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What is SMS Pumping: Plivo’s Quick Guide
Learn about SMS pumping, the risks it poses to businesses, how fraudsters generate fake traffic to exploit them, and how to prevent it.
In the digital age, SMS remains a cornerstone for user authentication, particularly through One-Time Passwords (OTPs). However, this reliance has made businesses vulnerable to a growing threat: SMS pumping fraud.
What is SMS pumping?
SMS pumping, also known as Artificially Inflated Traffic (AIT) or SMS toll fraud, is a fraudulent scheme where attackers exploit SMS-based services to generate large volumes of fake traffic. This is typically achieved by:
- Automated Bots: Using bots to flood online forms with fake OTP requests.
- Premium Rate Numbers: Directing these requests to phone numbers that incur higher charges, often controlled by the fraudsters or complicit telecom operators.
The perpetrators profit by receiving a share of the revenue generated from these inflated SMS charges, leaving businesses to bear the financial burden.
Real-World Impact: The Twitter Case
A notable example of SMS pumping's financial impact is Twitter (now X). In 2023, Elon Musk revealed that the platform was losing approximately $60 million annually due to SMS pumping fraud. The scheme involved over 390 telecom operators worldwide, who were either complicit or negligent in allowing the abuse of SMS services.
How does SMS pumping work?
The process typically unfolds as follows:
- Targeting Vulnerable Endpoints: Attackers identify websites or applications that send OTPs via SMS.
- Flooding with Requests: Bots submit numerous fake requests, often using disposable or premium-rate phone numbers.
- Revenue Generation: Each SMS sent to these numbers incurs a cost, which is shared with the fraudsters.
This leads to significant financial losses for businesses, as they pay for messages that serve no legitimate purpose.
Signs Your Business Might Be a Target
Be vigilant if you notice:
- Unusual Traffic Patterns: A sudden spike in OTP requests, especially from unfamiliar regions.
- Sequential Number Requests: Multiple OTP requests to consecutive phone numbers, indicating automated bot activity.
- Low Conversion Rates: A high number of OTPs sent but a low rate of successful authentications.
Preventive Measures: Safeguarding Your Business
To protect against SMS pumping fraud, consider implementing the following strategies:
- Rate Limiting: Restrict the number of OTP requests per user or IP address within a specified time frame.
- Bot Detection: Use CAPTCHA or other bot detection mechanisms to prevent automated submissions.
- Geo-Blocking: Limit OTP requests to regions where your user base is located.
- Traffic Monitoring: Regularly analyze traffic patterns to identify and mitigate suspicious activities.
Plivo’s Solutions to SMS Pumping
Recognizing the growing threat of SMS pumping, Plivo is proud to offer two innovative tools, free of charge, designed to protect your business from fraudulent SMS traffic:
- SMS Pumping Protection for OTP Traffic: This solution is specifically built to safeguard your SMS API endpoints that handle OTP traffic. By detecting and preventing fraudulent OTP requests, it helps ensure your messaging services remain both secure and cost-effective. Read more about SMS Pumping Protection here.
- Fraud Shield for Verify Applications: Designed for applications leveraging Plivo’s Verify API, Fraud Shield delivers advanced fraud detection by analyzing traffic patterns, identifying anomalies, and blocking suspicious activities. This ensures your verification processes stay protected from abuse. Read more about Fraud Shield here.
Learn more about Plivo’s tools for combating SMS pumping by requesting a trial.
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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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
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!
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.)
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.
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.
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.
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.
This step allows you to fully customize the agent’s tone, workflow, and logic to reflect how your brand communicates.4
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.
For natural language understanding, Plivo gives you the flexibility to choose the AI model that powers your agent.
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
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.
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!
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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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:
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.
- 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.
- 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.
How to Build a Virtual Assistant App the No-Code Way Using PHLO
Create an IVR phone tree that can act as a virtual assistant to manage multiple menus with prerecorded messages and manage call routing.
