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Featured

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

Nov 23, 2025
7 mins

Learn everything about an AI voice agents, its benefits, implementation tips, and the AI voice chat applications for business success.

Longer wait times, high call volumes, and language barriers in call centers often frustrate customers. Complex interactive voice response (IVR) menus only add to the problem, leading to customer dissatisfaction. That’s why companies are adopting smarter self-service solutions like artificial intelligence (AI) voice agents. In fact, experts predict the voice bot market will reach $98.2 billion by 2027, showing a clear trend toward smarter solutions to improving customer experience.

AI voice agents technology combines Natural Language Processing (NLP), machine learning, and voice recognition to transform customer interactions. It provides quicker, more efficient service and improves the overall customer experience.

In this guide, we'll explore what AI voice agents are, their key features, practical use cases, and tips on how to implement a voice agent in your business.

What is an AI voice agent?

An AI voice agent is a two-way conversational tool that communicates with the customer. It automates inbound and outbound calls without human intervention and transfers calls to a human agent when needed.

The biggest advantage? Callers can navigate an IVR by speaking naturally, without listening to long, complex menus or pressing numbers on a keypad.

Popular AI voice agent examples include Apple's Siri, Google Assistant, and Amazon's Alexa. These tools simplify interactions, provide instant answers, and automate tasks. In contrast, advanced bots like IBM’s Watson Assistant and Microsoft’s Cortana handle customer support, sales inquiries, and internal communications.

Types of AI voice agents

Here’s a breakdown of the four main types of AI voice agents and how they can benefit your business:

Rule-based AI voice agent

Rule-based voice agent use predefined sets of questions and rules to offer answers or perform tasks. Such voice agents handle routine tasks and customer FAQs. They answer all queries that fall under the if-this-then-that logic.

For example, an e-commerce site using a bot to guide customers in checking their order status or a banking site handling routine inquiries like balance checks, bill payments, transaction histories, etc.

AI-assisted voice agent

AI-assisted voice agents use machine learning and natural language to interpret conversations so they can analyze the context and grasp what the speaker means. This makes them far more capable and user-friendly than the conventional, rule-based voice agents.

Let’s suppose a user asks Alexa, 'What's the weather tomorrow?' and then follows up with, 'How about next week?' it remembers the context. This adaptability means customers don’t have to repeat themselves, creating a more contextual customer experience.

Conversational AI voice agent

Conversational voice agents make conversations using natural language. They’re more nuanced than AI-assisted voice agents as they can handle complex conversations using everyday language to create more personalized interactions.

Source

Google Duplex, and IBM Watson Assistant, are examples of conversational voice agents. They can make phone calls, make reservations, and handle natural conversations with a human-like tone.

Voice-activated voice agent

These bots use voice commands to answer practical questions and perform routine tasks. They are more flexible than personal voice agents that adapt to speakers and perform customized tasks.

Such bots serve as digital assistants to AI-assisted bots like Siri.

How does an AI voice agent improve customer engagement?

A customer calling your sales team wants to feel valued and understood. An AI voice agent does that. It puts the customer at the center, creating a better experience and driving business benefits as a result. Let’s understand it with a few use cases. 

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

Source

Assuming the AI voice agent is integrated into your CRM, it greets the customer by name. Instead of navigating through a branched IVR to get their order status, the customer can simply say ‘order status’ and the voice bot pulls out the order details from the CRM and gives the user a real-time update within seconds.

Sheraz Ali, the Founder of HARO Links Builder states that their voice agent managed over 30% of customer interactions in one of their company projects and drastically reduced wait times.

“It also improved our response efficiency and led to a 20% increase in customer satisfaction scores and a reduction in operational costs within three months.” 

Benefits:

  • Decreased waiting time.
  • Limited IVR menu navigation.
  • No human intervention is required.
  • Quick response times.
  • Reduced business costs.
  • Tangible increase in customer satisfaction.

Use case: Improve language learning for students 

Source

A language learning platform uses a voice agent to provide real-time translations and personalized tutoring. So the voice agent instantly supports students in any subject by translating and clarifying complex terms in their preferred language.

Benefits:

  • Reduced requirement for multilingual staff.
  • Increases inclusivity as the bot answers in the user’s preferred language.
  • Language barriers are removed.

Use case: Improve patient outcomes in healthcare

Source

It's easy to miss appointments or forget to deliver prescriptions to the patient’s home timely. A healthcare service can employ a voice agent to deliver personalized care and offer preliminary health assessments, medication reminders, and easy appointment scheduling, all according to the individual patient's needs.

Benefits

  • Saves time by streamlining appointment bookings.
  • Ensures medication adherence with timely reminders.
  • Reduces workload for healthcare providers with automated support.

Use case: Streamline routine financial services 

Source

Once integrated with the banking system, the voice agent automates routine financial tasks, provides instant account information, processes transactions, and delivers personalized financial advice around the clock.

Benefits:

  • 24/7 access to financial services without wait times.
  • Improves customer experience with quick, accurate responses.
  • Automates routine tasks, freeing up staff for complex queries.
  • Provides personalized advice to improve financial decision-making.

Use case: Get personal shopping assistance  

Source

An e-commerce platform can use a voice agent to assist customers with product selection, provide personalized recommendations, and automate the sales process from start to finish.

Benefits:

  • Delivers a personalized shopping experience 24/7.
  • Boosts sales with customized recommendations.
  • Reduces cart abandonment by guiding customers to checkout.
  • Improves customer satisfaction with fast, accurate service.

Features of an AI voice agent

To understand why voice agents are so effective, let’s look at the key features that improve the overall customer service experience while streamlining business operations.

The best voice agents for businesses come equipped with:

Natural language understanding (NLU)

An AI voice agent understands user queries by converting speech into text using AI and NLP. It then forms an appropriate response and converts it back into speech using text-to-speech (TTS) technology. This ability to understand and respond in natural, conversational language sets AI voice agents apart from traditional IVR systems, which rely on rigid, menu-based responses.

Source

Personalization capabilities

Customers want quick, personalized responses to their queries, unlike complex IVR systems that frustrate them with lengthy menus. An AI voice agent offers contextual conversations, adapting to the user’s intent. It detects speech cues, skips irrelevant interactions, and also transfers calls to the right agent.

Hence, when comparing voice agents to IVRs, the bot's ability to offer personalized interactions like a human outshines communication systems that follow even the best IVR practices.

Multi-language support

AI voice agents break down language barriers, supporting multiple languages to provide a more inclusive and accessible customer experience. Businesses can easily connect with diverse customer bases across the globe.

For instance, Plivo supports speech recognition in 27 languages and their regional variants. 

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Integration with other platforms and services

AI voice agents easily integrate with platforms like customer relationship management (CRM) systems, Enterprise resource planning (ERP) tools, and ticketing software. They access and update customer data in real time to ensure accuracy.

These bots also pull relevant details, automate follow-up actions, and sync with communication channels like email or chat. This creates a personalized and consistent customer experience across all touchpoints.

Benefits of voice agents

Let’s now look at the benefits of AI voice agents.  

Enhanced user experience

Many businesses have concerns over the quality of a voice agent for customer service. However, a voice agent answers queries quickly regardless of the time of the day. Speedy, reliable answers are important to providing excellent service, making voice agents an invaluable tool for businesses looking to improve customer satisfaction.

Additionally, businesses can:

  • Handle routine queries and common tasks faster than human agents.
  • Remove the need for users to navigate complex IVR menus.
  • Manage high-volume calls without errors.

Better cost efficiency

An AI voice agent doesn’t just save time, it also saves money. It boosts user satisfaction and reduces support times by automating repetitive queries. This frees up staff for higher-value tasks, and interacting with customers after hours has improved lead conversion.

The direct benefits to businesses are:

  • Reduces the need for a larger customer support team.
  • Allows human agents to focus on complex, high-value inquiries.
  • Engages users outside business hours to boost marketing return on investment (ROI).
  • Lowers training costs and minimizes the risk of providing incorrect information.

Accessibility for users with disabilities

With over one billion people living with disabilities worldwide, voice agents make services more inclusive. They enable hands-free, accessible interactions, allowing customers with visual, motor, or cognitive impairments to engage with the business easily. This not only improves customer satisfaction but also broadens the company’s reach to a more diverse audience.

Data collection and analysis for improved services

Voice agents don’t just serve customers — they also gather insights. Use this data to analyze data and improve services, personalize marketing efforts, and make more informed business decisions.

