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Compare 10 AI voice agents for real estate in 2026. Evaluate response time, CRM integration, multi-channel support, and scalability to find the right solution.

AI voice agents in real estate are all about response time, coverage and quick follow-through. If your system can't answer calls immediately, qualify intent, book tours and update your CRM without manual cleanup, it's not helping you win more deals; it's adding another layer for you to manage.

This guide isn't for browsing tools. It's for operators deciding whether to commit to AI voice agents in 2026 and ship something that actually helps you scale. We compare 10 platforms based on how they perform after signup, how fast you can go live, what breaks under real lead volume, and what it takes to keep them working week after week.

Top 10 AI Voice Agents for Real Estate (2026)

The goal here is simple: Helping you choose an option that you can launch confidently, not replace after the first integration headache.

1. Plivo

When aiming to build and scale AI voice agents for real estate, you care about two things: reaching prospects first and converting more inquiries into confirmed showings. Plivo excels here since it gives you production-ready AI voice agents that place instant callbacks, answer listing questions from your data, and book tours directly on your agents' calendars. They operate reliably across phone, SMS, WhatsApp and chat without stitching together telephony, AI models and messaging vendors.

Plivo is the AI agent builder platform for voice-first, omnichannel experiences—built on a carrier-grade telephony network trusted by Uber, Meta, Zomato, and thousands of businesses worldwide. Business teams can launch agents without writing code using Vibe agent. Engineering teams can orchestrate custom voice agents in code with full control. The foundation is Plivo's global communications infrastructure spanning 190+ countries: 15+ years of proven reliable infrastructure, low latency, and the call quality enterprises demand.

Core Capabilities:

Inbound & Outbound AI Voice Agents: Handle live calls end-to-end, qualify intent, route intelligently and escalate to human agents when needed.
Multi-Channel Agent Coverage: Run the same AI agent across phone, SMS, WhatsApp and chat with shared context across channels.
No-Code AI Agent Builder (Vibe): Build and deploy voice agents using plain-English instructions, no prompt engineering or coding required.
Build your way: Business teams launch with no-code tools; engineering teams build custom voice agents with full-code control. You're never forced into a single way of working.
Vertically Integrated Telephony (CPaaS): Voice runs on Plivo's own global telephony infrastructure, avoiding third-party carrier dependencies.
Low-Latency Voice AI Stack: Integrated TTS, STT and LLM orchestration enables sub-500ms response latency, critical for natural voice conversations.
Enterprise-Grade Reliability: Built on Plivo's proven CPaaS platform with 99.99% uptime, 15+ years of reliable infrastructure, and global carrier connectivity across 190+ countries.
CRM & Workflow Integrations: Pull customer context in real time and write call outcomes back to CRMs and support tools automatically. Connect Follow Up Boss, kvCORE, BoomTown, Salesforce, HubSpot, Google Calendar, Outlook, and your MLS/IDX feed.
You own the stack: You get to choose your speech-to-text (STT), text-to-speech (TTS), and LLM while keeping prompts and data portable and avoiding lock-in.

Best fit if you:

Need real-time voice agents that can operate continuously at scale.
Want to avoid stitching telephony, AI and messaging vendors together.
Plan to deploy across multiple channels, not voice alone.
Have defined workflows for lead qualification, routing or follow-ups.

Not a fit if you:

Only need a lightweight voice demo, basic IVR or short-term experiment.
Want a fully turnkey, real estate-specific tool with no configuration or workflow control.
Don't plan to integrate voice agents into your CRM, data stack or operations.

2. Luron AI

Luron AI is best suited for teams that need 24/7 AI voice agents that never miss calls and qualify leads automatically. It supports multilingual conversations and keeps pacing tight across accents and speaking styles. The system handles inbound and outbound voice conversations in dozens of languages and automates bookings and follow-ups without human staffing.

Core Capabilities:

Instant call answer & qualification: AI answers every call, gathers intent, and qualifies leads without hold times.
Multilingual support: Handles AI conversations in 45+ languages to cover diverse lead sources.
Inbound & outbound support: Manages both types of calls and can also run outbound follow-ups.
SMS, chat & email automation: Extends voice agents to text and messaging channels for a unified engagement approach.
CRM & integration options: Connects to existing phone systems via SIP trunking and can integrate with CRMs and ticket systems.

Best fit if you:

Want 24/7 lead capture and qualification without adding staff.
Need multilingual voice conversations for global or diverse markets.
Expect to automate bookings, follow-ups and reminders on voice and messaging channels.
Have a CRM or existing phone system you must integrate with.

Not a fit if you:

Only need a simple inbound answering or IVR replacement without automation.
Want a solution focused on voice only, with limited channel reach.
Prefer fixed, transparent pricing tiers publicly listed.

3. Callers AI

Callers AI is a platform for automating customer conversations with human-like voice agents that handle both inbound & outbound calls and messaging channels, powered by your brand's data and tone. It's focused on scaling high-volume voice interactions while maintaining contextual continuity across channels in a single branded voice experience.

Core Capabilities:

Omni-channel AI interactions: Voice agents run across phone, SMS, WhatsApp and chat from a central AI brain.
Human-like voice calls: Agents answer and place calls in a natural conversational style.
Lead workflows & use cases: Supports lead qualification, cold call automation, appointment confirmation, retention flows and more.
24/7 availability & language breadth: Designed to handle calls and messaging around the clock, in multiple languages.
Context remembering: Conversations carry context across voice and messaging so follow-ups feel continuous.
Integrations & automation: Connects to CRMs and tools (300+ integrations) so call outcomes can update your systems.

Best fit if you:

Want both inbound and outbound AI calling with consistent, natural-tone responses across channels.
Need an AI system that can qualify leads, confirm appointments and manage follow-ups automatically.
Are scaling high call volumes 24/7.
Prefer a central "brain" that keeps context across channels and workflows.

Not a fit if you:

Only want a basic voice or outbound dialer with limited cross-channel logic.
Need a tool focused exclusively on simple IVR or basic routing without AI conversation layers.
Prefer a product you can set up and forget in minutes without upfront configuration or workflow definition.

4. SquadStack AI

SquadStack AI is best suited for teams that want AI-assisted sales and voice engagement workflows supported by configurable human-in-the-loop automation. It blends automated outreach and qualification with options to escalate to human agents where needed, helpful for revenue teams that are focused on pipeline speed.

Core Capabilities:

Automated Lead Engagement: AI enabled workflows proactively contact prospects and qualify them using data-driven sequencing.
Voice & Messaging Channels: Supports outbound dialing, ringless voicemail, SMS and multi-touch sequences.
Human-in-the-Loop Escalation: Configurable handoffs to live agents when conversations need human judgment.
Sales Workflow Automation: Built-in logic for lead routing, prioritization and follow-ups across channels.
CRM Integration + Data Sync: Sync outcomes and engagement data back to CRMs like Salesforce, HubSpot, etc.

Best fit if you:

Want inbound and outbound automated voice interactions with natural conversation flows and multilingual capability.
Need AI that handles lead qualification, follow-ups and reminders as part of sales or customer engagement sequences.
Are automating sales outreach and conversational workflows alongside voice calls.

Not a fit if you:

Need an AI platform focused on low-latency, bespoke voice agent infrastructure tied tightly to your own telephony stack.
Are building a multi-channel bot with CRM/telephony hooks and developer control from the ground up at scale.

5. Telgent

Telgent leans into MLS and portal context. It is best for businesses that want always-on voice AI calling with automated scheduling, intelligent call handling and quick setup. Its platform emphasizes immediate activation, seamless integration with existing phone systems and natural AI responses that handle calls, schedule meetings and engage customers day and night.

Core Capabilities:

24/7 AI voice calling agents: Always-on call automation that answers and routes customer calls at any hour.
Lead engagement & scheduling: Automatically books appointments, meetings and showings based on natural language conversations.
Inbound call handling: AI answers incoming inquiries, qualifies intent and routes prospects with minimal human intervention.
Automated inquiry responses: Provides instant answers to property questions and responds to rental or sales leads.
Integration with real estate systems: Works with Zillow, Realtor.com, MLS platforms, Follow Up Boss, kvCORE, BoomTown, Salesforce and HubSpot for CRM continuity.

Best fit if you:

Need round-the-clock call handling that captures leads and books appointments without missing inquiries.
Want your voice AI to integrate with core real estate tools and CRM systems so client details are synced automatically.
Are focused on lead conversion and showing scheduling as part of your customer engagement workflows.

Not a fit if you:

Only require basic outbound calling with simple scripts rather than inbound + scheduling automation.
Expect a no-config, plug-and-play voice bot that requires zero setup or customization.
Want a platform that handles only one channel (voice only) without extending into SMS/WhatsApp/chat automation.

6. AIOnCalls

AIOnCalls is positioned as a virtual receptionist that never misses calls or opportunities. Best for teams that want an always-on voice AI assistant that handles inbound and outbound calls around the clock, engages callers in natural language, qualifies leads, books appointments and updates CRM data.

Core Capabilities:

24/7 Inbound & Outbound Voice Handling: AI answers and places calls around the clock across all hours and holidays.
Lead Qualification & Follow-Up Automation: Qualifies callers in real time and automates follow-ups via voice, SMS and email.
Appointment Scheduling & Calendar Invites: Books appointments and sends confirmations during calls.
CRM & Workflow Integrations: Integrates with CRMs like Zoho, HubSpot, GoHighLevel, Google Calendar for real-time lead syncing and activity logging.
Multilingual Conversations: Supports multiple languages and can handle simultaneous call sessions.
Live Agent Escalation: Transfers complex calls to human agents when needed.
Real-Time Analytics & Transcriptions: Provides live call monitoring, transcripts, sentiment analysis and dashboards.

Best fit if you:

Need an AI voice agent that never misses inbound calls and engages leads immediately, 24/7.
Want automated lead qualification, booking and follow-ups in voice, SMS, and email without human staffing.
Are integrating call outcomes and engagement data into CRM or calendar workflows.
Operate in industries where speed-to-lead matters and missed calls are costly.

Not a fit if you:

Only need simple IVR or on-premise call routing without conversational automation.
Prefer a pure telephony or developer API platform without built-in AI conversational layers.
Are looking for a voice agent with deep, specialized industry templates.

7. Brilo AI

Brilo AI is a business-focused AI phone and voice call agent platform that enables teams to automate real-time voice interactions across industries like real estate. It promises fast setup, natural human-like voice responses, 24/7 coverage, integration with business tools and built-in analytics, all without needing a technical team to get started.

