## Twilio SMS

Twilio SMS enables you to send and receive SMS through APIs. This cloud communication platform enables businesses to integrate SMS and other communication channels into their applications. Additionally, it supports two-way communication and push notifications to actively engage users.

## Prerequisites to setup Twilio SMS

* Register an account on [Twilio console](https://console.twilio.com/).
* Copy the **Account SID**, **Auth token**, and **Phone number** for connecting your bot with Twilio SMS.

## Setting up Twilio SMS

To set up Twilio SMS, you need to perform the following:

* [Connect Twilio number to Yellow.ai](#Connect)
* [Setup a bot](https://docs.yellow.ai/docs/platform_concepts/Getting%20Started/account-setup#create-your-first-bot) on Yellow.ai platform based on your use case.
* [Test Twilio SMS](#test)

### Setup Twilio SMS account

To set up a Twilio SMS account, you need to sign up for the [Twilio console](https://console.twilio.com/).

1. Log in to the [Twilio console](https://console.twilio.com/).

<img src="https://i.imgur.com/jeMFZvr.png" alt="drawing" width="60%"/>

* This will redirect you to the Twilio home page.


2. In the left navigation bar, select **Phone Numbers** > **Manage** > **Active Numbers**.


3. Click on **Active phone number**.


4. Click **Configure** and navigate to **Messaging Configuration**.


5. Under Messaging, you need to configure following:

i. In **Configure with**, select *Webhooks*.


ii. In the **A Message comes in** section, select *Webhooks*, in **URL** add the Webhook URL provided by Yellow.ai (contact [e-mail]), and in **HTTP** choose *HTTP POST** method.


iii. