SMS & WhatsApp Messaging Agents

Overview

SMS and WhatsApp Messaging Agents are AI-powered booking assistants that handle text conversations. Powered by Claude AI and Twilio, they can:

• Respond to inbound SMS and WhatsApp messages
• List your available meeting types
• Check real-time calendar availability
• Book meetings, create contacts, and send confirmations
• Support multi-turn conversations with context carry-forward
• Respect STOP/HELP opt-out compliance

How It Works

When a customer texts your Twilio number, the message flows through a multi-step pipeline that routes it to the correct agent and generates an intelligent response.

Message Flow

Agent Configuration

Each agent has: a name, greeting message, tone preset (professional / friendly / casual / custom), language, linked event types, and a phone number. Tone presets control the personality of AI responses while keeping them on-task for booking.

SMS Agents

SMS agents work with any provisioned phone number and require no additional setup beyond provisioning the number itself.

• No extra setup: Works immediately after phone number provisioning. No registration or approval process.
• Standard SMS rates: ~$0.0079 per message (US). International rates vary by country.
• STOP/HELP compliance: Users can text STOP to opt out of all messages. HELP returns a support message. Both are required by Twilio and telecom regulations.

WhatsApp Agents

WhatsApp agents provide a richer messaging experience through the WhatsApp Business platform. They require additional setup compared to SMS agents.

• WhatsApp Business sender registration: Required on each phone number before WhatsApp agents can activate. Uses Twilio's Channels Senders API for automated registration.
• Meta approval: Typically takes 1-3 business days after submitting a business display name.
• Template-based notifications: Booking confirmations and reminders use Meta-approved message templates via Twilio Content API.
• Free-form conversations: The booking flow itself uses free-form conversation messages (within the 24-hour WhatsApp session window).

WhatsApp Registration

Registration flow

1. 1

   Go to Phone Numbers

   Navigate to Dashboard → Phone Numbers in your LinkTime dashboard.

2. 2

   Click "Enable WhatsApp"

   On any phone number card, click the "Enable WhatsApp" button to start the registration process.

3. 3

   Enter your business display name

   This name will appear as the sender in WhatsApp conversations. It must meet Meta's naming rules (see Display Name Rules below).

4. 4

   Submit and wait for approval

   Status changes to "Pending" immediately. Meta reviews your business name (typically 1-3 business days).

5. 5

   Receive approval notification

   You receive an email when approved ("Your WhatsApp number is ready!"). WhatsApp agents on this number can now activate.

Status states

Status tracking

LinkTime checks registration status via webhook (instant) and cron polling (every 5 minutes as fallback). You can also click "Refresh Status" on the phone number card for an on-demand check.

Display Name Rules

Meta enforces strict rules for WhatsApp Business display names. LinkTime validates these rules in real time as you type, and again on the server when you submit.

Your name must:

• Be 3-256 characters
• Represent your actual business name as it appears publicly
• Contain at least one letter (not just numbers)

Your name must NOT:

• Contain special characters: ~!@#$%^&*()_+:;"'{}}[]|<>,/?
• Contain URLs (e.g., "Visit example.com")
• Include Meta product names: WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Messenger
• Include "Official" or "Verified"
• Be a generic term alone (e.g., "Fashion", "Retail")

Phone Numbers

Phone numbers are shared infrastructure in LinkTime. One number can serve voice, SMS, and WhatsApp simultaneously.

Provisioning

1. 1

   Go to Dashboard → Phone Numbers

   Navigate to Phone Numbers in your dashboard.

2. 2

   Click "Provision Number"

   Select country (US by default). Optionally add a label (e.g., "Main Office", "Sales").

Capabilities

Each phone number can have:

Release

Plan Limits

Setup Guide

SMS Agent

1. 1

   Navigate to SMS Agents

   Go to Dashboard → SMS Agents in your LinkTime dashboard.

2. 2

   Click "Create SMS Agent"

   Select a phone number from your provisioned numbers, or provision a new one.

3. 3

   Configure your agent

   Set the agent name, greeting message, tone (professional / friendly / casual / custom), language, and linked event types.

4. 4

   Toggle active

   Your agent starts responding to texts immediately. Callers who text your number will be greeted and guided through booking.

WhatsApp Agent

1. 1

   Enable WhatsApp on your phone number

   First, complete the WhatsApp Registration process above. Wait for Meta to approve your business display name.

2. 2

   Navigate to WhatsApp Agents

   Go to Dashboard → WhatsApp Agents in your LinkTime dashboard.

3. 3

   Click "Create WhatsApp Agent"

   Select a WhatsApp-enabled phone number (status must be "Approved").

4. 4

   Configure and activate

   Set the agent name, greeting, tone, language, and linked event types. Toggle active — your agent starts responding on WhatsApp.

Agent API

All endpoints require Clerk session authentication.

{
  "countryCode": "US",
  "label": "Main Office"
}

{
  "displayName": "Dr. Smith Dental"
}

{
  "status": "pending",
  "senderSid": "XE..."
}

Messaging Agent CRUD

{
  "name": "Booking Assistant",
  "channel": "sms",
  "phoneNumberId": "cm_abc...",
  "greeting": "Hi! I'm your booking assistant.",
  "tone": "friendly",
  "language": "en",
  "eventTypeIds": ["cm_evt1...", "cm_evt2..."]
}

{
  "agents": [
    {
      "id": "cm_msg1...",
      "name": "SMS Booking Agent",
      "channel": "sms",
      "phoneNumber": "+19143593794",
      "tone": "professional",
      "language": "en",
      "isActive": true,
      "createdAt": "2026-02-12T10:00:00.000Z"
    },
    {
      "id": "cm_msg2...",
      "name": "WhatsApp Assistant",
      "channel": "whatsapp",
      "phoneNumber": "+19143593794",
      "tone": "friendly",
      "language": "en",
      "isActive": true,
      "createdAt": "2026-02-14T15:00:00.000Z"
    }
  ]
}

Security

Troubleshooting