Core Capabilities:

24/7 AI voice call agents: Always-on AI phone agents handle inbound calls and customer engagements at any hour.
Human-like voice interactions: Conversational voice responses built to sound natural and engaging.
Appointment booking & scheduling: Voice agents can book appointments with synced calendars and handle reminders.
CRM and business integrations: Integrates with a broad range of business apps (6,000+ app connections claimed) to sync customer context and outcomes.
Real-time analytics & insights: Live call transcripts, sentiment analysis, intent tracking and topic detection support actionable insights post-call.
Lead qualification automation: Agents engage prospects, capture intent and route high-value leads in real time.

Best fit if you:

Need 24/7 automated voice engagement that never misses inbound or high-volume calls for lead capture, scheduling or support.
Need a platform that books appointments, manages follow-ups and drives customer engagement without manual management.
Plan to integrate the voice agent with CRM, calendar tools and analytics pipelines to maintain context across systems.

Not a fit if you:

Simply need a basic phone tree, IVR or traditional call routing system.
Are focused solely on developer-centric API telephony without AI built in.
Require industry-specific compliance guarantees (HIPAA, PCI, etc.) documented publicly.

8. VocalDesk

VocalDesk is an AI-enabled voice and contact automation platform that helps teams automate calling, lead follow-up, support interactions and scheduling. Its focus is on automated voice conversations and multi-channel engagement with CRM integration and configurable workflows that replace manual outreach tasks.

Core Capabilities:

Automated Voice Conversations: Handles inbound and outbound calls using AI to engage, qualify, and route callers.
AI-Driven Lead Qualification: Automated conversation flows that marks lead intent and priority.
Appointment Booking & Reminders: Schedules meetings and sends reminders as part of automated flows.
Multichannel Messaging: Engages customers across voice, text and messaging platforms.
CRM & Workflow Sync: Connects with CRM systems and business tools to log interactions and maintain records.

Best fit if you:

Want to automate call handling and lead follow-up without manual dialing.
Need a solution that combines voice and messaging outreach with CRM context.
Are focused on lead qualification and scheduling as part of broader sales engagement.

Not a fit if you:

Only need basic call routing or IVR without AI handling.
Require explicit developer control over telephony APIs.
Rely on hard metrics like latency, concurrency limits or multi-region telephony SLAs.

9. Calldock

Calldock is an AI voice agent platform intended for instant lead engagement, automatic qualification and scheduling. Its system calls leads within seconds of form submission, conducts natural conversations and integrates with calendars and workflows to automate follow-ups and booking.

Core Capabilities:

Instant lead callbacks: Calls website leads within ~60 seconds of a submission, boosting early engagement.
Calendar booking: Agents can book appointments directly to your calendar during live calls.
Multi-channel follow-up: Agents send SMS and email follow-ups as part of the call workflow.
Seamless handoff & callbacks: You can trigger human handoffs in natural language and schedule intelligent callbacks.
API, webhooks, & integration ecosystem: Support for APIs and pre-call webhooks lets you fetch context before calls and connect with Gmail, Google Calendar, Slack, Zapier and thousands more.
Developer playground & documentation: Provides API documentation and code examples for triggered calls and automated workflows.

Best fit if you:

Want immediate lead engagement that happens in seconds.
Need voice agents that qualify, book and follow up automatically across voice, SMS and email.
Plan to integrate voice engagements with calendar and business workflows.
Need a voice agent that works with easy templates for common industries with minimal setup.
Want a low-code or no-code setup that goes live with simple configuration.

Not a fit if you:

Need proper inbound/outbound calling with API integration.
Require deep telephony infrastructure control or enterprise telephony SLAs.
Are building highly custom dialogue systems that need proprietary LLM tuning beyond the existing templates.

10. Ylopo

Ylopo is a digital marketing and lead gen platform built for the real estate industry. It combines lead capture, nurturing, AI voice calling, AI texting, branded websites and marketing automation into one system that integrates with CRMs and helps real estate teams generate and convert leads.

Core Capabilities:

AI Voice Follow-Up: Automatically calls new and existing leads to qualify interest and connect them to agents.
AI Text Conversations: Runs two-way SMS conversations to nurture leads until they're ready to talk.
AI² Voice + Text System: Combines calling and texting into one coordinated follow-up engine.
Automated Appointment Transfers: Delivers live transfers or booked appointments when leads are qualified.
Lead Generation & Nurture: Includes PPC ads, remarketing and IDX websites to capture and feed leads into AI follow-up.
CRM & Website Integration: Syncs AI conversations and lead activity with CRMs and branded real estate websites.

Best fit if you:

Want lead capture with nurturing as a unified system rather than isolated voice interaction tools.
Are a realtor or team that wants AI to automatically engage leads by text and phone, not just manage manual contacts.
Need branded websites with IDX search and integrated lead capture feeding into automated follow-up.
Plan to keep leads engaged over longer time horizons (e.g., 90-day voice follow-up).
Value combined marketing + AI follow-up rather than a single channel (voice only).

Not a fit if you:

Are looking for pure AI voice agent infrastructure like a telephony-first CPaaS platform.
Need tools focused on enterprise-grade telephony performance, low-latency voice systems or custom telephony workflows.

What Matters Most in AI Voice Agents (Beyond the Basics)

1. Telephony Ownership vs. Vendor Stitching

Many AI voice tools rely on third-party telephony stitched together with AI layers. This often introduces latency, call drops and limited routing control at scale.

What to prioritize:

Built-in telephony with direct carrier connectivity
End-to-end control over call routing and quality
Fewer external dependencies

Plivo runs on its own global CPaaS and carrier-grade telephony stack, removing third-party voice dependencies.

2. Real-Time Performance (Latency & Uptime)

Voice conversations break down quickly when responses lag or calls fail. Sub-second latency and high uptime aren't "nice to have"—they're mandatory.

What to validate:

Sub-500ms voice response latency
99.99% uptime or better
Real-time STT, TTS, and LLM orchestration

Plivo's vertically integrated Voice AI stack is designed for low-latency, real-time conversations on proven infrastructure.

3. Multi-Channel Context, Not Disconnected Bots

Leads move between calls, SMS, WhatsApp and chat. Treating each channel as a separate bot creates broken experiences and duplicate work.

What to look for:

Shared context across voice and messaging
Unified conversation history
Seamless handoffs between channels

Plivo supports multi-channel agents that share context across phone, SMS, WhatsApp and chat from a single system.

4. Integration Depth (CRM, Calendars, Workflows)

Voice agents don't operate in isolation. Without deep integrations, they become another silo your team has to manage.

Prioritize platforms that:

Read from and write to CRMs in real time
Trigger workflows during live calls
Integrate cleanly with calendars and support tools

Plivo integrates directly with CRMs and business systems, allowing agents to act on live data and update records automatically.

5. Built for Scale, Not Just Launch

Many tools work well for pilots but struggle under sustained call volume or multi-region deployment.

Ask:

Can this run continuously without degradation?
Are pricing and performance predictable as usage grows?
Will this still work when channels or regions expand?

Plivo's AI agents are built on infrastructure that already powers enterprise-grade voice and messaging at global scale.

FAQs

What's the fastest way to go live without breaking existing operations?

Start with a single, contained flow like after-hours inbound calls or instant lead callbacks. Connect your phone numbers, CRM and calendar, define escalation rules and launch! You can expand coverage once live data validates the flow.

How do I ensure voice quality doesn't feel robotic or laggy?

Voice quality depends on latency and telephony control. Platforms with integrated telephony and real-time STT/TTS orchestration keep responses sub-second, which is critical for natural conversations that callers don't hang up on.

How does the agent stay accurate and compliant with real estate data?

The agent should pull from a restricted, curated knowledge source (MLS, IDX, listings) and operate within defined guardrails. When questions exceed scope like pricing nuance, legal terms, fair-housing-sensitive topics, it escalates to a human automatically.

What happens when call volume spikes or multiple leads call at once?

Calls don't fail—they should queue. High-intent conversations can be routed to live agents, while others are qualified, scheduled or followed up asynchronously. Every outcome is logged so nothing gets lost.

How does this fit into my CRM and follow-up workflows?

The agent reads live CRM data during calls and writes outcomes back automatically in the form of notes, disposition, next steps and booked appointments. Your team picks up conversations with full context instead of starting from scratch.

Try Plivo Free

Curious how an AI voice platform performs in your workflows, not just in theory? Plivo offers a free trial account with credits so you can experiment with voice, SMS, WhatsApp and chat services before committing. When you sign up, you get trial credits, can add a phone number and start testing features like real-time voice interactions and multi-channel engagement using APIs or visual tools like PHLO. This lets you validate performance, integrations, and call flows with your actual data—all without upfront cost.

Plivo's trial lets you test core capabilities immediately, making it easy to see how quickly you can build, launch, and refine agents that handle calls, qualify leads and update systems in real time.

Get started with your free trial now and begin building your first agent today.

Jan 20, 2026

5 mins

Best AI Voice Agents for Customer Support and Service (2026): What to Deploy Now

Compare 10 AI voice agent platforms for customer support. Get a practical 30-day pilot framework, implementation workflow, and outcome-driven selection guide.

1) Plivo — The fastest path to production-grade AI voice agents for customer support

A recent Gartner survey found that most customer service leaders plan to explore or pilot conversational GenAI in 2025—making a clear, near-term mandate to deliver something that works on the phone channel, not just in chat. That's your cue to build a reliable voice front door with an AI agent builder platform designed for voice-first, omnichannel experiences.

Why Plivo is #1

Plivo is the AI agent builder platform that lets you build your way. Whether you're a business leader who needs to launch fast or an engineering team building custom workflows, Plivo meets you where you are. Start with no-code tools that let non-technical teams deploy agents in hours. Go deeper with low-code orchestration for more control. Or build from scratch with full-code frameworks that integrate into your existing stack. You're never forced into a single way of working.

What it does for you

Plivo's Voice AI stack is modular by design. Want speed? Use the fully integrated platform—STT, LLM, TTS, and telephony—pre-configured and ready to go. Want control? Orchestrate your agents using code with Plivo's Agentic STT models and Telephony, alongside your preferred LLM providers. Want just the connectivity layer? Use audio streaming or SIP trunking and bring everything else yourself. You decide where Plivo ends and your stack begins.

Underlying it all is a reliable, carrier-grade telephony platform that scales for enterprises—global PSTN/SIP connectivity, number provisioning and porting, call routing with failover, recording with consent, and clean human handoff with full context into your CRM or help desk.