Interactive voice response (IVR) systems let incoming callers access information and find contacts via a menu of pre-recorded messages, without having to speak to an agent, and let you automate polling via outgoing calls. Callers and call recipients can respond to prompts via Touch-Tone keypad presses or speech recognition. IVR systems can handle larger call volumes than operators and reduce costs associated with customer service.
Common IVR use cases include:
- Auto-attendant: You can replace a receptionist with an IVR system that routes calls to agents during business hours and accepts voicemail when no one is available.
- Call center: You can route calls coming in to call centers to the appropriate representatives based on user input.
- Surveys, polling, and voting: You can implement IVR in outbound calls to collect customer satisfaction scores or conduct political polling.
- Appointment reminders: You can send automated reminders to customers before their scheduled visits to help avoid missed appointments and facilitate rescheduling.
- Lead assignment and lead routing: For inbound sales calls, you can set up an IVR menu with a set of qualifying questions to discover a customer’s interests, then redirect their call to a representative based on their responses.
This guide shows how to build an IVR menu system on the Plivo platform, either by using our PHLO visual workflow builder or our APIs and XML documents. This post talks about how to do it with PHLO.
Prerequisites
To get started, you need a Plivo account — sign up with your work email address if you don’t have one already. To receive incoming calls, you must have a voice-enabled Plivo phone number. You can rent numbers from the Numbers page of the Plivo console, or by using the Numbers API.
How it works
You can create and deploy a workflow to implement an IVR system with a few clicks on the PHLO canvas.
Create a PHLO to build a virtual assistant
To create a PHLO, visit the PHLO page of the Plivo console. If this is your first PHLO, the PHLO page will be empty.
- Click CREATE NEW PHLO.
- In the Choose your use case pop-up, click Build my own. The PHLO canvas will appear with the Start node.
Note: The Start node is the starting point of any PHLO. It lets you trigger a PHLO to start upon one of three actions: incoming SMS message, incoming call, or API request. - Click the Start node to open the Configuration tab, then enter information that other nodes can retrieve in the API Request section — in this case, the From and optionally To numbers for the IVR system.
- From the list of components on the left side, drag and drop the IVR Menu component onto the canvas. When a component is placed on the canvas it becomes a node.
- Draw a line to connect the Start node‘s Incoming Call trigger state to the IVR Menu node.
- In the Configuration tab at the right of the canvas, configure the choices for the IVR menu. For this example, select 1 and 2 as allowed choices. Enter a message to play to the user in the Speak Text box.
- Once you’ve configured the node, save the configuration by clicking Validate. Do the same for each node as you go along.
- Drag and drop two instances of the Call Forward component onto the canvas. Rename them Connect_to_Support and Connect_to_Sales. Draw lines to connect the IVR Menu node‘s 1 and 2 trigger states to the new nodes.
- Configure each Call Forward node to select the From number using a variable. PHLO will get the number from the key/value pairs set in the Start node. Enter two curly brackets to view all available variables, and choose the appropriate one. For the To number, either enter a fixed number directly into the To field or use a variable that you configured in the Start node.
- Drag and drop two instances of the Play Audio component onto the canvas. Rename the two nodes No_Input_Prompt and Invalid_Input_Prompt and configure each to speak a fixed message for callers to hear when they enter no input or invalid input. Draw lines from the IVR Menu node‘s No Input and Wrong Input trigger states to the respective nodes, then draw lines from the Prompt Completed trigger states of the new nodes back to the IVR Menu node, to give callers another chance to enter a menu choice.
- Give the PHLO a name by clicking in the upper left, then click Save.
Your complete PHLO should look like this.
Refer to the Create the PHLO section in our use case guide for more information.
Assign the PHLO to a Plivo number
Once you‘ve created and configured your PHLO, assign it to a Plivo number.
- On the Numbers page of the console, under Your Numbers, click the phone number you want to use for the PHLO.
- In the Number Configuration box, select PHLO from the Application Type drop-down.
- From the PHLO Name drop-down, select the PHLO you want to use with the phone number, then click Update Number.