24/7 availability

Unlike human agents, voice agents are always accessible. They ensure customers get help whenever they need it, contributing to a more consistent and reliable customer experience.

Future of AI voice technology

As IBM's data engineer, Chris Hay puts it, "We're entering an era where every mom-and-pop shop can have the same level of customer service as an enterprise." This statement captures the transformative potential of voice recognition technology.

AI voice chat applications benefit businesses of all sizes by delivering top-tier customer experiences. Tech giants are already paving the way. Microsoft has updated its Copilot AI with advanced voice capabilities, allowing it to handle complex queries with natural language reasoning, while Meta has introduced voice AI to its messaging apps.

AI voice assistants will move beyond smartphones, integrating into wearable devices like the recently unveiled Meta Orion augmented reality glasses. For businesses handling sensitive client relationships, this could mean smarter, empathetic bots that mirror the tone and approach of a human assistant.

Key upcoming trends:

  • Hyper-personalization: Customized voices and targeted recommendations.
  • Advanced problem-solving: Managing complex queries using natural language.
  • Real-time analytics: Analyzing customer tone for deeper insights.

Yet, challenges remain. Arvind Rongala, the founder of a skill-management solution provider, shares, “There are still issues, especially with data privacy and ensuring interactions are human-like. In addition to resolving problems with bias in training data and regulatory compliance, businesses must strike a balance between automation and personalization. For example, adhering to GDPR regarding the storage of voice data can be challenging, but doing so is essential to fostering trust.”

Ultimately, businesses need to prioritize data security, explore multi-device integration options, and develop stronger contextual understanding for natural interactions.

Launch an AI voice agent with Plivo

Any scaling business needs a voice agent that's easy to integrate, globally accessible, and cost-effective without sacrificing quality.

Plivo checks all these boxes, offering seamless integration, seven global points of presence for low-latency interactions, and competitive rates starting at just $0.0040 per minute. It's ideal for businesses willing to scale while keeping operational costs in check.

In fact, Plivo can reduce operational costs by up to 40%.

Moreover, its commitment to reliability is backed by a 99.99% uptime guarantee, with failover capabilities that switch within two seconds if any disruptions occur.

You can launch voice agents with Plivo using just a few lines of code.

  • Log in to your OpenAI Account: Secure your API key and RealTime API access.
  • Log in to your Plivo Account: Sign up and get a voice-enabled number.

With integration options for leading speech-to-text (STT) and TTS providers like Deepgram and ElevenLabs, you can launch AI voice agents in multiple regions, including India, using local numbers.

Use Plivo-powered voice agents for: 

  • Personal shopping assistance: Offer personalized recommendations, go through product selections, and close sales. 
  • Healthcare automation: Improve patient outcomes with medication reminders, and appointment scheduling, and offer preliminary health assessments.
  • Inclusivity in education: Break language barriers in learning with real-time translations and personalized tutoring across multiple subjects.
  • Routine financial services automation: Provide instant account information, personalized financial advice, transaction processing status, etc. to customers.

With a 24/7 AI voice agent, your business can handle these tasks around the clock, ensuring that customers are never left waiting. Want to improve customer experience with Plivo? Contact us today.

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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!

Jun 19, 2025
5 mins

WhatsApp Agent Setup: How to Launch AI-Powered Conversations at Scale

Learn how WhatsApp agent setup works using Plivo to launch AI-powered, no-code agents that handle support, sales, and engagement at scale.

Your customers are on WhatsApp but are your agents?

If you’re still relying on manual replies, scripted chatbots, or email follow-ups, you’re leaving response time and revenue on the table.

The smarter path? AI-powered WhatsApp agents. They’re full-service, no-code agents that can resolve issues, qualify leads, and send personalized offers 24/7.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through WhatsApp agent setup using Plivo and understand how these agents help you automate conversations that convert.

What is a WhatsApp AI agent?

A WhatsApp AI agent is an automation designed to operate over the WhatsApp Business API. Unlike scripted bots, agents are built to understand intent, pull in context from your internal systems, and complete business tasks like answering account-specific questions or initiating transactions.

Plivo’s WhatsApp AI agents can be trained to use your brand voice, integrated with your CRM or helpdesk, and customized to handle specific use cases, such as subscription renewals, cart recovery, refund processing, or customer onboarding.

They are accessible through a no-code interface and support a multilingual, omnichannel customer experience across WhatsApp, SMS, RCS, and voice.

What you need before setting up your agent

To go live with a WhatsApp agent, you need:

  • A verified Meta Business Account
  • An active WhatsApp Business Account (WABA) tied to a phone number
  • Pre-approved message templates for outbound communication
  • WhatsApp Business API access through a business solution provider (BSP) (Plivo offers this natively)
  • A platform to design, train, and manage agents (Plivo Agent Studio)

Also read: How to Create WhatsApp Message Templates: A Complete Guide

Optional but recommended integrations:

  • CRM (like Salesforce, HubSpot, or Zoho)
  • Helpdesk (like Zendesk or Freshdesk)
  • E-commerce or billing tools (Shopify, Stripe, etc.)

Pro tip: If you want to fast-track API access and template approval, using a BSP like Plivo saves weeks of back and forth with Meta.

Step-by-step: How to set up a WhatsApp agent with Plivo

Follow this step-by-step guide for a smooth WhatsApp agent setup with Plivo.

Step #1: Choose your primary use case and define agent scope

Don’t build a generic bot. Start with why you’re automating. This could be handling support queries, sending order updates, re-engaging inactive customers, or managing subscription renewals.

Image showing users how to build their own lead qualification agent in Plivo
Build a WhatsApp AI agent in Plivo

Plivo provides a library of prebuilt AI agents for common use cases like cart recovery, lead qualification, appointment reminders, and product recommendations. You can choose to use one as-is or customize it to fit your business process. Each agent is compatible with WhatsApp and designed to operate across channels as needed.

Your online pet supply business sells dog food with a typical reorder cycle of 30 days. You want to automate reminders for repeat customers, so they never run out.

The goal is to build a WhatsApp AI agent that:

  • Identifies past purchase dates
  • Sends a timely reminder before the next reorder window
  • Offers a one-click reorder option with a discount
  • Escalates to a live agent if the customer has special dietary questions

Pro tip: If you're unsure where to begin, look at existing interactions on WhatsApp that are repetitive, time-sensitive, or frequently escalated — these are ideal starting points for automation.

Step #2: Build the agent using Plivo’s no-code platform

Since your API access is already set up, you can begin building your agent in Plivo’s Agent Studio. This is a visual, drag-and-drop builder where you create conversation flows using blocks that represent actions, responses, conditions, and triggers.

Image showing WhatsApp AI agent setup in Plivo without code
No-code campaign automation in Plivo’s AI Studio

You can structure your flow to respond to specific keywords, match customer intent, route inquiries to different departments, or escalate to a live agent when needed. Each step in the journey can include media-rich responses like buttons, product carousels, quick replies, and file attachments.

Beyond logic design, you can also configure fallback rules for when the agent is unsure, and add human handoff conditions to ensure escalations happen smoothly with full context transferred to the live agent.

Image demonstrating smart handoff from AI agents to human agents in Plivo
Human handoff conditions in Plivo

Example: In Agent Studio, you set up a trigger to activate the agent 25 days after a customer’s last dog food purchase.

The agent starts with: “Hi Alex! It’s almost time to restock Luna’s Chicken & Brown Rice dog food. Want us to ship it today with 10% off?”

Depending on the customer’s reply:

  • “Yes” triggers a checkout link
  • “No” prompts a snooze option or opt-out
  • “I have a question” escalates to a human agent with the full order history

This step allows you to fully customize the agent’s tone, workflow, and logic to reflect how your brand communicates.4

Example: In Agent Studio, you set up a trigger to activate the agent 25 days after a customer’s last dog food purchase.

The agent starts with:
“Hi Alex! It’s almost time to restock Luna’s Chicken & Brown Rice dog food. Want us to ship it today with 10% off?”

Depending on the customer’s reply:

  • “Yes” triggers a checkout link
  • “No” prompts a snooze option or opt-out
  • “I have a question” escalates to a human agent with the full order history

Step #3: Train your agent with AI

Plivo supports integration with internal systems like your CRM, order management platform, inventory tools, or helpdesk. This means your agent can access real-time customer data, past orders, preferences, and policies to deliver personalized responses.