Segment-by-segment fit

If you're SMB, launch fast with no-code tools that let you deploy agents in hours, plus a simple dashboard and connectors for Shopify and Calendly. If you're mid-market, use low-code orchestration for more control, with a modular stack that lets you use what you need—swap in your preferred LLM, STT, or TTS. If you're enterprise, build with full-code frameworks that integrate into your existing stack, plus a modular Voice AI stack to pick-and-choose what you need, governance features (RBAC, audit transcripts, data residency), and contact center integration for high availability and reporting.

Start with Voice, go everywhere

Voice is the hardest channel to get right—and it's where Plivo leads. But the same flexible building experience extends to WhatsApp, SMS, RCS, and Chat. Build once, deploy across channels, and meet customers wherever they are.

Suitable for

Fintech customer service: consent-first flows, secure keypad capture, dispute status, and callbacks.
Healthcare scheduling: multilingual intake, appointment changes, escalations with a summarized handoff.
Retail and logistics: order status, returns, delivery windows, and SMS/WhatsApp follow-ups.

No more choosing between a locked-in platform that's easy but limiting, or a DIY approach that's flexible but painful. Plivo gives you both—simplicity when you want it, depth when you need it.

Explore the Voice API, check pricing, review compliance, handle numbers & porting, browse case studies, or jump into the quickstart.

2) Google Dialogflow CX — Complex, branching flows without spaghetti

Key features

Dialogflow CX uses a flow-and-page model to capture state and branching, so you can manage multi-step intents like returns, warranty claims, and multi-factor verification without dozens of brittle intents. It supports voice and text and includes versioning, experiments, and test tools. For telephony, you can use partner gateways or SIP; for global reach, put Plivo at the edge and connect to CX.

Why it matters

Complicated support journeys need explicit state. CX gives you that structure. If your "Where's my order?" workflow forks based on identity checks, fulfillment method, and policy windows, you can keep logic readable and testable. CX also plays well with multilingual experiences and mixed initiative, so callers can change course mid-conversation.

Implementation steps

Start with a single high-volume journey and draw it as a CX flow. Add a fallback page with a short menu for noisy lines. Ground the bot in your knowledge base and order system, then add handoff rules. Put Plivo in front for numbers, routing, and recording consent, and pass summaries back to your ticketing system.

Suitable for

Teams with multiple brands or product lines, where branching grows quickly and consistency matters across regions.

3) Amazon Lex + Amazon Connect — AWS-first voice automation that ops can own

Key features

Lex handles the speech and NLU for voice and text. Connect adds the contact-center fabric: routing, IVR, call recording, and agent desktop. It's a natural fit if your data and apps live in AWS and security prefers IAM-managed access. For global numbers or bring-your-own carrier control, front with Plivo and route into Connect.

Why it matters

Staying inside AWS accelerates procurement, security reviews, and monitoring. You can call Lambdas for tool use, search knowledge with Kendra, and use Connect metrics and contact flows your ops team already knows. That shortens time to value and concentrates governance in one place.

Implementation steps

Define one call flow in Connect (ID&V → status lookup → handoff). Build Lex intents from your top FAQs. Add Plivo for number management, routing, and failover. Send summaries back to your CRM or help desk. Keep a barge-in plan for noisy environments and a keypad fallback for payment flows.

Suitable for

IT-led programs where AWS standardization, auditability, and a single pane of glass for monitoring are priorities.

4) IBM Watson Assistant — Governance-first deployments in regulated industries

Key features

Watson Assistant supports omnichannel conversations with documented security and governance options, including deployment paths designed for regulated workloads. If your risk office leads the decision, IBM provides clear guidance on audit logging, data handling, and architectural choices. Add Plivo to handle PSTN/SIP, call consent prompts, and compliant recording policies.

Why it matters

Financial services and healthcare teams often need auditability from day one. When you need clear data-handling boundaries and deployment models that align with internal controls, IBM's documentation and support track help you pass reviews without months of back-and-forth.

Implementation steps

Map your data-classification rules to Watson's deployment options. Keep contact recordings and transcriptions in your approved storage. Use Plivo's routing and consent prompts to standardize intake across regions. Summarize calls into your case system for full traceability.

Suitable for

Organizations with heavy compliance needs, strict data residency, or formal audit trails for every customer interaction.

5) Cognigy.AI — IVR modernization with fine-grained voice control

Key features

Cognigy combines a visual designer with a voice gateway that supports streaming ASR, interruptibility, and transfer control. It integrates with multiple speech providers and enterprise systems like SAP and Salesforce. This lets you tune barge-in sensitivity, error handling, and handoff cues rather than living with a one-size-fits-all IVR.

Why it matters

If callers still hear a menu tree, you're wasting time and goodwill. Cognigy helps you replace rigid menus with natural conversations and graceful escalation. You keep the levers you need—timing, sensitivity, fallback prompts—so the agent feels human, not scripted.

Implementation steps

Start with the two intents that create the most queue time. Set barge-in thresholds conservatively and widen them after you test in live traffic. Put Plivo at the edge to manage numbers, recording policies, and failover. Send summaries with disposition tags to your CRM.

Suitable for

Enterprises with legacy IVRs, high call volumes, and a clear need to reduce effort without ripping out the contact-center core.

6) Salesforce Agentforce — CRM-native service automation where your team works

Key features

Agentforce brings AI agents into the Salesforce console and data model. Your service team stays in the view they know, while the agent handles common intents, drafts summaries, and routes cases. Add Plivo for calling so every phone interaction lands in Salesforce with the right context.

Why it matters

When everything you need to resolve an issue already lives in Salesforce, keeping the agent there shortens integration time and improves analytics. Supervisors can coach on the same dashboard and review case summaries, while admins maintain clear governance over data and automations.

Implementation steps

Pick one queue with repetitive calls. Tie identity checks to account data and warranties. Keep a "press 0 for a human" fallback and make sure the agent passes a clean summary with next steps. Use Plivo for the phone edge so call recordings and consent are consistent across regions.

Suitable for

Service teams that treat Salesforce as the system of record and want automation to feel native—not bolted on.

7) Zoom Virtual Agent for Phone — A 24/7 receptionist and concierge

Key features

Zoom's Virtual Agent for Phone handles greetings, routing, and the most common requests. You train it from existing docs and site content, then turn it on for after-hours or full-time reception. It's built for quick wins like appointment scheduling, store hours, and simple status checks with transfers when needed.

Why it matters

If reception lines clog your switchboard, a front-door voice agent can deflect simple questions without new headcount. As you add skills, you can expand from triage to completing tasks. For broader reach, connect Plivo to add global numbers and transactional notifications via SMS or WhatsApp.

Implementation steps

Start with greeting, business hours, and routing. Add appointment booking next. Keep live-agent transfers one click away. If you outgrow the PBX perimeter, bring Plivo in to manage numbers and cross-channel follow-ups.

Suitable for

Single-number switchboards, high-volume reception desks, and teams that need a quick, always-on front door.

8) Sierra — Enterprise "autonomous" agents with category momentum

Key features

Sierra focuses on enterprise-grade AI agents for customer service with an emphasis on agentic workflows. The leadership and market traction give executives confidence to back bigger bets. If you're evaluating multi-channel automation with rigorous SLAs, Sierra is a credible short-list option. Plug it into Plivo for reliable telephony, recording consent, and global routing.

Why it matters

Momentum reduces perceived risk. When you need cross-functional buy-in, a vendor that's already in enterprise production helps. You still need the phone edge right: numbers, routing, and failover that won't buckle under peaks.

Implementation steps

Define two end-to-end journeys (e.g., ID&V + order update; returns approval). Keep human handoff one step away and capture every call summary in your case system. Instrument containment and transfers, then iterate weekly.

Suitable for

Large teams planning multi-channel agents and looking for vendor accountability with clear deliverables and timelines.

9) Tidio (Lyro) — SMB eCommerce chat that pairs well with voice

Key features

Tidio blends live chat, an AI agent, and eCommerce integrations. It's a practical way to resolve repetitive questions, free up your team, and capture intent while buyers are on your site. Add Plivo for a simple order-status line and SMS/WhatsApp updates so customers get answers by phone as well as chat.

Why it matters

eCommerce teams need fast coverage more than complex architectures. You can start with FAQs, then add checkout and account questions. When phone calls spike—promos, holidays—route a basic voice flow through Plivo and keep your agent consistent across channels.

Implementation steps

Load your top FAQs and shipping policies, add a returns flow, and set clear handoff rules. For voice, route a single Plivo number to a lightweight agent that authenticates by order ID and ZIP code, then offers a callback option during peaks.

Suitable for

Lean teams that want to reduce repetitive chat volume now and add phone coverage without standing up a full contact center.

10) Robylon — Multi-channel AI agents focused on support teams

Key features

Robylon specializes in AI-driven customer support across voice, chat, email, and messaging. It integrates with help desks like Zendesk and Freshdesk, supports multiple languages, and offers analytics dashboards designed for service leaders. It's a pragmatic fit if your help desk is the hub of your operation.

Why it matters

You want human-like conversations that escalate cleanly. Robylon's positioning around support workflows means your ticketing, SLAs, and dispositions stay intact. For reliable calling, use Plivo for numbers, routing, and recording consent so your phone channel matches the quality of your chat channel.

Implementation steps

Start with account updates and appointment scheduling. Ground the agent in your help-desk knowledge base and macros. Track resolution time and transfer reasons; refine weekly.

Suitable for

Mid-market support teams who want a focused system that plugs into existing help-desk processes and expands to voice without heavy lifting.

How to run a safe, high-signal pilot in 30 days

Define success first

Pick three metrics: containment, transfer rate, and average resolution time. Write a one-line target for each and a go/no-go threshold. Everyone should know what "good" looks like before you take your first call.

Start with narrow, high-volume intents

"Where's my order?", appointment changes, returns, account updates. These are predictable, frequent, and measurable. Script your handoff sentence so agents never start from zero.

Build the right guardrails

Add a consent prompt, a keypad fallback for sensitive inputs, and a short backup menu for noisy environments. Keep the escalations simple: one route for billing, one for everything else.

Ground every answer

Connect the agent to your CRM/help desk and knowledge base. If the answer doesn't exist in your source of truth, escalate. Summarize every call into the ticket with disposition and next steps.

Iterate weekly

Review 20 call transcripts together. Fix the top three friction points. Update prompts and knowledge. Ship changes. Repeat.

FAQ

What's the fastest way to launch a voice agent without changing my stack?

Keep your telephony and routing on Plivo, connect your preferred conversation engine, and ground it in your CRM/help desk and knowledge base. Start with one number, one intent, and a simple fallback.

How should I measure success in the first 30 days?

Track containment, transfer rate, and resolution time. Listen for barge-in moments and interruptions—they reveal prompt and timing issues that you can fix quickly.