Test
You can now call your Plivo phone number and see how the IVR system works.
For more information about creating a PHLO application, see the PHLO Getting Started guide. For information on components and their variables, see the PHLO Components Library.
Guide to Plivo’s Premium Communications Network
Plivo’s Premium Communications Network comprises 1,600+ telecom provider networks and connectivity in 190+ countries. Learn more about Plivo’s infrastructure.
Plivo’s Premium Communications Network
No other cloud communication platform can match Plivo’s Premium Communications Network (PCN), because it’s taken us 10 years to build it through the careful addition of Tier 1 carrier networks all across the globe. It’s a key competitive advantage that allows Plivo customers to take advantage of a network that delivers high call quality and message deliverability.
A global carrier network
Plivo’s PCN serves a worldwide audience of voice and messaging customers — we have direct relationships with more than 1,600+ carrier networks and connectivity in 190+ countries. Our strict evaluation process approves only carriers that meet the highest industry standards. To ensure top performance for customers in every region, we’ve established seven points of presence (PoP) that correspond to internet exchange points (IXP) in every region around the globe. That means calls outside the local region are routed to their destinations with minimal latency, ensuring maximum voice quality.
Built for reliability
Top performance demands top reliability. We connect with at least two local or Tier 1 direct carriers in each country so we can eliminate multiple hops, lower the overhead of routing, reduce latency, and give our customers the best connections possible. Having multiple carrier connections also gives our customers built-in redundancy to ensure that, in the event of a carrier failure, all voice traffic is automatically routed through alternative carriers to minimize service disruption and quality degradation.
Our PCN delivers a number of practical benefits for our customers, including guaranteed CLI (caller ID) and instant phone number provisioning in every country. Because Plivo manages carrier relationships for our customers, we have a complete end-to-end view of every connection, so we can identify issues and work with carriers to get problems solved, sometimes before our customers even know something went wrong.
Learn more about all the benefits in our free ebook Premium Communications Network: Simplified Cloud-Based Telecom Carrier Infrastructure. You’ll see why no other CPaaS can match our infrastructure.
Build Click-to-Call Using PHLO
How To Build Click to Call Using PHLO | Implement click-to-Call on your website to enable users to engage with your team using JavaScript code via Node.js
Click-to-call lets your website users engage with your support and sales teams on your website. Sometimes users might want to speak to someone via their handset but initiate the call online, or they might want to talk to someone directly from the website. You can implement either use case using Plivo’s Browser SDK.
To get started, you need a Plivo account — sign up with your work email address if you don’t have one already. You must have a voice-enabled Plivo phone number to receive incoming calls; you can rent numbers from the Numbers page of the Plivo console, or by using the Numbers API. Click to call requires JavaScript; we recommend using Node.js. If this is your first time triggering a PHLO with Node.js, follow our instructions to set up a Node.js development environment and a web server and safely expose that server to the internet.
Build the PHLO
To create a PHLO, visit the PHLO page of the Plivo console. If this is your first PHLO, the PHLO page will be empty.
- Click Create New PHLO.
- In the Choose your use case pop-up, click Build my own. The PHLO canvas will appear with the Start node. The Start node is the starting point of any PHLO. It lets you trigger a PHLO to start upon one of three actions: incoming SMS message, incoming call, or API request.
- Click the Start node to open the Configuration tab, and then enter the information to retrieve from the HTTP Request payload — in this case key names are destinationNumber and phoneMeNumber. The values will remain blank as we will receive them when the request is made by the browser.
- Validate the configuration by clicking Validate. Do the same for each node as you go along.
- From the list of components on the left side, drag and drop the Initiate Call component onto the canvas. This adds an Initiate Call node onto the canvas. When a component is placed on the canvas it becomes a node.
- Draw a line to connect the Start node’s API Request trigger state to the Initiate Call node.
- In the Configuration tab of the Initiate Call node, give the node a name. To enter values for the From and To fields, enter two curly brackets to view all available variables, and choose the appropriate ones. The values for the numbers will be retrieved from the HTTP Request payload you defined in the Start node. Here From is 14159142884 and To is {{Start.http.params.phoneMeNumber}}.
