.
Your team · with our helpEvery text lands in one inbox
Inbound texts, MMS photos and WhatsApp messages arrive in a shared inbox, matched to the contact and their call history.
AutomaticAI replies in seconds
An AI SMS agent answers common questions, asks qualifying questions and offers times to book — day or night.
AI agentThe right person takes over
Rules assign threads to an owner or team. Anyone can leave an internal note or jump in, and the AI steps aside.
Your teamLogged and followed up
Every message is written to the contact and your CRM, and scheduled follow-ups go out so nothing goes quiet.
AI + automation
Talk
Text from the number customers already know.
Customers see your business number — the same one on your website, Google listing and invoices — not a rep's cell. Keep the number you have by porting it to TalkerIQ, or add new local and toll-free business numbers. Send photos and documents by MMS, reuse saved replies for common answers, and schedule messages for the right moment. The details of two-way SMS for business — landline texting, MMS, scheduling — live on their own page.
- Two-way SMS and MMS from local, toll-free and ported numbers
- Saved replies and scheduled sends so answers are quick and consistent
- Calls and texts in one timeline on every contact
Business text · (512) 555-0187
Contact
- Owner
- Maria
- Last call
- Mar 3 · 4m
- Status
- Booked
Share
One inbox, no orphaned threads.
Texts are routed by keyword, number, business hours or contact owner, so each thread lands with someone who can answer it. Teammates see who's replying, leave internal notes, and hand off without making the customer repeat themselves. That is the difference between a shared SMS inbox and a group text: one owner, one history, no double replies.
- Assignment rules — round robin, by team, or to the contact's owner
- Internal notes and mentions the customer never sees
- Open, waiting and resolved status on every thread
Incoming texts · routed in real time
Reach
Text thousands, answer every reply.
Send personalised reminders, offers and updates to a list or segment with the bulk SMS service. Replies don't vanish into a no-reply number — they come back to the shared inbox or to the AI agent, which keeps the conversation going and books the ones who say yes. Long messages are split into SMS segments, so check the count first.
- Personalised bulk SMS with merge fields and send-time controls
- Opt-outs honoured automatically with STOP handling and quiet hours
- Replies routed to the AI agent or the right person
Spring tune-up campaignSample data
Deliver
Registered, so your texts actually arrive.
US carriers expect business texts from 10-digit numbers to be registered under A2P 10DLC. We walk you through brand and campaign registration, draft the use case and sample messages with you, and track carrier review until you're cleared to send.
- Brand and campaign registration prepared with you
- Opt-in language and sample messages written to pass review
- Status tracked until your numbers are approved
Getting your texts delivered
Brand
Legal name, EIN, address and website — who is sending.
Campaign
Use case, sample messages and how people opt in.
Carrier review
Carriers vet the brand and campaign. We answer follow-ups.
Live
Numbers attached, higher throughput, fewer filtered messages.
What changes
What teams notice in the first month.
gets an owner
Threads are assigned the moment they arrive — to a person, a team or the AI — so nothing sits unanswered.
to first reply, any hour
The AI SMS agent answers right away, then hands the conversation to your team with context.
for calls and texts
Customers text the number they already have. No personal cells, no separate texting app.
on every contact
Texts, MMS, calls and notes in one timeline — in TalkerIQ and in your CRM.
A day on one business number
One plumbing company, one number, every text answered.
A home services team of six runs its office line on TalkerIQ. Here's a single Tuesday of texts — who handled each one, and what it turned into.
- Maria texts a photo of a leaking water heater
She texts the number on the van, not a technician's cell. The MMS photo lands in the shared inbox, matched to her contact and last year's service call.
- The AI SMS agent replies before the office opens
It asks whether water is pooling and whether the shut-off valve works, then offers two arrival windows from the calendar. Maria picks 10–12 and gets a confirmation text.
- Dev, the dispatcher, assigns the thread
He reads the AI's summary, assigns the thread to technician Sam and leaves an internal note: "Bring a 50-gallon unit." Maria never sees the note.
- Sam texts "On my way" from the business number
From the mobile app, on the company number. When Maria replies with a gate code, it goes to Sam and stays on the record for the next visit.
- Job closed, follow-up scheduled
The office sends the invoice link and a scheduled review request for 6 PM. The whole thread — photo, AI questions, notes, texts — is logged to the contact in the CRM.
- Tomorrow's reminders go out as one bulk send
Every customer booked for Wednesday gets a personalised reminder. Two reply asking to move; the AI offers new times and rebooks both without a call.
Compare
Why not just text customers from personal phones?
Personal cells work until someone's on holiday, leaves the company, or a campaign gets filtered. Here's how the three common setups compare.
| Personal cell phones | Standalone texting app | TalkerIQ business texting | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number customers see | Each rep's own number | Often a separate texting number | Your business number — the one you call from |
| Who can see the thread | Only the phone's owner | The team, but apart from calls | The whole team, with calls, notes and AI replies in one timeline |
| After-hours texts | Wait until someone checks | Auto-reply at best | AI SMS agent answers, qualifies and books |
| CRM logging | Copy and paste, if anyone remembers | Varies by app and connector | Automatic, to the contact record |
| Bulk campaigns & 10DLC | Not suitable for business campaigns | Usually self-serve registration | Bulk SMS plus 10DLC registration prepared with you |
| When a rep leaves | The history leaves with them | History stays | History and number stay with the business |
People and AI, one inbox
Your team handles the conversations that need a human. AI handles the rest.