How do I implement consent, recording, and PCI/PHI safely?

Play a clear consent prompt before any recording. Use keypad input for payments or sensitive data. Store recordings and transcripts in approved systems and keep audit logs.

When is Dialogflow CX better than Lex, IBM, or Cognigy?

Choose CX for complex branching flows and multilingual journeys; Lex when your team standardizes on AWS; IBM when governance and deployment control are paramount; Cognigy when you're modernizing IVR with fine-grained voice settings.

How do I handle accents, noise, and barge-in in production?

Use a robust ASR, tune your barge-in sensitivity, and keep a keypad fallback. Test in noisy environments and shorten prompts. Summaries help human agents pick up without asking callers to repeat themselves.

Conclusion: Build the voice edge once, then scale what works

A measured result to anchor ROI. McKinsey reported that, at one company with thousands of agents, applying generative AI raised issue resolution and lowered handling time—small percentage gains that compound into real savings at scale. That's the kind of lift your leadership expects—and the reason to start with a focused pilot that moves one metric.

Bring your "brain" of choice, but keep the phone edge on Plivo so every call connects, every consent is captured, and every handoff carries context. Define three KPIs, pick one journey, and go live with a human fallback. Review transcripts weekly, then scale to the next two intents.

Ready to hear what real-time voice feels like? Build your agent or talk to an expert today.

Jun 19, 2025

5 mins

RCS Marketing 101: Your Complete Guide

Discover how RCS marketing delivers rich, branded messages that drive engagement for your business.

SMS marketing works, but let’s be honest: it feels a bit outdated compared to modern apps.

But what if you could send rich, interactive messages with branded content, images, buttons, and carousels straight to your customers’ native messaging apps?

Rich communication services (RCS) makes that possible.

If you’re ready to explore how RCS marketing can transform your engagement strategy, this guide will walk you through everything you need to know. Let’s get started.

What is RCS marketing?

RCS marketing uses rich communication services to send interactive, branded messages through a customer’s default messaging app. It’s a modern upgrade to SMS that lets businesses share images, buttons, carousels, and more — all without needing third-party apps.

A user on Reddit summed up this perfectly:

Screenshot of a Reddit comment explaining what RCS is — *RCS explained by a Reddit user*

RCS lets you send messages that are visually branded with logos and colors while remaining interactive. This turns static updates into an app-like experience inside a message.

This shift is part of a broader industry move, led by Google and backed by major mobile carriers, to upgrade messaging infrastructure and make RCS the default standard on Android devices.

As support continues to grow, businesses are adopting RCS as part of their customer engagement strategy. Platforms like Plivo make that adoption easier with a reliable, enterprise-grade gateway to deliver rich, reliable RCS campaigns at scale.

RCS vs. SMS marketing: A quick comparison

Marketers today are looking for ways to deliver more interactive and visual communication, and RCS is clearly leading the way.

While SMS still works well for simple alerts, it lacks the creativity and engagement that RCS marketing offers.

Let’s take a quick look at RCS vs. SMS marketing.

Key feature	SMS marketing	RCS marketing
Message length	Limited to 160 characters; with longer messages split	Up to 8,000 characters in a single message
Multimedia	Supports only plain text and links; needs MMS for multimedia	Natively supports high-resolution photos, videos, audio, and GIFs
Security and verification	No built-in sender verification	Includes verified sender profiles with business name, logo, and custom colors
Read receipts	No standardized way to know if a message was delivered or read	Provides delivery and read receipts for real-time engagement tracking
Typing indicators	Doesn't show when the other party is typing	Displays typing indicators, creating a more conversational feel
Interactive buttons	Not supported; calls to action (CTAs) are limited to plain text links	Allows interactive buttons with predefined replies and actions
User experience	Static, text-heavy, and transactional	Dynamic, visually rich, and conversational — feels more like a mobile app
Analytics and reporting	Basic delivery tracking (if supported by carrier)	Advanced analytics: opens, clicks, conversions, and user behavior tracking

4 key benefits of RCS marketing

RCS marketing makes messaging feel more natural for both you and your customers. And since you can see what’s working and what’s not, it’s easier to pivot your strategy and get better results.

Here are its four key benefits.

1. Improved user interaction

One of the biggest advantages of RCS marketing is how seamless it makes the experience for your customers. Instead of typing out replies or clicking a link to open a website, users can just tap a button right inside the message.

Want them to book a demo, check order status, or browse products? It’s all possible with just a tap.

Fewer steps mean less effort, and that leads to more people following through. In fact, individuals spend up to 37 seconds engaging with RCS messages, which is a lot longer than most other types of mobile messaging.

Image showing the engagement results of RCS messaging — *People engage more with RCS than any other platform*

That extra time and interaction can make all the difference when you’re trying to convert interest into action.

2. Consistent brand experience

RCS marketing doesn’t just tell people who you are — it shows them.

Verified business profiles help people know they’re getting messages from the real brand. Every message shows your brand’s logo, name, colors, and a checkmark. These small details make it clear that the message is coming from a genuine source.

Image showing that MAYI - HOMES sends a verified RCS message with branding — *Verified RCS message from MAYI - HOMES*

This consistency matters because 88% of people are more likely to buy from a brand they trust.

3. In-depth analytics

With RCS marketing, you can track open rates, button clicks, and how people interact with each part of your message.

You get clear visibility into what’s working and where users are dropping off.

This makes it much easier to measure the return on investment (ROI) and fine-tune your campaigns. The more you understand how people engage, the better you can shape your messaging for results.

4. Higher conversion potential

RCS marketing makes it easier for customers to take action — whether that’s browsing products, booking a service, or making a purchase — all within the message itself.

With fewer clicks and no need to switch apps, the path to conversion feels effortless. And when it’s that easy, more people follow through.

For example, EaseMyTrip used RCS to run a post-COVID travel survey. They added quick-tap answer options and followed up with a thank-you coupon. The campaign saw a 4x higher click-through rate than email, 10x more survey completions, and a 2.7% increase in conversion rate.

5 major use cases of RCS marketing

Here are five major use cases showing how brands are using RCS marketing effectively.

1. Product promotions

RCS makes product promotions feel more like browsing a store than reading a message. Brands can send image carousels that customers can swipe through to explore new arrivals, check product details, and see what’s available without leaving their messaging app.

Verified RCS message highlights a 25% off promotion on all items — Verified RCS message from Daily-donuts

Example: A fashion retailer promoting its spring collection could send an RCS message featuring a carousel of outfits with styled images, prices, and buttons like “View Lookbook” or “Shop Now.”

Tapping a button could open a mini product page inside the chat, letting customers browse and buy without switching apps.

2. Abandoned cart reminders

The average cart abandonment rate is over 70%, which means most shoppers never make it to the finish line. RCS marketing can help bring them back by making the reminder more engaging and easier to act on.

You can send a message that shows exactly what they left behind, along with a clear button to complete the purchase. It’s visual, straightforward, and the entire experience stays within their messaging app.

Example: A home electronics store could follow up with customers who left a pair of wireless earbuds in their cart. The RCS message might include a product photo, the price, and a “Buy Now” button that takes them straight to checkout.

3. Appointment confirmations and reminders

A PhD thesis from Manchester Metropolitan University found that forgetfulness is the most common reason people skip their appointments.

RCS makes it easier for both businesses and customers to stay on the same page. You can send a message that shows the appointment details along with a simple calendar view. Add buttons to confirm, reschedule, or cancel — all within the chat.

Image depicting an interactive RCS booking confirmation message — Booking confirmation via RCS with quick action buttons

Example: A dental clinic could use RCS to remind patients of upcoming cleanings. The message might show the date, time, and location of the appointment, plus a “Confirm” button and options to “Reschedule” or “Cancel.”

Patients can respond instantly, helping the clinic manage its schedule more efficiently.

4. Customer surveys and feedback

Getting feedback is important, but most customers lack the time or patience to complete lengthy forms. RCS marketing makes it easier by allowing brands to ask short, targeted questions and receive quick responses.

Plus, the rich features of RCS let you include images, ratings, or multiple-choice options, making feedback feel more like a conversation.

Example: A restaurant could send an RCS message after a meal asking customers to rate their experience with simple buttons like “Excellent,” “Good,” or “Needs Improvement.”

The message might also include a photo of the dish they ordered and a quick question like, “What did you like most?” This quick interaction makes it easy for customers to respond and gives the restaurant valuable insights.

5. Customer support follow-ups

After a support request is resolved, following up shows customers you care and helps close the loop on their experience. But if the follow-up message gets buried in an email inbox or goes unnoticed, that opportunity to connect is lost.

With RCS marketing, you can send a quick message to check if everything’s working fine. You can include helpful buttons like “Change Password,” “Manage Account,” or “Talk to Support.”

Support bot provides instant replies and follow-ups for customer queries — AI-powered support for account management

RCS marketing myths and realities

Despite RCS marketing’s growing adoption and proven results, some common misconceptions still hold businesses back from trying it. Let’s look at a few of the biggest myths and what’s actually true.

Myth 1: RCS marketing is too expensive

At first glance, RCS business messaging can seem like a pricey upgrade. Rich visuals, tap-to-action buttons, and branded layouts look premium, so it’s easy to assume they come with a hefty cost.

But cost alone doesn’t tell the full story.

What you get in return matters more. RCS drives significantly stronger engagement with higher click-through rates, increased interactions, and better overall outcomes.

Take Club Comex, the loyalty program of North American paint brand Comex. They sent two rich and interactive RCS campaigns to their members and saw a 10x higher click-through rate, which helped increase revenue by 115%.

That’s the value side of the equation. Better targeting and richer content mean more people click, engage, and convert.

Myth 2: RCS marketing doesn’t reach enough users to be worth it

This concern made sense in the early days of RCS, when adoption was still catching up. But the landscape looks very different now.

In June 2024, the 12-month growth of RCS users reached 36.3%, showing faster uptake than other messaging channels. More Android devices support RCS by default, and it’s being rolled out across more networks globally. Even Apple has announced support, which means RCS is on track to reach a massive number of smartphone users worldwide.

With that kind of growth and widespread support, the hesitation around RCS is starting to fade. Brands can confidently invest in RCS marketing knowing it will connect with more customers than ever before.

Myth 3: RCS gets treated like spam and ends up ignored just like emails

Unlike email, RCS messages appear directly in the user’s primary messaging app alongside personal conversations. They include rich media and interactive elements, making them more engaging and less likely to be ignored.

This creates a more natural, conversational experience that drives higher open and response rates than traditional marketing channels.