- From the list of components on the left side, drag and drop the Call Forward component onto the canvas. Draw a line to connect the Answered trigger state of the Initiate Call node with the Call Forward node.
- Configure the Call Forward node to initiate call forward to another user. To enter values for the From and To fields, enter two curly brackets to view all available variables, and choose the appropriate ones. The values for the numbers will be retrieved from the HTTP Request payload you defined in the Start node. Here From is {{Start.http.params.phoneMeNumber}} and To is {{Start.http.params.destinationNumber}}.
- After you complete and validate the node configurations, give the PHLO a name by clicking in the upper left, then click Save.
- From the list of components on the left side, drag and drop the Call Forward component onto the canvas.
- Draw a line to connect the Start node’s Incoming call trigger state to the Call Forward node.
- In the Configuration tab of the Call Forward node, give the node a name. To enter values for the From and To fields, enter two curly brackets to view all available variables, and choose the appropriate ones. The values for the numbers will be retrieved from the HTTP Request payload you defined in the Start node. Here From is {{Start.http.params.header1}}. and To is {{Start.http.params.to}}.
- After you complete and validate the node configurations, give the PHLO a name by clicking in the upper left, then click Save.
Your complete PHLO should look like this:
Copy our demo application
- You need a little code to trigger the PHLO, but we’ve written it for you. Clone the repository from GitHub.
$ git clone https://github.com/plivo/click2call-webRTC.git
- Change your working directory to click2call-webRTC.
$ cd click2call-webRTC
- Install dependencies using the npm package manager, which uses the package.json file to specify the packages a project depends on.
$ npm install
- Edit the .env file.
PORT="8080";
PLIVO_AUTH_ID="<auth_id>";
PLIVO_AUTH_TOKEN="<auth_token>";
PHLO_ID="<phlo_url>";
Replace the auth placeholders with your authentication credentials from the Plivo console. Enter your PHLO ID, which you can also find on the Plivo console.
Edit /client/src/index.jsx and replace the <caller_id> placeholder with a Plivo number.
What the code does
Turn to our documentation for a full walkthrough of the code. It explains what happens when someone clicks on an application button to initiate a call, along with code snippets.
To trigger the PHLO, you must assign it to a Plivo phone number. To do that, visit the Numbers page of the console, and under Your Numbers click the phone number you want to use for the PHLO.
In the Number Configuration box, select PHLO from the Application Type drop-down.
From the PHLO Name drop-down, select the PHLO you want to use with the phone number, then click Update Number.
Try it out
To see the PHLO in action, run npm run watch and npm run start. You can then go to http://localhost:8080/ to see the application. To make it available to the internet, set up ngrok.
Before you try it out, be aware that if you’re using a Plivo Trial account, you can make calls only to phone numbers that have been verified with Plivo. You can verify (sandbox) a number by going to the console’s Phone Numbers > Sandbox Numbers page.
Haven’t tried Plivo yet? Getting started is easy and only takes minutes. Sign up today.
How to Migrate Your .NET SMS Application from Twilio to Plivo
Plivo's SMS API and Voice API enables businesses to communicate with their customers at global scale. Sign up for free now.
Migrating your .NET SMS app from Twilio to Plivo is a seamless and painless process. The two companies’ API structures, implementation mechanisms, XML structure, SMS message processing, and voice call processing are similar. We wrote this technical comparison so that you can scope between Twilio and Plivo APIs for a seamless migration.
Understanding the differences between Twilio and Plivo development
Most of the APIs and features that are available on Twilio are also available on Plivo and the implementation mechanism is easier as the steps involved are almost identical. This table gives a side-side comparison of the two companies’ features and APIs. An added advantage with Plivo is that not only can you code using the old familiar API/XML method, you can also implement your use cases using PHLO (Plivo High Level Objects), a visual workflow builder that lets you create workflows by dragging and dropping components onto a canvas — no coding required.
