Where texts go

Every phone number has a Text messages go to setting. It's separate from where the number's calls go. A number's calls can ring one person while its texts go to a team, or the other way round.

This page is the one place this rule is written down. Other articles link here.

The choices

Open Phone numbers, click a number, and use Text messages go to. You can pick:

• Shared inbox: a queue. Everyone in that queue sees every conversation on the number, and any of them can take one.
• A person: an extension. That person owns the conversations. Pick an extension that belongs to someone, or nobody will own the texts.
• AI receptionist: saved for when the AI receptionist answers texts. Until then, only admins see these conversations.

The default

• A number you buy or port in sends its texts to the shared Text Messages inbox. That's true even though its calls ring your first extension. Your whole team can see them.
• When you point a number's calls at one person's extension, its texts move to that person too, as long as they were still on the shared inbox. If you had already picked somewhere else for the texts, your choice stays.
• When you point a number's calls at a queue, a flow or the AI receptionist, its texts stay where they were.

You can change the texts setting at any time. It doesn't change where calls go.

Who can see a conversation

• The person the texts go to, for a number sent to a person.
• Everyone in the queue, for a number sent to a shared inbox.
• Owners and admins, who see every conversation on every number.

Sharing a conversation with a queue

You can move one conversation into a queue, for example when you need a teammate's help. This adds the queue. It doesn't take the conversation away from whoever had it. Both the original person and the queue's members can see it afterwards.

To hand a conversation off completely, say so in the conversation and ask the first person to stop replying.

Which numbers you can text from

When you start a text, you can only pick numbers whose texts come to you: your own extension, or a queue you're in. Owners and admins can pick any number. Being handed one conversation doesn't let you start new texts from that number.

If you need to text from a number you can't pick, ask an admin to add you to its queue or to send its texts to you.

Common questions

• A teammate isn't seeing texts. Check the number's Text messages go to setting, and check they're a member of that queue.
• Texts arrive but nobody answers them. Make sure the queue they go to has members.
• Texts don't arrive or don't send at all. That's usually registration, not routing. See Set up text messaging.