Why choose Plivo for your RCS marketing needs

With RCS, you can turn simple messages into rich, branded conversations that feel more like chatting than broadcasting.

Plivo gives you the tools to make that shift without the hassle. From verified messaging to smart automation, everything works together to help you connect better and respond faster.

When combined with AI Agents and a unified customer data platform, RCS becomes more than just messaging. You can deliver personalized experiences at scale, automate everyday interactions, and keep conversations flowing without lifting a finger.

Here’s what you get with Plivo’s RCS API:

Real-time personalization: AI Agents tailor conversations using customer profiles and behavior triggers to improve engagement and conversions.
Multi-channel fallback: If RCS isn’t supported, messages automatically switch to SMS to ensure delivery and maintain consistent communication.
Conversational automation: AI Agents handle FAQs, process orders, schedule deliveries, and route complex queries within RCS.
All-in-one messaging platform: Manage RCS, SMS, WhatsApp, Voice, and more from a single dashboard.
Reliable performance: 99.99% uptime and global infrastructure keep your campaigns running smoothly.

With Plivo’s no-code tools, you can quickly launch AI-powered RCS messaging across channels and deliver a consistent customer experience from day one.

See how you can launch your first RCS marketing campaign with Plivo by requesting a demo today!

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Aug 18, 2023

5 mins

Plivo Named to 2023 Inc. 5000 List of America’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies

Plivo secures its spot on the prestigious 2023 Inc. 5000 list of America's Fastest-Growing Private Companies.

Company

Austin, TX — August 18, 2023 Inc. has included Plivo in the 2023 Inc. 5000, the magazine’s annual list of the fastest-growing private companies in America. The prestigious ranking provides a data-driven look at the most successful companies within the economy’s most dynamic segment — its independent, entrepreneurial businesses.

“As Plivo enters its twelfth year, we’re thrilled to join such an amazing group of companies,” said Venky Balasubramanian, co-founder and CEO at Plivo. “Plivo started in 2011 as an open source project on GitHub with a mission to simplify customer engagement. We’ve gone from acceptance into Y Combinator’s 2012 batch, to becoming profitable in 2016, to launching SaaS solutions for customer service and sales teams in 2022. The Inc. 5000 honor is another exciting milestone on our journey.”

“Running a business has only gotten harder since the end of the pandemic,” says Inc. editor-in-chief Scott Omelianuk. “To make the Inc. 5000 — with the fast growth that requires — is truly an accomplishment. Inc. is thrilled to honor the companies that are building our future.”

About Plivo

Plivo is a customer engagement platform that enables businesses to connect, engage and interact with their customers in over 190 countries. Thousands of businesses like IBM, Workday, Nutanix, and Gojek rely on Plivo to deliver better customer experiences globally.

More about Inc. and the Inc. 5000

Methodology

Companies on the 2023 Inc. 5000 are ranked according to percentage revenue growth from 2019 to 2022. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2019. They must be U.S.-based, privately held, for-profit, and independent—not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies—as of December 31, 2022. (Since then, some on the list may have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2019 is $100,000; the minimum for 2022 is $2 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons. Growth rates used to determine company rankings were calculated to four decimal places.

About Inc.

Inc. Business Media is the leading multimedia brand for entrepreneurs. Through its journalism, Inc. aims to inform, educate, and elevate the profile of our community: the risk-takers, the innovators, and the ultra-driven go-getters who are creating our future. Inc.’s award-winning work reaches more than 50 million people across a variety of channels, including events, print, digital, video, podcasts, newsletters, and social media. Its proprietary Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to rank the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The recognition that comes with inclusion on this and other prestigious Inc. lists, such as Female Founders and Power Partners, gives the founders of top businesses the opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. For more information, visit www.inc.com.

Aug 15, 2023

5 mins

How to Use Plivo’s SMS API with ChatGPT

ChatGPT for messaging: Learn how to integrate Plivo's SMS API with ChatGPT. Unleash the power of AI-driven messaging & enhance your customer communication with Plivo’s SMS API.

SMS API

Have you jumped on the ChatGPT bandwagon yet? We’ve been brainstorming how OpenAI’s AI-adjacent natural language processing tool might help Plivo customers. Ideas have ranged from applications as simple as a natural language autoresponder to an application that runs a script based on voice or SMS input to a more complex use case such as an SMS chatbot emulation. (We’d be interested in hearing about anything you’ve already built, or that you’re thinking about.)

Plivo and ChatGPT can interact in two ways — think of them as “to” and “from.” A Plivo action (such as an incoming call or text message) could be a trigger to invoke ChatGPT. For instance, someone might text a question with an #askChatGPT hashtag. Plivo could use ChatGPT APIs to pass that query to ChatGPT and return the answer to the person who initiated the query.

Another use case, for data going in the other direction, would have someone invoke something from ChatGPT that triggers a Plivo action. For instance, you could go to the OpenAI’s Playground page and ask ChatGPT to text everyone in a list a weather report for their area.

ChatGPT can’t use Plivo APIs to call Plivo directly. Any application that wants to allow ChatGPT to use its APIs has to write an OpenAI plugin — and plugins are just leaking out in beta form, so a Plivo plugin won’t be available by the time you read this.

However, Plivo partners with Zapier, an application integration tool, and Zapier is developing a plugin for ChatGPT that lets Playground users call zaps — and it’s easy to write a zap that triggers a Plivo action. How well can three very different platforms work together?

We thought a post that walks you through how to send messages through Plivo to ChatGPT, and from ChatGPT to recipients via Plivo, would be valuable. We start with having a Plivo action invoke ChatGPT.

→ From Plivo to ChatGPT in code →

To see how a Plivo action could trigger ChatGPT, we wanted to write a little proof-of-concept code that takes the text of any SMS message that comes in on a specific number, calls OpenAI’s API with that text, and replies to the SMS with ChatGPT’s answer.

And in the spirit of keeping things simple, we thought we’d give ChatGPT a chance to write the code for us. We gave it a prompt:

Using the Plivo Python SDK, write Python code to send the text of an incoming SMS message to ChatGPT and return the reply from ChatGPT to the number that sent the first text.

And it returned this code.

# Import Plivo and ChatGPT

import plivo
from chatgpt import ChatGPT

# Create an instance of ChatGPT
chatgpt = ChatGPT()

# Define function to process incoming message, send to ChatGPT, and return response
def process_incoming_message(incoming_message, incoming_number):
  # Send incoming message to ChatGPT
  chatgpt_response = chatgpt.send_text(incoming_message)

  # Send response from ChatGPT back to sender
  client = plivo.RestClient()
  client.messages.create(
    src='',
    dst=incoming_number,
    text=chatgpt_response
  )

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That’s a decent starting point, but ChatGPT isn’t going to take any developers’ jobs just yet. It’s a very simple use case — but sometimes that’s all you need. However, in this case, one fatal flaw is the lack of a ChatGPT module with APIs that let you make queries.

Plivo CTO Mike Ricordeau took the concept and made it scalable. His sms_bot.py code, using Python and Flask, is available online, so you can clone it and play with it. Follow the instructions in the README file.

Before you deploy the application, you must expose it at a public URL. To do that, we recommend using ngrok. Make sure to specify to ngrok the same port on which the sms_bot.py application is running. Ngrok will return a forwarding IP address you can use.

Once you’ve obtained a forwarding address from ngrok, visit the Plivo console and add a Plivo application. Specify the address, postpended with “/sms,” for the Message URL.

Next, pick one of your active phone numbers and associate it with the application you just created. In the Application Type drop-down, choose XML Application, and under Plivo Application choose the name of the Plivo application you added.

Now the application should be live and available. You can try it by texting a message to the phone number you used. Plivo should receive the question and POST the request to the Message URL, and ngrok forwards it to the Python application, which connects to OpenAI and asks the question. OpenAI gives the answer. The Python application then returns a Message XML element with the response, which is sent to the user’s phone number. The entire “transaction” took about four seconds from when I tapped Send to when I received a response.

← To Plivo from ChatGPT via Zapier ←

Suppose, instead, you want to have ChatGPT call Plivo to send a text message.

As we said, ChatGPT can’t use Plivo APIs directly. Fortunately, Plivo partner Zapier is a member of the OpenAI ChatGPT plugin program. As we mentioned, Zapier is an application integration tool that lets anyone connect disparate web applications together in a workflow. Anyone with a ChatGPT Plus account can use Zapier to perform an action from ChatGPT that calls Plivo.

To try it out for SMS API integration you first have to set things up. Sign up for a ChatGPT Plus subscription — it costs $20 a month — and you’ll need a Zapier account too. From the ChatGPT home screen click on your account name in the bottom left corner, then Settings > Data Controls, and enable 2FA. The page displays a QR code that you have to scan with an authenticator application running on a smartphone. The app should display a six-digit number for you to copy into the authentication dialog.

Once you’ve enabled 2FA, click on GPT-4 at the top of the ChatGPT home screen and choose Plugins from the drop-down menu. From the Plug-in store, find Zapier and click Install. Your browser will open a new window and Zapier will prompt you to connect; click Allow.

After you’ve enabled the Zapier plugin you can go back to the main ChatGPT window and ask a question. When you have an answer, you can say something like “Send that via Zapier and Plivo.” The first time you do that, ChatGPT will give you a link to click on that brings up a page where to enable an action.

We’ve written documentation on how to use Zapier with Plivo, sans ChatGPT; it talks about the available options. If you’re one of those free spirits who prefers trying things to reading doc pages, you can type “Plivo” into the Action field to see what actions are available. (Or you can type any string and use any platform that Zapier integrates with.) Complete the form, then click Enable action. At some point you’ll have to specify your Plivo Auth ID and Auth Token to authenticate your account within Zapier.

Those are all the steps — sounds easy, no? But some of this software is new and not completely debugged. We had problems connecting our Plivo phone numbers to Zapier through the plugin screen. Also, see the “Have AI guess a value” prompt in the screenshot above? We tried doing that for our source number, since we were using a test account that had only a single active number. AI failed to guess the value.

Prompt engineering

At this point you’ve created an action that ChatGPT can use by calling the Zapier plugin. Now you have to write a good prompt that not only retrieves the information you want but also lets ChatGPT know what to do with it. We found things worked best when we used a phrase like “send a text using Plivo.” ChatGPT “knew” that it could access Plivo via Zapier, as in this example.

When we clicked the link, we found that ChatGPT had filled in the source and destination numbers properly. However, the text we asked it to generate wasn’t what we were looking for; instead of a polite reminder that payment was due, the body of the text was “Recipient’s phone number.” AI works in mysterious ways.