Plivo offers one unique advantage: Not only can you code using APIs and XML, you can also implement your use cases using PHLO (Plivo High Level Objects), a visual workflow builder that lets you create workflows by dragging and dropping components onto a canvas — no coding required.
Plivo account creation
Start by signing up for a free trial account that you can use to experiment with and learn about our services. The free trial account comes with free credits, and you can add more as you go along. You can also add a phone number to your account to start testing the full range of our voice and SMS features. A page in our support portal walks you through the signup process.
You can also port your numbers from Twilio to Plivo, as we explain in this guide.
Migrating your .NET SMS application
You can migrate your existing application from Twilio to Plivo by refactoring the code, or you can try our intuitive visual workflow builder PHLO. To continue working with the APIs, use one of the quickstart guides to set up a development environment for your preferred language. Plivo offers server SDKs in seven languages: Python, Node.js, .NET, Java, Python, Ruby, and Go. For another alternative that lets you evaluate Plivo’s SMS APIs and their request and response structure, use our Postman collections.
How to send an SMS message
Let’s take a look at the process of refactoring the code to migrate your app from Twilio to Plivo to set up a simple Java application to send an SMS message by changing just a few lines of code.
Alternatively, you can implement the same functionality using one of our PHLO templates. For example, if you want to send an SMS message, your PHLO would be this:
How to receive and reply to SMS
You can migrate an application for receiving and replying to an incoming SMS from Twilio to Plivo just as seamlessly, as in this example:
Here again, you can implement the same functionality using one of our PHLO templates. Your PHLO would look like:
For more information about migrating your SMS applications to Plivo, check out our detailed use case guides, available for all seven programming languages and PHLO.
How to send an MMS message
Let’s take a look at the process of refactoring the code to migrate your app from Twilio to Plivo to set up a simple Java application to send an MMS message by changing just a few lines of code.
Alternatively, you can implement the same functionality using one of our PHLO templates. For example, if you want to send an MMS message, your PHLO would look like this:
More use cases
You can migrate your applications serving other use cases too.
- Two-factor authentication
- Forward incoming SMS
- Delivery reports
- SMS alerts
- SMS marketing
- SMS notifications
- SMS survey
- SMS autoresponder
- Forward SMS to email
- Receive MMS
Simple and reliable
And that’s all there is to migrate your .NET SMS application from Twilio to Plivo. Our simple APIs work in tandem with our Premium Communications Network to guarantee the highest possible delivery rates and the shortest possible delivery times for your SMS messages. See for yourself — sign up for a free trial account.
How to Migrate Your .NET Voice Application from Twilio to Plivo
Plivo's SMS API and Voice API enables businesses to communicate with their customers at global scale. Sign up for free now.
Migrating from Twilio to Plivo is a seamless and painless process. The two companies’ API structures, implementation mechanisms, XML structure, SMS message processing, and voice call processing are similar. We wrote this technical comparison between Twilio and Plivo APIs so that you can scope the code changes for a seamless migration.
Understanding the differences between Twilio and Plivo development
Most of the APIs and features that are available on Twilio are also available on Plivo and the implementation mechanism is easier as the steps involved are almost identical. This table gives a side-side comparison of the two companies’ features and APIs. An added advantage with Plivo is that not only can you code using the old familiar API/XML method, you can also implement your use cases using PHLO (Plivo High Level Objects), a visual workflow builder that lets you create workflows by dragging and dropping components onto a canvas — no coding required.
Plivo account creation
Start by signing up for a free trial account that you can use to experiment with and learn about our services. The free trial account comes with free credits, and you can add more as you go along. You can also add a phone number to your account to start testing the full range of our voice and SMS features. A page in our support portal walks you through the signup process.
You can also port your numbers from Twilio to Plivo, as we explain in this guide.