You can also connect your knowledge base, including FAQs, SOPs, product documentation, or policy articles. These resources train the agent to respond accurately and contextually, without needing scripted answers.

Dashboard image of Plivo’s AI Studio prompting users to import from a file or sync from a website
Import external knowledge from various sources into Plivo

For natural language understanding, Plivo gives you the flexibility to choose the AI model that powers your agent.

Image depicting LLM options for your WhatsApp AI agent in Plivo
Select the LLM that fits your business best

You integrate your Shopify store to pull order dates and product SKUs. You also sync your product FAQ sheet so the agent can answer:

  • “Is this food grain-free?”
  • “What’s the shelf life?”
  • “Can I switch to lamb instead of chicken?”

You power the agent using OpenAI to ensure a natural, friendly tone and multilingual support for your Spanish-speaking customers.

Step #4: Test, launch, and monitor your agent

Once your flow is built and trained, run controlled tests:

  • Check for flow accuracy and intent matching
  • Review how it handles incomplete or unclear inputs
  • Test human handoff and see if the agent transfers the full context
Image showcasing WhatsApp AI agent engagement analytics in Plivo
Monitor agent performance and engagement with Plivo

Plivo’s real-time dashboard lets you:

  • Monitor delivery, engagement, and satisfaction metrics
  • Track where users drop off in conversations
  • Identify areas to improve agent logic or content
  • Compare campaign and agent performance across channels

After launch, your agent keeps learning. As more customers interact, you’ll gather insight to improve how it responds or what paths it offers.

You run a test with 50 loyal customers. The data shows that:

  • 72% clicked the reorder button within three hours
  • 18% asked about switching flavors
  • 10% requested a pause or cancel

You adjust the flow by adding a flavor selection block and a “remind me next week” option. The analytics also show high engagement around 8 p.m., so you shift reminder timings accordingly.

Plivo is purpose-built for WhatsApp AI agent deployment

Plivo’s platform is designed to help you move from idea to live AI-powered engagement without requiring engineering support or external consultants. When you use Plivo for WhatsApp agent setup, you get:

  • Access to prebuilt agents for sales, support, and engagement
  • Intuitive no-code builder (Agent Studio) that puts you in control
  • Deep integration with your business systems for real-time, contextual replies
  • Support for the best LLMs on the market, so your agent is trained with intelligence
  • Built-in compliance with WhatsApp’s policies and global data laws
  • Unified interface to manage messaging across WhatsApp, SMS, RCS, and Voice
  • Enterprise-grade infrastructure with 99.99% uptime and expert onboarding support

Automate outcomes with WhatsApp agent setup in Plivo

Smart WhatsApp automation starts with smart setup. With Plivo's no-code platform, you can automate customer conversations, boost sales, and scale support — all without a development team.

Plivo offers the tools to build agents that reflect your brand, the infrastructure to scale securely, and the intelligence to adapt with your customer needs.

Whether you're trying to cut support wait times, recover abandoned carts, or drive upsells through personalized outreach, a well-built WhatsApp agent can make it happen, and Plivo makes it achievable.

Ready to get started? Request a free trial today!

Jun 19, 2025
5 mins

The Definitive Guide to Automating WhatsApp for Business

Learn how WhatsApp automation can simplify customer communication and scale operations. Know about its key benefits and use cases. Get started today.

Remember when WhatsApp was just a simple messaging app? Launched in 2009, it was a tool for friends and family to stay in touch. 

Fast-forward to today, and WhatsApp has become a global powerhouse with over 3 billion monthly active users. Businesses worldwide leverage WhatsApp to connect with customers, share updates, and provide support.

Many businesses struggle to keep up with the growing volume of customer messages on WhatsApp. Manually handling inquiries, sending updates, or following up on leads can quickly become overwhelming and inefficient. 

This is where WhatsApp automation steps in.

By automating repetitive messaging tasks, businesses can reduce manual workload, respond faster, and deliver more personalized, timely communication. 

In this article, we'll explore what WhatsApp automation is, why it's essential for modern businesses, and how you can implement it to improve customer engagement and operational workflows.

What is WhatsApp automation?

WhatsApp automation is the use of technology to automatically send and manage messages on the platform, especially for business and customer engagement purposes.

It doesn’t require human intervention for every interaction. As a result, businesses can handle customer inquiries, deliver updates, and engage with prospects efficiently.

Image showing WhatsApp with a conversation, highlighting conversational commerce.
A customer engaging with a brand through WhatsApp for shopping -Source

With WhatsApp business automation, you can:

  • Auto-respond to FAQs and reduce ticket volume.
  • Reduce customer support load with proactive messaging.
  • Route complex support queries to live agents only when needed.
  • Send order confirmations and delivery updates automatically.
  • Share return instructions based on customer actions.
  • Run re-engagement campaigns with smart timing.
  • Integrate with Shopify, Magento, and more for real-time updates.
  • Trigger workflows from CRMs or e-commerce platforms.
  • Keep messaging compliant with auto opt-outs and logs.

Here’s a breakdown of the three main types of automated messaging on WhatsApp:

Message Type Description Example
Transactional Messages are triggered by specific customer actions or events. "Your order has been shipped!"
Promotional Messages that promote products, services, or special offers. "Get 20% off your next purchase – limited time only!"
Conversational Automated responses that simulate a two-way conversation. "How can I assist you today?"

Key benefits of WhatsApp automation

By automating routine tasks, WhatsApp can help your business stay responsive and consistent across customer touchpoints. Here’s how it can benefit your business:

Reduce manual workloads and response times

When you automate WhatsApp interactions, every department, from marketing to customer service, runs more smoothly.

By automating routine tasks like order updates, FAQs, and customer inquiries, businesses can significantly reduce the manual effort required.

This means your team spends less time on repetitive tasks and more time focusing on high-priority interactions.

Result: Faster response times and more efficient workflows.

Increases the scalability of customer interactions

As your business grows, the number of customer interactions increases. Automation allows you to scale communication efforts without hiring additional staff or losing the personal touch.

Whether you're dealing with 50 or 5,000 customers, automated responses ensure that each inquiry is handled swiftly and consistently.

Enhances customer experience through personalization

Automated WhatsApp messages can be personalized based on customer data, creating a more relevant and tailored experience.

From addressing customers by name to offering product recommendations based on past purchases, personalization makes customers feel valued. This leads to higher engagement rates and improved loyalty.

End result: Higher customer satisfaction and increased loyalty.

Cost-effectiveness compared to manual processes

WhatsApp automation eliminates the need for large customer support teams and reduces the time spent on repetitive tasks.

This saves on operational costs and also leads to a more efficient allocation of resources.

Pro tip: Monitor your automation metrics regularly to find areas where you can cut costs further without affecting quality.

5  popular use cases of WhatsApp automation across industries

Businesses everywhere are finding new ways to use WhatsApp automation. Here are five popular examples:

1. Customer support

Automating common FAQs and routine inquiries on WhatsApp helps customers get instant answers anytime. This reduces the number of tickets support teams have to handle, letting them focus on more complex problems.

Example messages:

“Hi! How can I help you today? Here are some quick answers: For billing info, reply 1; For plan details, reply 2.”

“We’ve received your request and will get back to you within 24 hours.”

2. E-commerce operations

Order confirmations, shipping updates, and delivery notifications keep customers informed every step of the way. Automating returns and collecting feedback via WhatsApp speeds up these processes and improves customer satisfaction.

Example messages:

“Thank you for your order #12345! It is being processed and will ship soon.”

“Good news! Your package is out for delivery and should arrive by 5 PM today.”

“Need to return an item? Reply ‘Return’ and we’ll guide you through the process.”

3.Marketing and lead nurturing

Automated lead follow-ups ensure timely, consistent engagement with prospects, boosting conversion chances. Also, you can use personalized re-engagement campaigns to help bring back inactive customers with offers or updates tailored to their interests.

Example messages:

“Hi [Name], thanks for your interest! Ready to take the next step? Book a free demo here: [link]”

“We miss you! Enjoy 15% off your next purchase with code WELCOME15.”

“Exclusive offer just for you, [Name]! Check out our new arrivals: [link]”

4.Event management and invitations

Automated WhatsApp invites, updates, and follow-ups keep your audience informed and engaged, boosting the attendance rate. This helps you stay connected and make every event a success.