There’s clearly a mismatch somewhere in the communication between ChatGPT and Zapier. We took a second try, telling ChatGPT to send the text to a specific destination phone number, but that didn’t help.

When we clicked Run, ChatGPT/Zapier/Plivo sent the text perfectly, and it arrived almost instantly, so the good news is that all of the pieces were able to communicate.

As if it weren’t enough to automate all it did so far, ChatGPT wasn’t finished. It continued …

Sadly, when we clicked on the link, there wasn’t much there but the title of the new Zap. If we had wanted to use it we would have had to fill in all the fields, as if we were starting from scratch.

A work in progress

From this experience, we judged ChatGPT’s integration with Zapier to be a work in progress — as one might expect for such new software. We wouldn’t rely on it for SMS automation. Still, it’s clear we have a base on which companies can build. Ask us what we think again in six months.

The takeaway for now is that you can incorporate ChatGPT into workflows with Plivo — but don’t expect perfection.

Aug 3, 2023

5 mins

What is a Chatbot? 10 Benefits of Chatbots for Enhanced Customer Service

Chatbots help businesses automate their customer service motion and reduce time to ticket resolution. Learn about chatbots and how to implement them in this blog.

Chatbots

Chatbots have been making waves in the customer service industry, providing a range of advantages that can enhance the customer experience by reducing customer friction, increasing revenue, and alleviating pressure on human agents.

From providing 24/7 availability to offering personalized recommendations, chatbots have the potential to revolutionize the way businesses interact with their customers.

What is a Chatbot?

Put simply, a chatbot is a computer program designed to quickly respond to and assist customers with their questions. Whenever a customer initiates contact through a communication channel, a chatbot will attempt to identify and resolve the customer’s issue by offering solutions to common problems.

Modern chatbots like Contacto’s can even be configured to trigger customized workflows dynamically based on customer responses, enhancing your business’ ability to gather relevant information from your customers before they connect with an agent.

Benefits of Chatbots

We’ve compiled 10 benefits of chatbots, and tips for how you can use automation to enhance the customer service experience, while also alleviating pressure on customer service agents, increasing revenue, and creating repeat business:

24/7 Availability: Chatbots can provide 24/7 availability to customers, which is not always possible with human agents. This means customers can receive immediate assistance, regardless of the time of day or night. This can increase customer satisfaction and reduce the likelihood of negative reviews or customer churn due to unaddressed concerns.
Quick Response Times: Chatbots are capable of responding to customer inquiries in seconds, providing instant answers and minimizing the waiting time for customers. This can reduce frustration and increase overall customer satisfaction, while also freeing up customer service agents to handle more complex issues.
Cost-Effective: Chatbots can help companies save on labor costs, as they can handle a large volume of customer inquiries simultaneously. This can allow companies to allocate their resources more efficiently and effectively, while also reducing the need to hire additional staff to handle customer service inquiries.
Reduced Pressure on Human Agents: Chatbots can handle routine inquiries, allowing human agents to focus on more complex issues. This can reduce burnout and turnover among customer service agents, while also increasing the likelihood of positive customer interactions.
Improved Context for Issue Resolution: Chatbots can gather information from customers and provide context to customer service agents before the customer is transferred to a human agent. This can help agents provide more efficient and effective solutions, as they will have a better understanding of the customer’s issue before the interaction begins.
Increased Revenue: Chatbots can increase customer engagement by providing answers to questions that prospective customers may have while evaluating your product. This can increase revenue and customer loyalty, while also improving the overall customer experience.
Multilingual Support: Chatbots can provide support in multiple languages, making it easier for companies to expand into international markets. This can increase customer satisfaction and reduce language barriers for customers.
Consistent and Accurate Responses: Chatbots can provide consistent and accurate responses to customer inquiries, reducing the likelihood of miscommunications or misunderstandings. This can increase customer confidence in the company and its products or services.
Improved Data Collection: Chatbots can gather customer data and provide insights into customer behavior, preferences, and pain points. This can help companies improve their products or services, as well as their overall customer service strategy.
Creating Repeat Business: A positive customer service experience, facilitated in part by chatbots, can create repeat business and increase customer loyalty. Customers who have had a positive interaction with a chatbot are more likely to return to a company for future purchases or services.

So we ask the question again: what is a chatbot? A chatbot is a useful self-service tool that is evolving the modern customer service experience by providing 24/7 availability, reducing the pressure on your human agents, and decreasing the time to ticket resolution for your customers.

The Importance of Self-Service in Customer Support

In our recent Leadership Talk on the Modern State of Customer Support, Plivo’s head of support Renu Yadav highlighted the importance of self-service tools:

“Self-service options are a great way to reduce the number of queries coming to support agents and allow them to focus on more complex problems. I also think that it is important to build an extensive FAQ section so that customers can easily find answers to common questions.

I also think that chatbots and AI can be valuable tools for customer support. They can provide instant, 24/7 support for simple inquiries or issues, and they can also gather initial information before escalating more complex issues to human agents.”

How PlivoCX’s Chatbot can automate your customer service

PlivoCX’s modern chatbot leverages advanced automation technology to enhance the customer service experience for businesses of all sizes. With features like 24/7 availability, quick response times, and multilingual support, Contacto’s chatbot is an excellent example of the potential that this technology can bring to your business.

By embracing chatbot technology in your contact center, companies can provide better customer service, reduce costs, and increase revenue, all while freeing up their human agents to focus on more complex tasks.

With the rapid advancements in AI technology, chatbots are only going to become more sophisticated and capable of handling even more tasks, making them an essential tool for any modern business looking to stay ahead of the competition.

So why wait? Start exploring the benefits of chatbots today and see how they can revolutionize your customer service experience.

Aug 3, 2023

5 mins

Maintaining Our Commitment to Security: Plivo Renews SOC 2 Type 2 Compliance

SOC 2 Type 2 Compliance Renewal in Ensuring Data Security & Trust: Plivo complies with stringent standards to safeguard your information. Read to know more.

Compliance

Company

Security

At Plivo, we’re steadfast in our dedication to stringent security measures, to ensure we offer our clients a trustworthy and robust Cloud Communication Platform as a Service (CPaaS). We’re pleased to share that we’ve renewed our SOC 2 Type 2 certification, which includes HIPAA controls.

Maintaining a strong security culture

The focus on security is at the heart of our operations, woven into the fabric of our services. Our security team continually improves our security controls, threat-mitigation processes, and monitoring systems. Everyone at Plivo knows that keeping your data safe is our highest priority; we’ve built our culture around that value.

Our SOC 2 Type 2 commitment

In 2022 we obtained our initial SOC 2 Type 2 report, which provided reassurance to our customers about us as a service organization handling, storing, and processing user data. The report not only confirmed the adequacy of our security systems and procedures, it also examined our operational effectiveness in adhering to these controls over time. The SOC 2 Type 2 certification underscored our commitment to data security.

Our SOC 2 Type 2 certification this year reaffirms our dedication to managing the critical data our clients entrust us with, and reaffirms our stringent controls across critical areas:

Regular communication of changes to customers
Robust internal access control to production environments
Thorough system monitoring and ongoing risk assessments
Reliable disaster recovery, data backup measures, and system availability
Responsive system and security monitoring and incident response processes
Effective employee onboarding and termination processes

These controls continue to evolve as we maintain the privacy and security of customer data and perfect our security systems.

Our security commitment: beyond a checkbox

We see our certification renewal as a testament to our ongoing commitment to you, our valued customers. It signifies our dedication to ensuring your data’s security and our unwavering efforts to keep improving. It isn’t just about ticking a box for us, but rather about living up to the trust you place in us.

We’re proud of our team’s hard work over the past year, and we’ll continue striving toward more robust security measures and accreditations in the future.

You can read more about our renewed SOC 2 Type 2 compliance, our security measures, and how we’re continually protecting your data on our security page.

Your security is always our top priority. We appreciate your trust in us.

Jul 28, 2023

5 mins

Text Subscriptions: A Valuable Tool for Marketers

Know all about what are text subscriptions and how to use them. Read more about the benefits and use cases of text subscription at Plivo

SMS API

SMS

If you can get customers and prospects to subscribe to informational updates from your business, you can build a brand loyalty bond that’ll be hard to break. The trick is to give people information they can use.

Text subscription is a service that businesses provide to send information via SMS to people who opt in to receive it — pretty simple. It’s the same concept as a newspaper or magazine subscription. Those businesses monetize subscribers by selling ads to people who want to reach them. Businesses that offer text subscriptions monetize their efforts by gathering contact information from people who might be current or potential customers, which they can use in campaigns or sales outreach.

Text subscriptions work so well because SMS is an ideal channel for marketing communication. Nearly everyone has a cell phone — 97% of Americans and almost 7 billion people worldwide — and everyone with a cell phone has SMS. Of course smartphone users also have access to apps, but you have to convince people to download them, and apps often include unwelcome trackers.

People look at 99% of text messages, usually within 15 minutes of receiving them. Email lacks the same immediacy, and open rates for email marketing messages are much lower than for SMS. SMS messages also have high engagement rates.

From a budget perspective, text messaging is incredibly affordable. Messages sent through Plivo cost half a cent in the US, and similarly low amounts elsewhere in the world, and you pay only for what you send — there’s no additional subscription cost to use the service.

What is a text message subscription?

Text subscription is a service that businesses provide to send information via SMS to people who opt-in to receive it — pretty simple. It’s the same concept as a newspaper or magazine subscription. Businesses use text message subscriptions for a variety of purposes, such as:

Sending out coupons and discounts
Announcing new products or services
Sending appointment reminders
Sharing breaking news or updates

Text message subscriptions are a great way for businesses to stay connected with their customers and keep them informed. They're also a convenient way for customers to receive information from their favorite businesses.

How to use text message subscriptions

Starting up a text subscription service is a bit of a chicken-and-egg problem. You need to create valuable content to gain subscribers, but there’s no point in creating content unless you have subscribers.

You will likely need to put time and effort into developing your text message subscription service for several months before you see a payoff. Don’t offer a subscription service unless you can offer something that recipients will value.

What kind of content provides value for subscribers? A subscription with a regular cadence can be anything you know a lot about and that they need to know about, too. You might be able to alert subscribers to something new about your product or industry.

Ideally, each text message should offer some actionable advice they can use to overcome some challenge or problem. You can also offer early access to new products or services, or first access to new content.

But your text subscriptions don’t have to be on a daily or weekly cadence. You can send text messages to opted-in subscribers with notifications about things like

Flash sales
Subscriber discounts or other special deals
Surveys (make them short — ideally, a single question per outreach!)
Shipping notifications
Suspicious account activity
Feature updates

Opt-in is critical.

