> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.aisync.link/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Texting Lines & Reply Routing

> Which number every text goes out from, and which rep gets the reply. Set it up once, test it in two minutes.

Calls and texts follow different rules on purpose.

* **Calls rotate.** Your caller ID changes from dial to dial to protect your
  answer rate. See [Caller ID and numbers](/dialer/caller-id-and-numbers).
* **Texts never rotate.** Each lead is texted from **one number**, and the reply
  goes to **the rep who owns that conversation**.

If texts followed the calling number, a lead would get every message from a
different number and their replies would scatter. A texting line prevents that.

```mermaid theme={null}
graph LR
    A[💬 Rep, automation or AI assistant<br/>sends a text] --> B[📱 The lead's texting line]
    B --> C[Lead replies to that same number]
    C --> D[👤 The rep who owns the conversation<br/>gets it live in their Inbox]
```

***

## 🧩 What counts as a texting line

A texting line is either:

* **A Beam number.** Every active number in your connected Beam workspace. See
  [Connect Beam](/dialer/beam).
* **A Twilio number** connected to AI Sync that shows **A2P linked** on the
  Phone Numbers page and isn't assigned to an AI agent. Carriers block texts
  from unregistered numbers. See [10DLC](/setup/10dlc/brand).

There are two kinds:

| Kind | How you make one | Who texts from it |
| - | - | - |
| **A rep's own line** | Beam: pick the rep on the Beam page. Twilio: Phone Numbers → the number → **Set inbound routing → Route to a User** | That rep |
| **Team line** | A Beam or A2P-linked Twilio number not given to anyone | Any rep who has no line of their own |

<Tip>
  **The simplest good setup:** one A2P-linked number per rep, each routed to that
  rep. Leads save a real person's number, and every reply lands with the right
  rep.

  **The cheapest setup:** a single A2P-linked number left unrouted. Everyone texts
  from that team line, and replies still reach the right rep (see
  [Where replies go](#-where-replies-go)).
</Tip>

If a rep has several lines, Beam comes first, then the first Twilio number
you added. Among team lines: Beam's default number, then other Beam numbers,
then Twilio numbers in the order you added them.

***

## 📤 Which number a text goes out from

Every way of texting uses the same rule: the dialer's Text tab, **Text them**,
the Inbox, the Messages page, automations, workflows and AI assistants.

<Steps>
  <Step title="The number you picked">
    If you choose a number in the **From** menu, that number is used. Reps can pick
    their own line or a team line, never a colleague's line.
  </Step>

  <Step title="The number this lead was last texted from">
    Once a lead has been texted, they keep that number. This is what stops a lead
    getting messages from a new number every time.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Your own line">
    For a lead nobody has texted yet, it's the line routed to you. For an
    automation, "you" is the rep who saved the disposition.
  </Step>

  <Step title="A team line">
    If you have no line of your own.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Nothing, with a clear message">
    If none of these exist, the text isn't sent and you see **"No texting line set
    up."** AI Sync never picks a random number.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Warning>
  **When a lead changes hands, their number doesn't move with them.** Texts keep
  going from the first rep's line, and replies keep going to that rep. To take a
  lead over, pick **your** line in the From menu once. From then on your line is
  that lead's number, and replies come to you.
</Warning>

### Workflows and automations

In a workflow's **Send SMS** step:

| From setting | What it does |
| - | - |
| **Same as dial** | The lead's texting line, using the rule above (the default). It no longer means "the number that last called them". |
| **Assigned User Numbers** | The same rule |
| **A specific number** | That number. If it isn't A2P linked, a linked number with the lead's area code is used, then any linked number. |

[Dialer Automations](/dialer/automations) use the texting line automatically.