Migrating your voice application
As mentioned earlier, you can migrate your existing application from Twilio to Plivo by refactoring the code, or you can try our intuitive visual workflow builder PHLO. If you prefer the API approach, you can follow one of the voice quickstart guides based on your preferred language and web framework. Plivo offers server SDKs in seven languages: Python, Node.js, .NET, Java, Python, Ruby, and Go. For another alternative that lets you evaluate Plivo’s SMS APIs and their request and response structure, use our Postman collections.
How to make an outbound call
Let’s take a look at the process of refactoring the code to migrate your app from Twilio to Plivo to set up a simple .NET application to make an outbound call by changing just a few lines of code.
Alternatively, you can implement the same functionality using one of our PHLO templates. For example, if you want to make an outbound call, your PHLO would be this:
How to receive an incoming call
You can migrate an application for receiving and handling an incoming call from Twilio to Plivo just as seamlessly, as in this example:
Here again, you can implement the same functionality using one of our PHLO templates. Your PHLO would look like:
For more information about migrating your Voice applications to Plivo, check out our detailed use case guides, available for all seven programming languages and PHLO.
How to forward an incoming call
You can migrate an application for forwarding an incoming call from Twilio to Plivo just as seamlessly, as in this example:
Here again, you can implement the same functionality using one of our PHLO templates. Your PHLO would look like:
For more information about migrating your Voice applications to Plivo, check out our detailed use case guides, available for all seven programming languages and PHLO.
More use cases
You can migrate your applications serving other use cases too.
- IVR
- Voice-controlled virtual assistant
- Number masking
- Supervisor coaching
- PINless conference
- Conference with PIN
- Voicemail
- Voice alerts broadcasting
- Voice survey
- Dial status reporting
- Screen incoming calls
- Record a call
Simple and reliable
And that’s all there is to migrating your .NET voice app from Twilio to Plivo. Our simple APIs work in tandem with our Premium Communications Network. See for yourself — sign up for a free trial account.
How to Integrate Auth0 with Plivo for SMS MFA
How to get started using Auth0 for multifactor authentication using Plivo’s SMS API
Looking for support for Auth0 authentication? Here are the steps to take to add SMS-based multifactor authentication (MFA) to the login flow for an Auth0 tenant. (A tenant is a specification for a group of users who share access to an application instance — for instance, a company with multiple employees.) We’ll assume you already have an Auth0 account and tenant and a Plivo account.
You must have a voice-enabled Plivo phone number to send SMS messages to numbers in the US and Canada; you can rent numbers from theNumbers page of the Plivo console, or by using the Numbers API.
We recommend testing your setup on a staging or development server before making changes to your production login flow.
Add the Action
To integrate Auth0, first sign up for an account. Add an Action (a triggerable function), then integrate it with your authentication flow.
- Go to Actions > Library and select Add Integration.
- Read the necessary access requirements and click Continue.
- Configure the integration by filling in the fields on the next screen with your Plivo Auth ID and Auth Token and your Plivo phone number.
- Click Create to add the integration to your library.
- Click the Add to flow link on the pop-up that appears.
- Drag the Action into the flow.
- Click Apply Changes. Now this flow will use the Plivo integration to send an SMS message whenever it’s called.
Activate custom SMS factor
Before you can use SMS as an authentication factor, your Auth0 tenant needs to have MFA enabled globally or for specific contexts. You can then configure the SMS factor to use your custom code.
Go to Dashboard > Security > Multi-factor Auth and click the Phone Message factor box. In the modal that appears, select Custom for the delivery provider, make any adjustments you’d like to the templates, then click Save and close the modal. Finally, enable the SMS factor using the toggle switch.
Auth0 will immediately begin using this factor for MFA during login. Before you activate your integration in production, make sure you’ve configured all of the components correctly and verified everything on a test tenant.
Test MFA flow
Navigate to the Authentication section in the Auth0 Manage Dashboard, choose your Connection, then select Try from the connection’s dropdown menu to verify that everything works as intended.
You can then log into your Plivo account to verify that SMS messages are indeed being sent.
If you don’t receive an SMS message as expected, look in your tenant logs for a failed Phone Message log entry. To learn which event types to search, see the Log Event Type Code list. You can use the Filter control to find MFA errors.