Quotes, complaints, exceptions and relationships
- Take over any thread with one click — the AI steps aside
- See the AI's notes and the customer's call history first
- Mention a colleague in an internal note instead of forwarding
After hours, FAQs, qualifying, booking and campaign replies
- Replies in seconds, in 12+ languages
- Books into your calendar and updates your CRM
- Knows when to hand a thread to a person — and who
AI SMS agent · live thread
- Understood intentRepair request · urgent · existing customer
- Checked live availabilityGoogle Calendar · technician schedule
- Booked the jobThu 9–11 AM · confirmation SMS sent
- Updated your CRMContact, summary, recording, outcome tag
- Hands off when it shouldWarm transfer to your team, with context
Everything in Texting
Pick the part of the conversation you want to explore.
TalkerIQ is a cloud phone system for business with AI voice and SMS agents built in. Texting sits alongside business calling, the AI dialer and AI voice and SMS agents — one app, one bill, one contact timeline.
Business Texting (SMS & MMS)
Two-way texts from your business number
Learn moreShared Team Inbox
Every text thread, owned and answered
Learn moreBulk SMS Campaigns
Personalised texts to thousands, replies to one inbox
Learn moreAI SMS Agent
Instant AI replies that qualify and book
Learn moreWhatsApp Business
Meet international customers on WhatsApp
Learn more10DLC Registration
Get registered so your texts get delivered
Learn moreSMS Length Calculator
Free tool: segments, encoding and cost
Learn moreBuilt for
Which teams get the most from business texting?
Sales teams
Follow up by text right after a call, and let the AI qualify inbound leads before a rep picks up.
Texting for salesSupport & service desks
Answer by text instead of a callback, share photos by MMS, and keep every thread assigned.
Texting for supportLocal & appointment businesses
Confirmations, reminders and rescheduling by text — with the AI booking straight into your calendar.
Texting for front desks- Real Estate
- Property Management
- Mortgage & Lending
- Insurance
- Financial Services
- Debt Collection
- Law Firms
- Healthcare
- Dental Practices
- Med Spas & Aesthetics
- Veterinary Clinics
- Home Services
- Solar Installers
- Auto Dealerships
- Auto Repair Shops
- Staffing & Recruiting
- Education & Admissions
- Logistics
- Retail & Consumer
- E-Commerce
- Travel & Hospitality
- Salons & Spas
Connects to
Texts that log themselves.
Every text, photo and AI conversation is written to the contact in your CRM, next to their calls. Trigger texts from CRM workflows, and send replies and outcomes back — no copy-paste. See how CRM phone integration logs texts and calls in HubSpot, Salesforce and GoHighLevel.
- HubSpot, Salesforce, GoHighLevel, Pipedrive, Zoho and more
- Google Calendar for AI booking by text
- Zapier, webhooks and API for everything else
Everything lands where your team works
TalkerIQ
FAQ
Questions teams ask before switching to business texting
Still unsure? Talk to our team.
Reviewed by the TalkerIQ product team · Updated
What is business texting, and how is it different from texting on my own phone?
Business texting is two-way SMS and MMS sent from a company number through a shared app, rather than from an employee's personal cell. The thread belongs to the business, so any teammate can pick it up, it is logged to the customer record, and it stays when someone leaves.
Can I text customers from my existing business landline number?
Yes. You can text-enable the number you already use by porting it to TalkerIQ, then calls and texts both run on it. Customers see the same number whether you call or text, so they don't have to save a new contact.
Do I need 10DLC registration to send business texts in the US?
If you send business texts to US recipients from a standard 10-digit local number, carriers expect A2P 10DLC brand and campaign registration, and unregistered traffic is more likely to be filtered. TalkerIQ helps you prepare the registration, write sample messages and opt-in language, and tracks it through carrier review.
How do several employees answer texts sent to the same business number?
Texts to a shared number land in a shared SMS inbox. Threads are assigned automatically or claimed by a teammate, everyone can see who is replying, and internal notes stay private to your team, so customers never get two different answers.
Can an AI answer business text messages after hours?
Yes. TalkerIQ's AI SMS agent answers common questions, asks qualifying questions, offers appointment times and books them, in 12+ languages. It hands the thread to a person when it needs a human, and your team can take over any conversation at any time.
How much does business texting cost on TalkerIQ?
Two-way SMS is included in every TalkerIQ plan, starting with Starter at $39/user/mo ($29 billed annually), and texts are counted per message segment. The AI SMS agent is available on the Pro plan at $149 per user per month. The pricing page lists the texts included on each plan and the per-message rate after that.
Can I send photos, PDFs and other files by business text?
Yes. MMS lets customers and your team send photos and small files in the same thread — useful for damage photos, quotes, floor plans or receipts. Media is kept on the contact's timeline with the rest of the conversation.
Is it legal to send marketing texts to customers?
Marketing texts require the recipient's consent, a clear way to opt out and sending at reasonable hours; rules vary by country. TalkerIQ handles STOP replies automatically, supports quiet hours, and helps you register your campaign — but you remain responsible for collecting consent.
Keep exploring
See how your texts would flow on TalkerIQ.
Book a 30-minute walkthrough. We'll map your numbers, inbox rules, 10DLC registration and AI replies before you change anything.