5.Appointment scheduling and reminders

Timely reminders help customers remember appointments, reducing cancellations and improving the overall experience. Automation makes scheduling easier and more efficient for both businesses and customers.

Example messages:

“Your appointment with Dr. Smith is confirmed for June 20 at 2 PM. Reply ‘Cancel’ to reschedule.”

“Hi! Just a friendly reminder about your hair salon appointment tomorrow at 11 AM.”

“Need to book an appointment? Reply ‘Book’ and we’ll help you find the perfect time.”

Step-by-step guide to implement WhatsApp automation for your business

To successfully implement WhatsApp automation, follow these key steps that cover planning, setup, and optimization. 

Step 1: Define your use cases and goals

Start by identifying which business functions, such as order updates, customer support, or lead follow-ups, will benefit most from automation.

Set clear, measurable goals like: 

  • Reducing response times 
  • Lowering manual workload 
  • Boosting customer engagement 

This will guide your automation strategy and help you track success.

Also, ensure compliance from the start. WhatsApp requires businesses to obtain explicit customer opt-in before sending messages. To stay compliant:

  • Use clear, transparent language when requesting consent.
  • Collect opt-ins through channels like website forms, checkout flows, or click-to-chat ads.
  • Log and manage consent within your systems for audit readiness.

Data privacy and compliance are essential for building trust and maintaining long-term customer relationships.

Step 2: Choose the right WhatsApp business API provider

Select a platform that fits your specific needs. Look for features like:

  • Robust CRM integrations
  • Audience segmentation
  • Flexible automation workflows

These capabilities simplify your communication and scale your efforts efficiently.

Make segmentation a priority, use tagging and grouping strategies to target the right customers with the right messages. 

With smart tagging and grouping, you can:

  • Deliver personalized messages
  • Engage the right people at the right time
  • Improve conversion and retention

Example: Send exclusive offers to loyal buyers and welcome discounts to new customers. Good segmentation enhances your automation and drives better outcomes.

Step 3: Set up your WhatsApp business account

You must set up a verified WhatsApp Business account to use WhatsApp for automated messaging. This includes:

  • Registering your business name and details.
  • Verifying a dedicated phone number.
  • Getting approval from Meta to use the WhatsApp Business API.

This ensures that your business is recognized as a legitimate sender.

Your WhatsApp API provider will typically assist with onboarding, including submitting documentation and setting up the technical aspects. 

Some platforms also offer pre-built tools to help you manage mobile number registration, display name approval, and message template submissions.

Pro tip: To avoid disruptions, choose a phone number that’s not already tied to a personal WhatsApp account.

Step 4: Create and submit message templates

Start by designing message templates for everyday customer interactions, such as:

  • Promotional messages (e.g., limited-time offers)
  • Transactional updates (e.g., order confirmations, delivery alerts)
  • Support messages (e.g., ticket updates or issue resolution)

Each template must follow WhatsApp’s formatting and content policies.

Once your templates are ready, submit them through your WhatsApp API provider for Meta’s approval. Only approved templates can be used for proactive messaging.

Step 5: Build automation workflows

Now that your account and templates are ready, it’s time to connect WhatsApp with the rest of your tech stack. Integrate with:

  • CRM systems (to access customer data)
  • Support tools (for query management)
  • E-commerce platforms (to track orders and actions)

Use event-based triggers, like a new order, a cart abandonment, or a support ticket, to automatically send relevant messages.

Additionally, plan for human fallback. Automation can’t handle everything. Build intelligent workflows that escalate to a human agent when:

  • A customer requests help
  • The query is too complex
  • Sentiment detection flags a negative experience

This keeps your support experience smooth, responsive, and frustration-free.

Step 6: Test, launch, and optimize

Start with a pilot campaign to ensure everything runs smoothly.

Track key metrics:

  • Response time
  • Open rate
  • Conversion rate

Use these insights to refine your workflows, improve message content, and adjust targeting.

Best practices for WhatsApp automation 

Following some proven best practices is essential to get the most out of WhatsApp automation. Here’s what you need to know:

Tips for optimizing messaging frequency and timing

To keep your audience interested, it's vital to message thoughtfully and strategically. Here are some quick tips:

  • Avoid over-messaging to prevent unsubscribes.
  • Use analytics to identify when your audience is most active and receptive.
  • Space out messages to keep it natural.
  • Monitor response rates and adjust based on customer behavior and feedback.

Leverage data analytics for campaign performance 

By tracking metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, and response times, you gain valuable insights into what works and what doesn’t. Use this data to refine your messaging, target relevant audience segments, and optimize timing. 

Regularly reviewing analytics helps you make informed decisions that boost engagement and drive better results over time.

Compliance and customer privacy protection

To protect your customers and stay compliant, focus on these key areas:

Compliance What it means Best practise
GDPR Protects the personal data of EU customers Obtain consent, allow easy opt-out, and secure data
SOC 2 Ensures security and confidentiality standards Implement strong data controls and audits
Customer privacy Respect and protect user information Be transparent, limit data use, and maintain trust

Enhance customer communication with Plivo’s AI WhatsApp automation

The growing demand for instant, tailored communication on WhatsApp puts pressure on businesses to respond quickly. Customers expect fast, personalized replies around the clock, and doing this manually often leads to delays, inconsistent service, and missed opportunities. 

Finding a way to scale these conversations efficiently is critical for businesses looking to stay competitive.

That’s where Plivo comes in, an industry-leading omnichannel platform that automates and personalizes WhatsApp conversations, delivering timely responses at scale.

By leveraging Plivo’s WhatsApp AI agents, businesses can manage a wide range of customer communication tasks, from pre-sales inquiries to post-purchase support, without increasing their team size.

Here’s how Plivo can enhance your customer communication:

  • Brand-aligned AI agents: You can customize the AI agents to reflect your brand’s voice, tone, and style. This makes all customer interactions align with your brand’s identity and deliver a personalized experience.
  • AI customer service agent: Plivo’s AI agents work around the clock, ensuring your customers receive timely responses, regardless of the time zone. These agents process orders, resolve support issues, and answer questions.
AI customer service agent managing chats and orders.
Plivo’s AI agents provide 24/7 support, processing orders and answering customer questions promptly.
  • Natural, human-like conversations: With AI agents, you can engage in context-aware conversations, mimicking human interactions. They remember customer preferences and history to provide relevant responses like a human agent would.
  • Simple, volume-based pricing: Plivo charges a flat fee per conversation rather than per message, making costs predictable and scalable. Volume discounts are available to lower your total spend as your messaging needs grow.
Image showing Plivo’s flat-fee per conversation pricing with volume discounts.
Plivo charges a flat fee per conversation with volume discounts.
  • Built-in compliance: Plivo ensures compliance with GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS, ISO 27001, and SOC 2 standards.
  • Guaranteed message delivery with fallback options: The platform delivers billions of messages annually and uses SMS and voice fallback channels to ensure your customers always receive important communications.
  • 24/7 availability: Plivo's AI agents provide instant, 24/7 assistance, answering questions, processing orders, and resolving customer issues.
  • Multilingual support: With support for 70+ languages, Plivo’s AI agents can engage with customers globally and offer a multilingual customer service experience.
  • E-commerce platform integrations: Integrate seamlessly with popular e-commerce platforms like Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, and Magento to deliver a unified customer experience across all touchpoints.

With Plivo’s vast carrier network spanning over 220 countries, businesses can significantly cut SMS costs by up to 70% while achieving threefold returns on investment. 

Many companies using Plivo CX have experienced remarkable results, earning an outstanding $71 for every dollar invested in their SMS marketing efforts.

Book a free demo today and see how Plivo’s AI WhatsApp agents can change your customer communication strategy.

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Apr 28, 2023
5 mins

Contending with Consent for Marketing Messaging and Calls

Before you send marketing text messages or voice calls, you must gain consent from recipients. Here’s an overview of regulations, guidelines, and best practices.

Voice
SMS
Best Practices

If you plan to send bulk text messages or make marketing voice calls — two common uses for Plivo’s SMS API and Voice API — you must gain consent from recipients before you launch your campaigns.

