# SMS conversations

## Overview

This guide shows you how to enable SMS conversations with your ElevenLabs agent. After you connect a Twilio phone number, users can send text messages to that number and receive replies from your agent.

## Prerequisites

- A [Twilio account](https://twilio.com/) with a purchased phone number that supports SMS.
- An ElevenLabs agent to handle inbound messages.

:::callout{intent="note"}
Verified caller IDs support outbound calls only. Use a purchased Twilio phone number for inbound SMS. See [Twilio native integration](/guides/elevenagents-phone-numbers-twilio-integration-native-integration#phone-number-types--capabilities).
:::

## Enable SMS

:::::steps
::::step{title="Import your Twilio phone number"}
:::callout{intent="warning"}
Phone numbers you imported before SMS support are not automatically enabled for SMS. To enable SMS, re-import your Twilio number.
:::

Follow the [Twilio native integration](/guides/elevenagents-phone-numbers-twilio-integration-native-integration) guide to import your number and add your Twilio Account SID and Auth Token.
::::

:::step{title="Assign an agent"}
On the [**Phone Numbers**](https://elevenlabs.io/app/agents/phone-numbers) page, open your imported number and assign the agent that should handle inbound SMS.

<img src="../img/site-assets/fdr-prod-docs-files-public.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/elevenlabs.docs.buildwithfern.com/953a870b0ab0c0aa30872b3692260f0879f390d4b4b83c7f82e816385504034f/assets/images/conversational-ai/outbound-button-mx098t.png" alt="Outbound call button">
:::

:::step{title="Test the integration"}
Send a text message to your Twilio number from a mobile device. Your agent should reply over SMS.

<img src="../img/site-assets/fdr-prod-docs-files-public.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/elevenlabs.docs.buildwithfern.com/759839ae9ab62d9a958f9875580e345194c7a4974783904606f254a9f88722cb/assets/images/conversational-ai/agent-sms-native-dnprv5.png" alt="SMS conversation between a user and an ElevenLabs agent">
:::
:::::

:::callout{intent="tip"}
Review conversations in the [Calls History dashboard](https://elevenlabs.io/app/agents/history).
:::

## Related guides

- [Twilio native integration](/guides/elevenagents-phone-numbers-twilio-integration-native-integration) — Import a Twilio number and configure voice calls.
- [SMS OTP verification](/guides/elevenagents-phone-numbers-twilio-integration-sms-otp-verification) — Send and verify one-time passcodes over SMS during a voice call with Twilio Verify.

## Related pages

- [Administration](./administration-index.md)
- [API reference](./api-reference-index.md)
- [Changelog](./changelog-index.md)
- [ElevenAgents](./elevenagents-index.md)
- [ElevenAPI](./elevenapi-index.md)
- [ElevenCreative](./elevencreative-index.md)
- [ElevenLabs Documentation Docs](../index.md)
- [General Troubleshooting FAQ](./troubleshooting-index.md)
- [General Website FAQ](./website-index.md)
- [Help Center](./help-center-2-index.md)

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