Before you send a single message, you must get recipients’ permission to send them messages, even if you already have their phone number. That’s not just good advice — it’s probably the law. Different countries have different rules. In the US, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) covers opt-ins, while in Europe it’s the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

You can obtain permission in several ways:

Though a number provide via an online form
Via text message that includes the opt-in keyword
In-store, point-of-sale signup
Opt-in button on a mobile web page
Interactive voice response (IVR) opt-in via phone call

Give people a way to sign up at points they’re most receptive to interactions with your business, such as overall service signup and as part of the purchase process.

When people opt in, send a confirmation message that lets them know what to expect from the subscription. They should already know what kind of content to expect — that’s probably why they signed up. Let them know how often they can expect your messages and tell them how they can opt out, should they choose to. You should store recipient opt-in records electronically so you can show compliance if you’re ever audited.

And so is opt-out.

Make it just as easy for customers to opt out of a subscription as it is to opt in. Give recipients a keyword (such as STOP) they can send in reply to your messages to tell you to stop sending them texts. If they opt out, then the opt-out confirmation message you send in reply should be the last message they receive (until and unless they opt back in).

While getting permission is critical, opt-ins aren’t the only restrictions you should be aware of — additional regulations where you are might include things such as prohibited sending times.

Once your concept and your content are set you can let people know about what you offer. Post about it in your other channels: newsletters, social media, your website. Include samples of the kinds of messages you’ll offer so people can see the value of the service.

Best ways to use text subscriptions

The best way to use a text message subscription will vary depending on your business type and customer behavior. However, there are a few common ways that marketers have implemented text message subscriptions with success.

1. Promotions and discounts:

To increase sales and boost customer loyalty, send subscribers exclusive discounts or special offers. Use customer data to send personalized messages and offers, making the communication more relevant and effective.

2. Event reminders:

Notify your audience about upcoming events, sales, or new product launches to boost attendance and participation. You can also send appointment reminders to reduce no-shows or late arrivals.

3. Customer engagement:

Share valuable content like tips, tutorials, or product usage ideas, or collect feedback through surveys to improve products and services.

4. Loyalty program:

Keep subscribers informed about their loyalty points, rewards, and how they can redeem them.

5. Order updates:

Finally, build excitement for product delivery with real-time order status, shipping information, and delivery notifications to enhance the customer experience.

These are a few marketing-focused ideas, but there are dozens of other ways to use text subscriptions. Local governments use text subscriptions to send road closure notices, emergency alerts, and weather updates. Consider your business needs when you craft a strategy for your text subscription program.

How to send text messages using Plivo’s SMS API

Once you’re ready to talk to your subscribers, all that’s left is to integrate the sending process into your existing applications. Integrating SMS into your applications makes more sense than pasting together a messaging pipeline that relies on pumping your subscribers through a service like Zapier to an expensive texting service. We’ve created quickstart guides that show you how to send text messages using Python, Java, or any of five other web development languages. If you’re interested in the technical details, they’re a great place to start. You should also read up on best practices for text messaging.

With Plivo, you can automate reaching all your subscribers in bulk, or you can pick a subset of subscribers to reach out to, such as people in a single country or region or those who spend the most.

Plivo offers global reach, with the ability to text people in virtually every country on Earth. Plivo messages enjoy high delivery rates thanks to the Premium Communications Network we’ve put together over more than a decade. And we offer white glove support to make sure our customers are satisfied.

Conclusion

Ready to launch your own text message subscription? Get started with Plivo’s user-friendly SMS API. In five minutes or less you can start sending messages to your first subscribers. Learn more by requesting a trial of Plivo’s platform.

Jul 27, 2023

5 mins

Focusing on Transactional SMS

Transactional SMS Service: Learn how transactional SMS can enhance customer engagement and drive business growth. Looking for a bulk transactional sms service provider?

SMS

SMS marketing typically involves promotional SMS — text messages that businesses send for marketing or advertising purposes to promote the company’s products or services. Promotional SMS can raise brand awareness, foster engagement, and promote ecommerce.

But in business, SMS is good for more than marketing. The flip side of promotional SMS is transactional SMS, and it’s the right communication channel for many use cases.

What is transactional SMS?

Transactional SMS involves sending automated messages to customers in response to an event or when triggered by a customer request or action. Transactional messaging examples include sending order confirmations, account balance notifications, real-time alerts, and one-time passwords (OTP) for two-factor authentication (2FA).

Customers prefer to receive such notifications via text message. SMS has the highest reach among communications channels: 91% of the global population has a mobile device. SMS boasts a 98% open rate, and 95% of people read their text messages within three minutes of receiving them. The low cost to send messages makes SMS a cost-effective communications channel.

Benefits of transactional SMS

But transactional SMS service isn’t good just for customers. It offers a host of benefits for businesses too.

Improved customer engagement: Send important and timely information to customers keeps people informed and engaged with the brand. It fosters increased customer satisfaction and loyalty and can improve customer retention.
Increased security: When used for OTPs and to send security alerts, transactional SMS helps protect accounts from unauthorized access and avoid fraudulent transactions.
Real-time communication: Transactional SMS enables real-time communication, allowing businesses to send urgent or time-sensitive messages, such as booking confirmations, delivery updates, or appointment reminders.

A transactional SMS use case

One example of transactional messaging comes from Plivo customer LAZ Parking, which manages parking properties on behalf of lot and garage owners in the US. At the height of the COVID-19 epidemic, LAZ rolled out a touchless pay-to-park solution. But rather than forcing drivers to download an app, LAZ relied on SMS.

Each LAZ Parking lot posts a sign with a unique alphanumeric code. The sign tells drivers to text the code to a short code phone number. When the company receives a new text, it replies by sending a link that drivers can use to pay for parking using their mobile devices.

LAZ Vice President of Innovation Patrick Ryan found Plivo’s transactional SMS API to be an excellent fit for his company. He says, “This is a simple way to give customers access to mission-critical systems and get them to interact with them via their phone. Giving customers a link via text is far less technically complex than having to build your own app — an Android version, an Apple version — and distribute them in the app store. We can build our system how we want it, put a sign in a location, and get it up and running. It’s much more direct and simple.”

LAZ’s use case is an innovative example of how to take advantage of transactional SMS. Other common use cases include

Booking confirmations — travel and hospitality business can send text to confirm a hotel room or a restaurant table.
Order receipts — retails can offer SMS as a way for customers to get their purchase confirmations.
Delivery status messages — stores and food service businesses can text customers to tell them to come and get it.
Billing reminders — sometimes it pays to tell people that it’s time for them to pay.
Appointment reminders — healthcare providers and service businesses can let people know they have plans to visit, to help avoid missed sessions.
Service alerts, such as utility outages and flight delays — in unusual circumstances, an informative text can be reassuring.

Making it personal

When you use an SMS API like the one provided by Plivo’s cloud communications platform, you can tailor transactional messages to individual customers or segmented groups based on the data you have about them, enabling businesses to deliver more relevant and personalized content.

Whenever you need to provide valuable, timely information, consider text messaging. When you’re ready to get started, read our SMS Best Practices Guide for detailed texting considerations.

Jul 26, 2023

5 mins

VoIP Calling: The Advantages Outweigh the Disadvantages

VOIP advantages and disadvantages: Discover the pros and cons of voice over ip to choose the best service for business communication.

Zentrunk

New businesses today have abandoned the public switched telephone network (PSTN) in favor of voice over IP (VoIP). With VoIP, software converts analog speech into digital packets that are sent as data over the internet.

VoIP telephony has several advantages over the older generation of voice over copper wires.

Cost-efficiency: VoIP services are less expensive than traditional phone lines. They’re just network connections, which means long-distance and international calls are no more expensive than calls across the street. While you can use desktop phones for VoIP calls, you don’t have to — that’s another savings. And VoIP services include features like caller ID, call waiting, and voicemail that traditional providers may charge for separately. Some VoIP providers offer features that old-school providers can’t, such as speech transcription.
Scalability: It’s easy to add or remove VoIP lines — all it takes is a few clicks on a configuration console. That’s a big benefit for seasonal businesses, whose usage varies over the course of a year, while growing businesses can start small and expand as they grow.
Resilience: In the event of a power outage or natural disaster at your primary place of business, you can easily redirect numbers to other locations or mobile devices.
Flexibility: People with VoIP lines aren’t tied to a single location or a particular phone. They can take calls wherever they are, and on just about any networked device — laptop, smartphone, or dedicated IP phone. That’s a benefit for everyone in the organization who makes or receives calls. It’s especially useful for businesses with remote workers or multiple locations.
Integration: In many cases, businesses can integrate VoIP lines with other business applications to improve workflow and enhance customer experience.
Voice quality: Twenty years ago, VoIP calls often had lower voice quality than phone connections. Today’s VoIP services provide voice quality that’s as good as or better than traditional phone lines, provided there’s a good internet connection.

That last bullet raises an important point. While VoIP has many advantages, it relies on a company’s internet connection. Businesses looking to implement VoIP need to make sure they have a robust, stable, and speedy connection to get the best performance from their VoIP system.

For robust VoIP, choose SIP trunking

One of the most popular ways to get VoIP services is via SIP trunking. Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) an international standard for voice communication over data networks. Trunks used to be physical links — copper wire installed by phone companies from their central offices to customer premises. Nowadays the term also refers to virtual lines of communication.

With SIP trunking, organizations can make calls over the internet to anyone with a phone number. Thanks to all of the advantages of VoIP communication enumerated above, SIP trunks are replacing physical phone lines virtually everywhere.

Zentrunk tops other SIP trunking services

Zentrunk, Plivo’s SIP trunking service, provides global coverage for outbound and inbound voice calls, working with your current cloud or on-premises communications infrastructure. Whether you’re looking to increase the capacity of your current telecom stack, increase coverage and phone number inventory, or extend your on-premises infrastructure to the cloud, Zentrunk can get you started.