The requirement for consent has been in place for a long time, starting on the voice side. In the US, the 1991 Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) put restrictions on telemarketing and set out consent rules. Without explicit consent from consumers, companies must adhere to strict solicitation rules and honor the National Do Not Call Registry. TCPA also sets forth consent rules for SMS. Telemarketing in the US is also subject to the 1995 Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR), administered by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Meanwhile, the European Union has its own laws. The EU’s 2002 ePrivacy Directive states, in part, “The use of automated calling and communication systems without human intervention (automatic calling machines) … for the purposes of direct marketing may be allowed only in respect of subscribers or users who have given their prior consent.” The GDPR further codifies regulations around consent.

Other countries have other regulations. And in addition to country-specific laws, industry groups such as the CTIA also provide consent guidelines.

Many countries also maintain “do not disturb” databases of people who register their numbers to deny permission for businesses to send them unsolicited commercial communications. For instance, the US has a National Do Not Call Registry, while India has a National Customer Preference Register (NCPR), informally known as the Do Not Disturb registry. However, businesses are allowed to call consumers who have given express agreement to receive calls, even if their numbers are in the national do not call registry.

The key takeaway from all of these laws and guidelines is that businesses should send messages to customers only after receiving opt-in permission.

We don’t need to explain why these rules are in place, do we? People don’t want just anyone reaching out and giving them an electronic tap on the shoulder. They don’t want to have to waste time fighting off unsolicited attention. People want to maintain control of the communications they receive via electronic channels, no matter how well-intentioned those communications are.

How to manage consent

So if we’re all agreed that consent is A Good Thing as well as the law, how should we follow consent best practices?

  • First, collect consumer consent yourself. Don’t use consent acquired from a third party — that’s prohibited in the US, and in some other countries as well.
  • Make it easy for people to opt in. You can use keyword opt-in via text message (“text START to 75486 to subscribe to our notification services”), web opt-in via a form (perhaps displayed when consumers register for an account, or, old-school as it is, paper opt-in, by filling out a paper form at a store or kiosk. Notice that in all of these cases, the consumer explicitly contacts you before you contact them.

If you use a web form, make sure that consumers give their consent with a clear affirmative action. In other words, people must take a deliberate action to opt in — pre-ticked boxes don’t count as consent. And you can’t make opting in to messaging a prerequisite for purchasing goods and services — that’s prohibited.

Consent for voice calls must be expressed and informed. Under the TSR, consent is express if it’s affirmatively and unambiguously articulated by the consumer. Consent is informed when a consumer receives appropriate and relevant required disclosures prior to giving consent.

  • When people opt in, send them (or, on a web page, display for them) a confirmation message that includes details about what they’ve opted in for. Mention the use case, possible charges, and whether they’ll get recurring messages. You should also tell them how to withdraw their consent — opt out, in other words.

Here’s an example of a good confirmation message to be sent via SMS:

Welcome to Plivo developer outreach. Reply HELP for help, STOP to cancel. Message and data rates may apply.

Carriers, mobile network operators (MNO), and cloud communications platforms like Plivo bear part of the responsibility of delivering potential spam to consumers, so they (we) are likely to suspend or terminate messaging services of any organization that fails to comply with opt-in guidelines.

How consumers can withdraw consent

So you’ve obtained consent — that’s great, but consent lasts only as long as your recipients want it to. You must allow users to opt out of your messages easily. To do that for SMS, provide opt-out instructions in your messages, particularly for informational, marketing, and promotional messages. Plivo recommends adding “Reply STOP to unsubscribe” or “reply STOP to cancel” to the end of your message.

Your systems must not send messages to contacts who have opted out. A general best practice is to send recipients a confirmation that they have been opted out and add instructions on how to opt back in; for example:

You replied with STOP, which blocks all the texts from this number. Text UNSTOP to receive messages again.

Not providing an opt-out option or sending people messages after they have opted out is another kind of violation that could result in the termination of your messaging campaigns.

Consent for recording

So far we’ve talked only about consent for marketing outreach, but there’s one more common case where consent is a concern: call recording. Some jurisdictions have strict consent laws that require you to obtain consent from all participants before recording calls; others require consent of at least one of the participants. Since you may not know where all parties are calling from, it’s good practice to follow the rules for the strictest cases.

If you plan to record phone calls, disclose that fact to your users and obtain consent from all participants beforehand, and keep a record of how you obtained consent. If a participant revokes consent, you must no longer record their calls.

Another consideration is where call recordings are stored. Plivo, for instance, stores call recordings in a cloud instance hosted in the US. Some countries prohibit data from leaving the country. Check your local requirements.

Determining what laws apply to call recording can be complicated when participants are in multiple states or countries. In today’s world, you can’t be 100% sure where a participant is calling from. Nevertheless, you must familiarize yourself with the laws and standards that apply to your business and use case so that you record calls in a legally compliant manner. Ultimately, you are responsible for ensuring that your business complies with all applicable laws and regulations.

We are not a lawyer

If you follow all of these guidelines, you’re on the right track for managing consent for both messaging and voice marketing. However, please don’t take this post as legal advice, and don’t imagine we’ve comprehensively covered the topic.

We’ve talked here only about US and EU policies here; plenty of Plivo customers live elsewhere in the world. It’s Plivo’s business to know the consent and opt-in requirements for each country and each carrier we work with so that we can serve our customers, but it’s your responsibility to know the guidelines that apply to your business so that you don’t accidentally violate them and get yourselves cut off from your campaigns and your customers.

We’ll let Sharita Passariello, Senior CRM Manager at Fluent and a guest in a recent Plivo webinar, have the last word: “It is extremely vital to me that we have expressed consent for these SMS messages. [so] the user knows exactly what they’re going to receive, what kind of updates they’re going to get, and who the updates are coming from. That’s so critical because it helps with overall long-term sustainability and performance. At the end of the day we’re using SMS to provide a service to our consumers. We’d like to help them.” In other words, consent isn’t just the law — it’s also good business practice.

Apr 25, 2023
5 mins

Do You Need a Toll-Free Number?

Read to know if your business needs a toll-free number, its advantages and tips on how to procure a new number. Learn more about the benefits of toll-free numbers for business communication at Plivo.

Phone Numbers

In today’s world, does it still make sense for companies to provide a toll-free number for voice callers?

According to Pew Research, as of 2021 97% of Americans owned a cellphone; 85% own a smartphone. Most mobile phone plans come with unlimited minutes for calling any number in the same country. So where’s the value in toll-free numbers nowadays?

Of course toll-free numbers are still useful for people who make calls from landlines, but that demographic is becoming an endangered species. According to the CDC, only about 1.6% of adults lived in households that had only a landline in the first half of 2022.
What is a toll-free number?
With a toll-free number, incoming calls are billed to the called party and are free of charge for the calling party. In North America, area codes 800, 888, 877, 866, 855, 844, and 833 indicate toll-free numbers. In India, the prefix is 1800. Most countries reserve their own set of dialing prefixes to denote toll-free services. Callers call for free as long as they’re dialing in from within the same country; toll-free numbers don’t accept calls from other countries. Most companies that use toll-free numbers do so for voice calls, but in many cases toll-free numbers can also be used for two-way messaging.

If consumers can text or email you, do you even need a phone number? You do. An Invoca survey found voice calls to be the most preferred communication channel (68%) when consumers are having a problem and need help. Have you ever tried to contact a business and failed to find a phone number on their website? It’s frustrating and a poor customer experience.

Voice calls are also useful for other reasons. Consumers still call retailers to find out if an item is in stock, call pharmacies to find out if prescriptions are ready, and call take-out restaurants to place orders, even though they might use digital channels too.

So you need a phone number, but do you need a toll-free one? Well, we know for sure that some businesses don’t. Toll calling is only a factor for geographically dispersed businesses, so it’s fair to say that local businesses never need toll-free numbers. In fact toll-free numbers can be detrimental if you want your customers to feel that you’re part of the same community, as they’re more likely to do if your company’s phone number shares your customers’ area code and maybe a local exchange.

But before we consign toll-free numbers to the same dustbin as printed phone number directories, let’s consider some of the arguments in favor of toll-free numbers.

Why you might want a toll-free number

We see three reasons why you might want a toll-free number, and the first two are hard to quantify.

One argument in favor of toll-free numbers is brand image. A toll-free number lets consumers recognize a brand nationwide, and fosters feelings of familiarity and trustworthiness. Having a toll-free number makes a business seem more established and authoritative. A vanity toll-free number in particular — such as 1-800-TMOBILE — enhances your brand identity. And if someone remembers your number, they’re more likely to call you than to look for an alternative.