***

## 📥 Where replies go

When a lead replies, AI Sync picks one rep, in this order:

<Steps>
  <Step title="The owner of the number they replied to">
    If they replied to a rep's own line, it goes to that rep.
  </Step>

  <Step title="The last rep who texted or called them">
    Covers team lines. The rep who was talking to this lead gets the reply.
  </Step>

  <Step title="The lead's assigned rep">
    If nobody has contacted them from AI Sync yet.
  </Step>

  <Step title="The account owner">
    The safety net, so a reply is never dropped.
  </Step>
</Steps>

That rep sees the reply **live in the dialer's [Inbox](/dialer/inbox)** with an
unread dot and a count on the Inbox tab, plus a notification. The whole
company's replies are also in the **Messages** page.

***

## ✅ Make sure replies actually reach AI Sync

A text can go out perfectly while the reply goes somewhere else. The number's
own reply setting decides where replies land.

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Numbers added on the Phone Numbers page" icon="circle-check">
    Set automatically. When you import a Twilio number there, AI Sync points its
    calls and replies at itself.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Numbers inside a Twilio Messaging Service" icon="triangle-exclamation">
    A Messaging Service's own setting **overrides** the number's. If it sends
    replies to a webhook of its own, AI Sync never sees them.

    In Twilio: **Messaging → Services → your service → Integration → Incoming
    Messages**, choose **Defer to sender's webhook**, and save.

    <Warning>
      If GoHighLevel also uses that Messaging Service, changing this setting changes
      where GoHighLevel gets its replies. Talk to support before you change it, and
      we'll set it up so both keep working.
    </Warning>
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Numbers brought in during onboarding" icon="circle-question">
    Don't assume these were pointed at AI Sync. Run the two-minute test below. If
    the reply doesn't show up, ask support to check the number's reply routing.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

***

## 🧪 Two-minute test (do this for every new client)

<Steps>
  <Step title="Text your own phone">
    In the dialer, open a contact with **your** mobile number and send a text from
    the Text tab. Check the **From** line shows the number you expect.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Reply from your phone">
    Reply with anything.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Watch the Inbox">
    Within seconds, the reply appears in the dialer's **Inbox** against that
    contact, with an unread dot, for the rep you expect.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Text again">
    Send a second text. It must go from the **same** number as the first.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Info>
  **Passed?** Texting is set up correctly for that number. **No reply after a
  minute?** See the Messaging Service accordion above, then contact support.
</Info>

***

## 🔧 Customize it

| You want | Do this |
| - | - |
| Each rep texts from their own number | Give each rep a Beam number on the Beam page, or route an A2P-linked Twilio number to them |
| Everyone texts from one company number | Leave one A2P-linked number unrouted |
| A rep takes over a lead | They pick their own line in **From** once |
| An automation always uses one number | Set that number in the workflow's Send SMS step |
| A number stays for an AI agent only | Assign it to the agent; it's never used as a texting line |
| Check what a lead will be texted from | Open the contact's Text tab and read **From**, or ask your AI assistant |

Setting this up with Claude, ChatGPT or Codex instead? See
[Texting & Inbox with your AI assistant](/agents/texting-and-inbox).

***

## 🧯 If something is off

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="&#x22;No texting line set up&#x22;">
    There's no Beam number and no A2P-linked Twilio number that isn't used by an
    AI agent. [Connect Beam](/dialer/beam), or link a number to your 10DLC
    campaign on the Phone Numbers page.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Texts go from a number I didn't expect">
    That lead was texted from it before, and leads keep their number. Pick the
    number you want in **From** once.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="A reply went to the wrong rep">
    Replies to a rep's own line always go to that rep. Check which number the lead
    replied to, and who that number is routed to on the Phone Numbers page.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Texts say sent but never arrive">
    Almost always 10DLC. Confirm the brand and campaign are **approved**, not just
    submitted, and the number shows **A2P linked**.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Replies never show up anywhere">
    The number or its Messaging Service sends replies somewhere else. See
    [Make sure replies actually reach AI Sync](#-make-sure-replies-actually-reach-ai-sync).
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>