Make sure that:
- The Action is in the Send Phone Message flow.
- The secrets are the same Plivo Auth ID and Auth Token you created when you added the Action.
- Your Plivo account is active (not suspended).
- Your phone number is formatted in E.164 format.
Plivo Adds Integration with Auth0
Plivo’s SMS API now supports multifactor authentication via SMS text messages using Auth0
Auth0, the popular authentication and authorization platform, secures logins for thousands of global enterprises. Now you can leverage Auth0 with Plivo’s messaging platform to send SMS messages for multifactor authentication (MFA) — a feature Auth0 lacks. Sending an authentication code via text message lets people use a convenient device to improve security, reducing the risk of unauthorized entry by requiring an additional factor to grant access.
The new integration benefits users of both platforms. Current Plivo users can use Auth0 as their identity and access management (IAM) platform and leverage their existing Plivo investment, while Auth0 customers can add an economical SMS provider to enable MFA.
How it works
Integrating Plivo with Auth0 is a simple matter of dragging the new Plivo Action into an Auth0 flow. Once you’ve set it up, Auth0 will use Plivo to send SMS messages for multifactor authentication. For detailed steps, read more on how to integrate Auth0 with Plivo for SMS MFA guide.
How to Migrate Your Java Voice Application from Twilio to Plivo
Plivo's SMS API and Voice API enables businesses to communicate with their customers at global scale. Sign up for free now.
Migrating from Twilio to Plivo is a seamless and painless process. The two companies’ API structures, implementation mechanisms, XML structure, SMS message processing, and voice call processing are similar. We wrote this technical comparison between Twilio and Plivo APIs so that you can scope the code changes for a seamless migration.
Understanding the differences between Twilio and Plivo development
Most of the APIs and features that are available on Twilio are also available on Plivo and the implementation mechanism is easier as the steps involved are almost identical. This table gives a side-side comparison of the two companies’ features and APIs. An added advantage with Plivo is that not only can you code using the old familiar API/XML method, you can also implement your use cases using PHLO (Plivo High Level Objects), a visual workflow builder that lets you create workflows by dragging and dropping components onto a canvas — no coding required.
Plivo account creation
Start by signing up for a free trial account that you can use to experiment with and learn about our services. The free trial account comes with free credits, and you can add more as you go along. You can also add a phone number to your account to start testing the full range of our voice and SMS features. A page in our support portal walks you through the signup process.
You can also port your numbers from Twilio to Plivo, as we explain in this guide.
Migrating your Voice application
As mentioned earlier, you can migrate your existing application from Twilio to Plivo by refactoring the code, or you can try our intuitive visual workflow builder PHLO. If you prefer the API approach, you can follow one of the voice quickstart guides based on your preferred language and web framework. Plivo offers server SDKs in seven languages: Python, Node.js, .NET, Java, Python, Ruby, and Go. For another alternative that lets you evaluate Plivo’s SMS APIs and their request and response structure, use our Postman collections.
How to make an outbound call
Let’s take a look at the process of refactoring the code to migrate your app from Twilio to Plivo to set up a simple Java application to make an outbound call by changing just a few lines of code.
Alternatively, you can implement the same functionality using one of our PHLO templates. For example, if you want to make an outbound call, your PHLO would be this:
How to receive an incoming call
You can migrate an application for receiving and handling an incoming call from Twilio to Plivo just as seamlessly, as in this example:
Here again, you can implement the same functionality using one of our PHLO templates. Your PHLO would look like:
For more information about migrating your Voice applications to Plivo, check out our detailed use case guides, available for all seven programming languages and PHLO.
How to forward an incoming call
You can migrate an application for forwarding an incoming call from Twilio to Plivo just as seamlessly, as in this example:
Here again, you can implement the same functionality using one of our PHLO templates. Your PHLO would look like:
For more information about migrating your Voice applications to Plivo, check out our detailed use case guides, available for all seven programming languages and PHLO.