Another argument has to do with perception as well. Most businesses, if they use toll-free numbers, do so for general business. By establishing a separate toll-free number for a specific use case, you can elevate that use in consumers’ minds. For instance, if you set up a toll-free number for customer service, your customers can judge that you’re serious about providing good support.

The final argument in favor of toll-free numbers is cost. Though you do pay more per call for inbound calls on toll-free numbers, at least on a cloud communications platform like Plivo, you actually pay less for outbound calls in countries where outbound calling on toll-free numbers is available. If you run the numbers for your expected use case, a toll-free number might be more cost-effective than one or more local numbers.

How to rent a toll-free number

Fortunately, it’s as easy to procure a toll-free number as it is a local one. A cloud communications platform like Plivo keeps a large number of unassigned ones in inventory.

Monthly number rental fees for toll-free numbers are much lower than you might think. In the US, Canada, and the UK, you can rent one for $1 a month. We have similar low rates in other countries — check our Voice API pricing page.

You also incur charges for outbound and inbound calls, but per-call charges are low and you pay for only as much time as you use — Plivo doesn’t require a monthly usage contract. (However, if you’re spending more than $1,000 a month on voice calling, you should talk to our sales team about the possibility of a volume discount for a committed level of usage.)

Using a cloud communications platform for voice calling offers more advantages than just price. Voice quality is a key metric for any calling platform, and Plivo’s Premium Communications Network provides the best possible voice quality. Reliability is also huge — you want to be reachable at all times. Plivo promises 99.95% uptime, and a 99.99% service level agreement is available.

You can get started exploring Plivo’s Voice API services by signing up for free. If you already have a toll-free number from another provider that you want to keep, you can easily port it in to Plivo at no charge. If not, visit our Phone Numbers > Buy Number on the Plivo console. Under Type, tick Toll-Free, and under Capability, tick voice, then click Search.

If you want a particular number — say one with an 800 prefix, or some numbers that match certain letters on a phone keypad as part of a vanity number — you can enter them in the number field, then pick one from among the returned numbers.

The bottom line

So to answer the question we started off with: If you already have a toll-free number, keep it, because surely you have customers who use it. If you’re deciding whether to procure a new one, first compare the monthly cost for your expected call volume, taking into account both outgoing and incoming calls. A large difference might make your decision for you. If the numbers are close, then factor in the intangible factors like brand image.

Apr 17, 2023
5 mins

Plivo’s Approach to 10DLC

Plivo’s approach to 10DLC and what our customers are saying about us. Plivo’s self-service approach makes 10DLC registration fast, easy and hassle free. Read to know more about Plivo’s approach to 10DLC and what customers are saying about us.

10DLC

Over the last few years everyone in the SMS messaging space has been coming to grips with 10DLC, the new standard in the US for application-to-person messaging using long codes. Mobile network operators (MNO), communications platforms as a service (CPaaS), and businesses that use SMS have all had a lot to learn. Plivo’s evolving approach has won praise from our users.

Plivo customer Fluent is one of many who’ve come on the journey. Fluent Senior Manager for CRM Sharita Passariello says, “I’ve gone through the 10DLC registration process with several vendors, and I see lots of advantages to Plivo’s approach. I love the self-service console and ease of use. With some other providers, I can’t sign on to their portal and register a brand or a campaign and have it approved within a couple of hours. It’s really nice that with Plivo I can go in and do it myself, and the turnaround time for approvals seems very quick. Most of the time I can get a campaign up and running within a day or two.”

Passariello also joined us for a webinar on the keys to SMS marketing success in 2023.

10DLC background

Where did 10DLC come from? To protect their customers, mobile carriers needed to make sure that businesses were registering their long codes for A2P use cases. When they register, companies have to provide details about their businesses and use cases (brands and campaigns) so the carriers can check them for legitimacy and appropriateness. Each carrier has come up with penalties for not registering 10DLC numbers, which include surcharges, fines, increased filtering, decreased throughput and deliverability, and the potential to be blocked from sending SMS messages.

If you’re using long codes for A2P texting, 10DLC registration is now mandatory.

Plivo lets you register brands and campaigns and link numbers to them through the Plivo console. The self-service approach makes 10DLC registration faster and easier than relying on a vendor’s support team.

10DLC is a win-win for both consumers and businesses. If you haven’t yet jumped on the bandwagon, register now to reap the benefits and avoid disruptions to your SMS business strategy.

Apr 10, 2023
5 mins

Why You Should Transcribe Your Calls

Phone call transcription is the process of converting recorded phone conversations into written words. Learn how to transcribe calls with Plivo.

Transcription
Voice API

Plivo’s Voice API includes a feature you may not be taking full advantage of: call transcription.

Call transcription is the process of converting recorded phone conversations into written words. It can help you in a number of ways. With a transcript, anyone can search or visually scan call conversations instead of listening to an entire recording — a process that’s more efficient than voice call monitoring. With phone call transcription you can:

  1. Improve agent performance — Managers and agents can search and organize transcribed calls based on outcomes, and learn from them to create best practices documents or knowledge base articles. Transcripts can help you improve grading, quality monitoring, and agent and team performance. They can also help managers develop personalized training objectives for agents to improve their performance over time. Meanwhile, sales agents can learn from transcripts to improve their customer service, as well as identify cross- and upsell opportunities and identify effective ways to move leads further along the pipeline.
  2. Reduce training time — You can share transcriptions among reps and during the new-hire onboarding process. They can serve as example scripts that illustrate what a rep should or shouldn’t say to a customer.
  3. Do post-facto keyword analytics — Transcripts make it easy to analyze which keywords appear in call conversations and how frequently, so you can learn what your customers are saying and use that information to make better decisions. For instance, if you can understand what aspects and features of a product customers are happy or unhappy about, you can better prioritize efforts to improve the product.
  4. Increase accessibility — For the hearing-impaired, transcripts make absorbing information easier. Inclusive practices such providing transcripts are not only good business, they may also be the law. For instance, in the US, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 says, “No otherwise qualified individual with a disability in the United States . . . shall, solely by reason of her or his disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance . . . .” The Office for Civil Rights enforces Section 504 in programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance from the Education Department, including public school districts and institutions of higher education. If your business has a presence in education, transcriptions may be required.
  5. Enhance customer experience — For contact centers especially, customer satisfaction is crucial, and the best way to deliver on customer satisfaction is to have customer insights. Call transcripts unlock those insights, giving you an easy-to-review format and high-level perspective, which is especially useful when you have a lot of calls covering a number of subjects. Call transcription makes it simple to review information and discern trends, and identify instances where you should go back and listen to specific calls for more context.

The price is right

You might be willing to pay a lot to gain all of the benefits of speech-to-text, but with Plivo you don’t have to. Our speech transcription service is surprisingly inexpensive. Plivo charges less than a penny per minute of recorded speech — a fraction of what most cloud communication services charge — which makes it a trivial decision to say yes and gain all of the benefits.

However, before you transcribe any calls, make sure that doing so is legal in your locale. Some jurisdictions ban not only transcribing calls but even recording calls, or require informed consent by some or all parties in a conversation. Consult your friendly neighborhood lawyer.

How to transcribe calls

Now that you know why to use speech-to-text transcription, let’s talk about how: Simply provide an additional parameter to the Record Call API when you initiate a call. The transcription_url parameter defines the webhook URL to which the transcription should be posted. After the call completes, Plivo will post the transcribed text to the URL you specify, along with other parameters about the recording, as you can see on our API documentation page.

It’s really that simple and that inexpensive. If you’re already using Plivo’s Voice API but haven’t yet tried transcription, think about places where it might come in handy. If you’d like to get started, sign up for a free trial account and see all that Plivo can do.

Mar 28, 2023
5 mins

13 Best Practices For Using Interactive Voice Response (IVR)

IVR Menu Best Practices: Tips on how to create IVR menus that satisfy callers’ needs. Learn about IVR and create IVR phone trees with Plivo. Sign up today!

Voice API
IVR

Few businesses nowadays have receptionists answering phone calls. Automation is king, and interactive voice response (IVR) is the rule.

Poorly written IVR menus can alienate callers, and once someone hangs up, chances are they won’t try again. IVR best practices help you ensure that your callers’ experience is as smooth as possible.

Best Practices for Designing IVR Systems

IVR systems can streamline customer service, but a poorly designed one can be frustrating for customers and call agents alike. Start by designing a structure and navigation that is simple and clear and prioritizes the most popular options in the menu. Keep the main menu to four to six options using concise language that's easy to understand. Put the most frequently used functions at the beginning of the menu to help callers get what they need quickly.

As for the prompts, the shorter, the better — keep greetings to eight seconds or less and four seconds for menu options. Allow callers to interrupt lengthy prompts with their selection to avoid frustration. 

Finally, consider the customer experience. We’ve all been in positions where an IVR feels annoying rather than helpful. Always provide a clear path to connect with a live agent if callers can't resolve their issue through the IVR. Minimize repetition: don't make callers repeat information they've already entered, step after step. And, monitor calls for improvement to eliminate any obstacles preventing your IVR from performing well. 

Here are some tips on how to create IVR menus that satisfy callers’ needs.

  1. Map out the call flow

    To get started, map out the call flow you want. Your menu will likely have multiple levels, starting with having callers choose the language they want to be prompted in. Some choices may send callers to a department, such as sales or support, while others send them to a recording or an automated system. You may want to offer different choices depending on time of day or day of week; for instance, you probably don’t want to offer the option to speak to someone in sales if someone is calling outside of working hours; instead, you can let them leave a message.

  2. Record the spoken IVR menu

    Get someone with a pleasant voice to record the spoken IVR menu. You want your message to sound like the person who reads the news on TV or radio — confident, to make them feel as if they’re in good hands. If you can’t find someone on staff to handle the recording, hire a voice actor — someone who’s an expert in speaking what they read without making it sound like they’re reading, and who can put a little pep into their voice but not so much as to sound phony. Another option is to use speech synthesis, a technique that has come a long way in the last few years. You can still tell a synthesized voice from a human, but technology like Amazon Polly is a useful option if you have more prompts that you can comfortably record, or constantly changing options, or you don’t want the hassle of hiring a voice actor and maintaining recordings. Ongoing advances in AI technology will soon make text-to-speech voices harder to distinguish from biologically generated speech.

  3. Keep introductions short

    Everyone knows what IVR is by now, so you don’t have to explain it. Don’t tell them “our menu has changed” — no one cares, they just need to hear the menu. You’ll do just fine with “Thanks for calling &Company” before launching into the menu choices.

  4. Pay attention to word order

    When relating menu choices, say the task or function first and the key to press second (“to speak to sales press or say 1”). That lets customers identify what’s the right choice to meet their needs before telling them how to get there. Provide choices to let callers return to the previous menu or to the top of the menu tree.

  5. Allow both voice and dialpad response

    Let callers respond either by speaking a menu choice or pressing a number on their keypad.

  6. Allow barge-in

    Let callers barge in to make a selection while the system is playing the menu. Respect callers’ time and let them choose an option at any point.

  7. Offer an operator

    Always provide the option to speak to a human. An IVR menu can cover a lot of possibilities but it can’t cover everything. Designate someone to field the small percentage of callers that your well-designed IVR tree can’t satisfy — and make sure that that person knows where to transfer what kinds of queries.

  8. Send confused callers to the operator

    If the caller can’t figure out what to press and doesn’t press anything or enters an invalid selection, don’t hang up on them; instead, transfer them to a human who can help them. If this happens often, revise your IVR menu.

  9. Provide confirmation

    If the caller’s interaction results in a transaction, such as paying a bill, follow up with confirmation via another channel, such as SMS or email, to reassure the caller that the transaction completed successfully.

  10. Pass along customer-entered information

    If your IVR system asks for customer information, such as an account number, capture the information entered and pass it along if the call needs to be handled by an agent. Nothing is more frustrating for callers than having to repeat information.

  11. Minimize hold time

    Try to minimize the time callers are on hold when being transferred from the IVR menu to their destination. Ideally, provide an option for someone in your company to automatically return calls instead of forcing people to wait on hold. When hold time is unavoidable, provide an estimate of how long callers are likely to have to wait.

  12. Measure caller satisfaction

    Track data such as call abandonment rate and first call resolution rate.

  13. Review, refine, iterate

    Regularly review your menu to keep it relevant. Use the metrics you track to help you refine your menu.

How to implement an IVR menu

By following these IVR menu best practices you should have more satisfied customers and prospects. When you’re ready to start implementing an IVR phone tree in code, Plivo makes things easy for you. We have documentation in the form of IVR use case guides in seven common web development languages.

If you’re not already a Plivo customer, sign up for free today and see how easy it is to create IVR phone trees.

Mar 23, 2023
5 mins

How Automated Text Messaging Can Help Real Estate Businesses

Automated SMS for real estate: Learn how your real estate business can leverage the power of sms marketing. Know all about the benefits, use cases and best practices of real estate text marketing at Plivo. Sign up today!

Real Estate

If you’re in real estate — whether you’re an agent for sellers or buyers, a property manager, a home sharing host, or a home inspector — chances are you live on your mobile phone. Your potential customers — homeowners, buyers, and renters — are just as connected. That’s why you’re probably putting listings on Instagram or Twitter. So why not deliver messages directly to people who already have phone in hand by using SMS, a.k.a. text messaging.

What’s the benefit? SMS messages have an open rate of 98% — higher than email. Most people read their text messages within five minutes. But most importantly, people prefer texting to other forms of communication;68% of home buyers and sellers say they want to receive property information and communicate with their agent via SMS.

Chances are you’ve already seen that preference for texting in your person-to-person communications with your clients. But you can automate application-to-person text messages with an SMS API and get even more benefit.

Benefits of real estate texting

You can use SMS to send messages with news, promotions, updates, and other relevant communications to clients, prospects, and leads. Using text messaging gives real estate businesses several benefits.

  1. Timely communications

    One of the biggest advantages of SMS is that you can reach clients and colleagues in real time, which is critical when you have an offer to present or a new listing to share. And messages sent via SMS are less likely to be ignored (or shunted into a junk folder) than email messages.

  2. Excellent open rates

    When you have a 98% open rate, you’re almost assured of delivering your message. Whether people respond depends on how relevant to them your message is. We have some tips on that below.

  3. Automatic record of conversations

    When you exchange information with a client via SMS, you’ll both know where to find that information when you need it.

  4. Saved time

    Because you can automate your messaging, you can make formerly manual processes happen without your attention. That frees you up for more important uses of your time, such as prospecting.

  5. Lower costs

    The time you save by automating real estate communication processes means lower labor costs. On top of that, each SMS message costs less than a cent, which is more cost-effective than alternatives such as direct mail.

Use cases for real estate texting

Here are just a few ways to leverage text messaging to enhance customer relationships and improve revenue.

  1. Set appointments and reminders

    Ever have a client miss an open house that you know they meant to see, or even miss a one-on-one showing? Sending automated reminders makes that less likely — and if a customer does have to miss a meeting, your reminder is likely to solicit a timely reply so you can adjust your plans.

  2. Provide new listing information

    Do you already have a way to email people when new listings in their price range and preferred area come on the market? You can get the message to your contacts more quickly via automated SMS messages that trip either as soon as a new listing appears on MLS or once a day.

  3. Promote open houses

    SMS supports sending multimedia context, such as images and videos, along with text. Technically, these messages are MMS — multimedia messaging service. You can text photos of a property or an image of a nicely designed flyer that includes not only pictures but also the address, asking price, and date and time of an open house. With bulk SMS you can easily send one message to hundreds of clients or dozens of fellow brokers and Realtors.

  4. Send invitations to events

    Did you just get a new listing and you want to show your fellow agents the property? You can set up an address book of agents’ numbers to text with information about an upcoming broker open house, which can include a link so they need only tap on their phones to RSVP and create a calendar entry for themselves.

Best practices for real estate texting

Text messaging is part of a larger conversation about marketing, in which the goal is to stay in touch so customers think of you when they have a transaction to make. You might employ email, voice calls, and direct mail as marketing tools; each communications channel has strengths and weaknesses.

For the SMS part of the process, don’t cross the line into sending too-frequent messages that recipients consider spam. Do, however, follow these best practices to increase your response rates.