Plivo’s SIP trunking service provides:

Interoperability: Zentrunk is designed to work seamlessly with any IP-based communications system, including PBX systems, cloud communication platforms, and session border controllers (SBC).
Elastic SIP trunking: Zentrunk can scale automatically based on demand. This elastic scaling means you don’t have to worry about exceeding any maximum number of concurrent calls, as the system adjusts in real time to your needs.
Reliability: Plivo has seven internet points of presence (PoP) around the world to ensure minimal network latency in call handling and maximum voice quality.
Easy setup and management: You set up and manage Zentrunk through the user-friendly Plivo console or via Zentrunk APIs.
Comprehensive documentation: Our documentation includes a quickstart guide and interconnection guides to assist with the setup and configuration of your trunks.
Transparent pricing: Plivo offers straightforward, pay-as-you-go pricing with no long-term commitments or hidden charges.
Security: All communication is encrypted using Transport Layer Security (TLS) and Secure Real-time Transport Protocol (SRTP) to ensure the safety and privacy of your calls.
Global reach: Zentrunk provides call connectivity to users in 190+ countries.
24/7 support: Plivo offers available around-the-clock technical support to ensure any issues are addressed promptly and your communication system remains up and running.
Customer service: Plivo support team helps customers resolve carrier-related issues by working directly with the more than 1,600 carriers in our Premium Communications Network.

Jul 25, 2023

5 mins

Benefits and Use Cases for Bulk SMS Marketing in India

Market to a large audience through bulk sms marketing with Plivo. Read to know more about the benefits and use cases of bulk sms marketing in India.

SMS

SMS API

When you need to market to a large audience, what’s your best tool? It’s the one that can reach just about anyone through a device they already carry with them.

Advantages of SMS

Communicating with a host of potential or existing customers at once is called bulk marketing — and the most effective channel to use for it is SMS text messaging, for several reasons.

It’s personalized. With a cloud communications platform like Plivo, you can use SMS APIs to send targeted, personalized text messages from your own applications directly to customers’ mobile devices. Once you’ve coded your application, you can generate marketing campaigns with a few mouse clicks.

It’s cost-effective: Each outgoing message costs ₹0.14 in India; businesses that have registered on a DLT platform are eligible for a lower domestic rate. Messages cost a fraction of a cent in North America and similarly low amounts in other countries; for Plivo’s rates in every country, check our pricing page. Low cost and the high open rate of 98% give SMS the highest ROI of any communications channel.

It’s measurable: If you’re not sure whether bulk SMS is effective, you can take advantage of another of its features — tracking. You can run analytics to see key metrics such as click-through rate, delivery rate, and unsubscribe rate.

With Plivo, you can monitor SMS marketing campaigns in real time through the messaging logs on the Plivo console. The logs show you how many messages you’re sending and what the status is — delivered, failed — and, if a message failed, what reason was for the failure. And you can filter the logs in a number of ways — by location, by from or to number, status — and drill down on any entry in the list of results.

SMS use cases

Bulk SMS marketing campaigns tend to be oriented toward promotional messages and customer engagement. Promotional messages cover things like

Product launches
Sales and discounts
Special offers and promotions
Event invitations
Loyalty programs and rewards

Customer engagement messages are designed to maintain a positive ongoing relationship between you and your customers, with things like

Timely updates
Tips and helpful information
Surveys and feedback requests

And while we’re focusing on SMS marketing, once you’ve set up a communications platform to send marketing messages, you can make use of it in other ways as well. For instance, you can use it to send transactional messages such as

Order confirmations
Shipping notifications
Payment reminders and balance notifications
Appointment reminders
Service updates

If you’re a manufacturer, a service provider, or a governmental agency, you can send timely notifications about

Product recalls
Service outages
Appointment cancellations
Security breaches
Traffic and weather alerts

And any organization can set up message distribution lists for their own staff and contractors and send things like

Company announcements
Policy updates
Training and development opportunities
Shift reminders

Special considerations for bulk SMS marketing in India

Following a set of best practices will help you get your message out wherever you are in the world, but if you’re trying to reach recipients in India with your SMS messages, you have a few extra factors to consider.

Regulatory compliance: The Indian government has strict regulations in place to protect consumers from unsolicited marketing messages, such as the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations (TCCCPR) and the National Do Not Call (NDNC) registry. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) requires all message senders to register on a DLT (distributed ledger technology) portal. Different regulations apply to transactional and promotional messaging. Ensure that your bulk marketing campaign adheres to all relevant requirements.
Language diversity: India has numerous languages and dialects. Using recipients’ preferred languages enhances engagement and response rates. Tailor your messages to the linguistic preferences of your target audience.
Cultural sensitivity: Indian consumers have diverse cultural backgrounds, and you have to be sensitive to them when designing bulk marketing campaigns. Make sure your content is respectful and relevant to the specific needs and preferences of your target audience.

Keeping these considerations in mind as you craft your marketing messages should help you create campaigns to send promotional messages, advertise products or services, increase brand awareness, and drive sales in the Indian market.

Jul 24, 2023

5 mins

What is DND? How to File a DND Complaint in India?

DND Complaint- How to register a dnd complaint in India. Don’t let DND filters come between you and your customers. Sign up with Plivo today!

Compliance

India

What is DND number?

Few people enjoy receiving calls or text messages they didn’t request from businesses, especially if they’ve registered on their country’s Do Not Disturb (DND) list. In India, that list is officially called the National Do Not Call (NDNC) Registry. Individuals who do not wish to receive promotional texts or calls from businesses that they have no relationship with can sign up for free. Then, if a business tries sending someone promotional messages they don’t want, consumers can file complaints that have serious consequences for the businesses that are in violation.

How to Sign Up for the DND List in India?

The easiest way to get on the DND list is to send an SMS message to 1909, the national number reserved for the purpose. The body of the message should be simply START DND or START 0.

The subscriber’s carrier should instantly acknowledge the request and warn that it may take some time for the registration to become effective. The registry provides a page consumers can visit to check registration status.

If an individual doesn’t get a confirmation text, or simply prefers voice calls to texting, they can also call 1909 and follow the recorded instructions to register.

To remove a number from the registry, send STOP DND to 1909. However, numbers cannot be deactivated for 90 days after activation.

Customizing DND Preferences in India

By the way, while most people block all unsolicited commercial communications (UCC), consumers can pick and choose which industries to block. There are seven sectors (see below). Text START n, where n is the digit, associated with the sector, to block promotional messages from each industry.

Banking, insurance, financial products, and credit cards
Real estate
Education
Health
Consumer goods and automobiles
Communication, broadcasting, entertainment, and IT
Tourism and leisure

People can change DND preferences at any time, but after someone makes one change, they won’t be able to make another for 30 days.

What to Do When DND Doesn’t Help: Report Spam Calls in India

The NDNC Registry is a great resource, but it’s not perfect. If a telemarketer illegally ignores the DND list, consumers may receive messages they don’t want. This happens far too frequently — according to LocalCircles, two out of three people whose numbers are in the registry get three or more unwanted calls every day. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has taken many steps to combat these unwanted communications. Most recently, new rules went into effect on May 1 that require telecom companies to use AI spam filters in their call and SMS services.

Still, knowing spam happens, the TRAI set up a way to file spam complaints.

How to Report Spam Calls in India Using the 1909 Number

As with registration, the trick is to text or call 1909. Provide all the particulars of the unwanted message:

Sender ID
Message content
Message date and time

Alternatively, recipients can search their carrier’s website for a form on which to make a DND complaint.

Consumers who submit a complaint should receive a unique complaint tracking number. The NDNC Registry should follow up by reporting to filers the action it takes within seven days. Actions may include having the calling number disconnected and forcing the originator to pay financial penalties.

How to Avoid DND Violations as a Business in India?

As a business, it behooves you not to be the source of DND complaints. Several best practices will keep you on the side of the angels.

Register with the TRAI and obtain a unique sender ID to use in your messages.
Gain consent from recipients before sending any marketing or promotional messages. Consent can be explicit (given directly by the customer) or inferred (derived from an existing business relationship or transaction); for promotional messages, get explicit consent.
Check each recipient against the NDNC, and respect people’s preferences.
Provide an opt-out mechanism, such as an unsubscribe link or instructions to send a “STOP” message, with each promotional message.
Respect time restrictions — don’t send promotional messages after 9 p.m. or before 9 a.m. Also, don’t send more than six messages per hour with the same content, from the same sender, to the same number.
Keep records of customer consent, preferences, and opt-out requests, as mandated by the TRAI.

Do all of that and you should be fine. If you run into trouble, the experts on Plivo’s support team stand ready to help.

AI Voice Agents - The Complete Guide to Voice Chat (2025)

What is an AI voice agent?

Types of AI voice agents

Rule-based AI voice agent

AI-assisted voice agent

Conversational AI voice agent

Voice-activated voice agent

How does an AI voice agent improve customer engagement?

Use case: Get a quick update on order status, 24/7

Benefits:

Use case: Improve language learning for students

Benefits:

Use case: Improve patient outcomes in healthcare

Benefits:

Use case: Streamline routine financial services

Benefits:

Use case: Get personal shopping assistance

Benefits:

Features of an AI voice agent

Natural language understanding (NLU)

Personalization capabilities

Multi-language support

Integration with other platforms and services

Benefits of voice agents

Enhanced user experience

Better cost efficiency

Accessibility for users with disabilities

Data collection and analysis for improved services

24/7 availability

Future of AI voice technology

Key upcoming trends:

Launch an AI voice agent with Plivo

AI Voice Agents for Real Estate (2026): 10 Tools Compared, Real Limitations and What Actually Scales

Top 10 AI Voice Agents for Real Estate (2026)

1. Plivo

2. Luron AI

3. Callers AI

4. SquadStack AI

5. Telgent

6. AIOnCalls

7. Brilo AI

8. VocalDesk

9. Calldock

10. Ylopo

What Matters Most in AI Voice Agents (Beyond the Basics)

1. Telephony Ownership vs. Vendor Stitching

2. Real-Time Performance (Latency & Uptime)

3. Multi-Channel Context, Not Disconnected Bots

4. Integration Depth (CRM, Calendars, Workflows)

5. Built for Scale, Not Just Launch

FAQs

What's the fastest way to go live without breaking existing operations?

How do I ensure voice quality doesn't feel robotic or laggy?

How does the agent stay accurate and compliant with real estate data?

What happens when call volume spikes or multiple leads call at once?

How does this fit into my CRM and follow-up workflows?

Try Plivo Free

Best AI Voice Agents for Customer Support and Service (2026): What to Deploy Now

1) Plivo — The fastest path to production-grade AI voice agents for customer support

Why Plivo is #1

What it does for you

Segment-by-segment fit

Start with Voice, go everywhere

Suitable for

2) Google Dialogflow CX — Complex, branching flows without spaghetti

Key features

Why it matters

Implementation steps

Suitable for

3) Amazon Lex + Amazon Connect — AWS-first voice automation that ops can own

Key features

Why it matters

Implementation steps

Suitable for

4) IBM Watson Assistant — Governance-first deployments in regulated industries

Key features

Why it matters

Implementation steps

Suitable for

5) Cognigy.AI — IVR modernization with fine-grained voice control