More use cases
You can migrate your applications serving other use cases too.
- IVR
- Voice-controlled virtual assistant
- Number masking
- Supervisor coaching
- PINless conference
- Conference with PIN
- Voicemail
- Voice alerts broadcasting
- Voice survey
- Dial status reporting
- Screen incoming calls
- Record a call
Simple and reliable
And that’s all there is to migrate your Java voice app from Twilio to Plivo. Our simple APIs work in tandem with our Premium Communications Network. See for yourself — sign up for a free trial account.
How to Migrate Your Java SMS Application from Twilio to Plivo
Plivo's SMS API and Voice API enables businesses to communicate with their customers at global scale. Sign up for free now.
Migrating your Java SMS app from Twilio to Plivo is a seamless and painless process. The two companies’ API structures, implementation mechanisms, XML structure, SMS message processing, and voice call processing are similar. We wrote this technical comparison so that you can scope between Twilio and Plivo APIs for a seamless migration.
Understanding the differences between Twilio and Plivo development
Most of the APIs and features that are available on Twilio are also available on Plivo and the implementation mechanism is easier as the steps involved are almost identical. This table gives a side-side comparison of the two companies’ features and APIs. An added advantage with Plivo is that not only can you code using the old familiar API/XML method, you can also implement your use cases using PHLO (Plivo High Level Objects), a visual workflow builder that lets you create workflows by dragging and dropping components onto a canvas — no coding required.
Plivo offers one unique advantage: Not only can you code using APIs and XML, you can also implement your use cases using PHLO (Plivo High Level Objects), a visual workflow builder that lets you create workflows by dragging and dropping components onto a canvas — no coding required.
Plivo account creation
Start by signing up for a free trial account that you can use to experiment with and learn about our services. The free trial account comes with free credits, and you can add more as you go along. You can also add a phone number to your account to start testing the full range of our voice and SMS features. A page in our support portal walks you through the signup process.
You can also port your numbers from Twilio to Plivo, as we explain in this guide.
Migrating your Java SMS application
You can migrate your existing application from Twilio to Plivo by refactoring the code, or you can try our intuitive visual workflow builder PHLO. To continue working with the APIs, use one of the quickstart guides to set up a development environment for your preferred language. Plivo offers server SDKs in seven languages: Python, Node.js, .NET, Java, Python, Ruby, and Go. For another alternative that lets you evaluate Plivo’s SMS APIs and their request and response structure, use our Postman collections.
How to send an SMS message
Let’s take a look at the process of refactoring the code to migrate your app from Twilio to Plivo to set up a simple Java application to send an SMS message by changing just a few lines of code.
Alternatively, you can implement the same functionality using one of our PHLO templates. For example, if you want to send an SMS message, your PHLO would be this:
How to receive and reply to SMS
You can migrate an application for receiving and replying to an incoming SMS from Twilio to Plivo just as seamlessly, as in this example:
Here again, you can implement the same functionality using one of our PHLO templates. Your PHLO would look like:
For more information about migrating your SMS applications to Plivo, check out our detailed use case guides, available for all seven programming languages and PHLO.
How to send an MMS message
Let’s take a look at the process of refactoring the code to migrate your app from Twilio to Plivo to set up a simple Java application to send an MMS message by changing just a few lines of code.
Alternatively, you can implement the same functionality using one of our PHLO templates. For example, if you want to send an MMS message, your PHLO would be this:
More use cases
You can migrate your applications serving other use cases too.
- Two-factor authentication
- Forward incoming SMS
- Delivery reports
- SMS alerts
- SMS marketing
- SMS notifications
- SMS survey
- SMS autoresponder
- Forward SMS to email
- Receive MMS
Simple and reliable
And that’s all there is to migrate your Java SMS application from Twilio to Plivo. Our simple APIs work in tandem with our Premium Communications Network to guarantee the highest possible delivery rates and the shortest possible delivery times for your SMS messages. See for yourself — sign up for a free trial account.
It’s easy to get started. Sign up for free.
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