  • Make sure you have a clear reason for each message you send. Each message should be about something your recipient cares about, and bound to a specific time and place.
  • Keep your messages short. If you have a lot of information to convey, include in your message a link to a website that conveys the whole story. In your text, stick with the key points.
  • Use an informal but competent tone to convey your professionalism and trustworthiness. Avoid real estate jargon. Try to sound like the best version of your in-person self; that’ll help you enhance your relationship with your customer.
  • You’re sending a text message because you want the recipient to do something. Make sure you include a clear call to action, which might be getting recipients to click on a link to bring up a web page, tap a number to phone you, or some other action.
  • Create a template for different kinds of messages in your communications application, then have your outreach program populate your templates with specific details for each new message.
  • Measure the conversion rate each time you send a message — find out how many recipients take the action you want them to. From time to time, make changes to your templates to see if you can improve conversion rates.

Another best practice involves the number type you use to send messages. There are three possibilities: long codes, toll-free numbers, and short codes. We wrote a whole blog post on how to choose the right phone number for your business.

Use SMS for real estate

Sold? Given all of the potential use cases and the benefits you can derive from using SMS in real estate businesses, the only question you should still have is: how do I get started? Check out Plivo’s SMS and Voice APIs for real estate communication. You can sign up for a free trial and get enough usage credits to use our communications APIs in a pilot project.

Mar 21, 2023
5 mins

Getting the Most Out of Speech Transcription

Speech to text API: Accurately convert voice to text with Plivo’s voice API. Get the highest accuracy at the Lowest cost in the industry. Sign up today!

Transcription

Whether you’re already a Plivo customer or just researching what Plivo can do for you, don’t overlook our speech transcription service. Using it is as simple as setting a flag in the code and providing a URL where Plivo can send the transcription text.

How speech transcription works

How does speech transcription work? Speech-to-text software takes voice audio as input. It uses signal-processing algorithms to select phonemes from the sound data, then applies linguistic algorithms to save them in text as words and sentences.

Professions like journalists, lawyers, and doctors frequently depend on hiring transcribers to turn their recorded notes into text, but that’s expensive. Machine transcription costs less than human work, and it’s much faster, so you can process more data per unit of time. On average, adults read 240-260 words per minute, while conversational speech runs around 150 words per minute.

The drawback is that transcribed speech is less accurate than human transcription, depending in part on the quality of the audio from which it’s taken, but many businesses are willing to make that tradeoff to save time and money. After all, if the software reports someone said, “The ratio of going to bed cholesterol is in the normal range,” it’s obvious it was really “good to bad.”

How can speech transcription help you meet your business goals? Every business is different, but here are some common use cases that many businesses can profit from.

Speech transcription use cases

Accessibility — Speech-to-text capabilities mean that audio data can be converted in real time for subtitling, which can allow individuals with hearing impairment to more fully participate in events.

Conference call transcriptions — Text is easier to search than audio files. You can provide every member of a conference call with a transcript of the conversation as a record of the discussion and decisions made on the call. This use case also works well for public conference calls, such as earnings calls.

Audio bookmarks — If you transcribe audio and make the text available along with the audio file, you can navigate to the clips you’re looking for by clicking on keywords.

Agent coaching — In a call center scenario, managers need ways to bring agents along. By transcribing their conversations, managers can quickly review conversations, get an overview of a call, and offer coaching. An application can also extract keywords from text; in support scenarios, that lets agents look up material about the key terms, while in sales scenarios, managers can analyze conversations to see what keywords are most useful in closing deals.

Legal evidence — Call recordings constitute a contemporaneous and accurate description of a conversation that can serve as evidence in legal proceedings. Transcribing the calls makes it easier to search for relevant terms in batches of recordings.

Team communications — Many managers prefer explaining things verbally, but that approach doesn’t always scale when it comes to disseminating information. You can transcribe an informational call and distribute the audio along with the transcription to make it faster and easier for multiple people to get the message.

Translation — Machine translation from one language’s audio to another’s is difficult and expensive. Taking the intermediate step of transcribing the spoken words lets you use text-powered translation tools, which are more mature and less expensive.

AI applications — Organizations can leverage AI and machine learning to optimize processes, predict outcomes, and prescribe actions. Machine learning software may have a better time using text than audio files as input.

How to enable voice transcription in Plivo

Plivo’s transcription service can save you time and money. Rather than sending your Plivo voice recordings to a third party for transcription, streamline your workflow by using Plivo’s transcription service.

You can use Plivo’s Voice API to perform automatic speech recognition (ASR) on calls with our Record API or Record XML element. Along with industry-leading accuracy, you get industry-leading pricing as well; our transcription service — which works on English language audio — has one of the lowest costs in the industry. Think about which of your applications could be enhanced by voice to text, and give Plivo’s technology a try.

Mar 13, 2023
5 mins

Introducing the Plivo Changelog

Introducing the Plivo Changelog - Stay updated with the latest news from Plivo. Subscribe for announcements on new products, features and preview of upcoming launches.

Product

One of the nice things about SaaS software is that it’s always up to date — unlike software that’s installed on-premises, which has to wait for vendors to make new releases and administrators to install them. When you use a SaaS platform like Plivo, you get to take advantage of the very latest features every day, and bugs get fixed immediately — no waiting around for Patch Tuesday.

If you’re curious about what’s changing with Plivo, consult the Plivo changelog. It shows, in reverse chronological order, exactly what features became available on what dates. We’ve backfilled it with entries for most of this year — we figure you won’t be curious about changes from further back.

How does this help you? Well, suppose you notice something different about a console screen. Is it a new feature, or have you just not visited that page in a while? Now you can go to the changelog and find out.

Or suppose you’re trying to do something for the first time, and it’s not working properly. Are you making a mistake, or did we just update some functionality and cause a problem? By looking at the changelog, you can gather information that might help you zero in on a solution.

What’s on the changelog

When you visit the changelog you’ll see two tabs. The primary tab, Announcements, has blurbs about new features, bug fixes, and product updates. The second tab, Roadmap, tells you about beta software programs we have in progress, so you know what’s coming and can get an early look at it. You can even subscribe to a beta announcement, and we’ll send you a message whenever we have news about it, including when the beta software goes into production. You can also subscribe to the changelog as a whole, should you want to be alerted to any and all Plivo product news.

Changelog announcements are tagged with the aspect of the Plivo the announcement covers — SMS API, Voice API, Zentrunk, and so on. You can also use a search box to get right to whatever feature you’re interested in.

Another changelog page feature lets you leave feedback for us. Your suggestions and complaints go directly to our product marketing manager, who coordinates and prioritizes the work of our product managers.

Take a video tour

More of a video person? Here’s a quick tour for you.

Either way, check out the new changelog, and while you’re there, why not subscribe to it so you can stay abreast of Plivo product news. And if you have any suggestions about the new page, or about anything in Plivo, use the feedback feature to tell us about it.

Mar 8, 2023
5 mins

Plivo Protects PHI for HIPAA/HITECH Compliance

Plivo can sign a HIPAA business associate agreement (BAA) for customers who sign up for an enterprise package.

Compliance
Healthcare
Security

Healthcare businesses frequently ask us, “Is Plivo HIPAA compliant?” To answer that question, we have to throw a little jargon around — but we think you’ll like the answer.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and its follow-on, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH), are US laws designed to protect the privacy and security of consumers’ medical data, which in HIPAA terms is referred to as protected health information (PHI).

Under HIPAA, covered entities (such as physicians and health plans) have to follow documented Privacy Rules and Security Rules guidelines for handling PHI. They don’t have to do everything on their own systems, however; they can contract with other companies that provide business functions such as billing or medical record storage or (ahem) providing a communications platform that lets the covered entities communicate with consumers via messaging or voice calls. To keep a covered entity complaint, a service provider that can access PHI must sign a business associate agreement (BAA) that provides assurances to the covered entity that the service provider will do its part to protect their data.

Plivo can sign a BAA for customers who sign up for an enterprise package.

HIPAA compliance requires everyone’s attention

HIPAA compliance is a shared responsibility, however. Plivo can guarantee things like encryption of data in transit and at rest and redaction of details in logs, and back those guarantees up with audit reports from independent third parties. But our customers, the covered entities, are responsible for other aspects, such as securing their authentication credentials and using the Plivo console in a secure environment. In short, you have to use Plivo in a compliant manner and make sure your applications’ instructions to us comply with the statutes.

Become an enterprise customer

Plivo’s Enterprise Package has numerous benefits for large organizations. Tell us about your needs and we’ll have an expert get in touch with you.

It’s easy to get started.
Sign up for free.

Create your account and receive trial credits or get in touch with us.

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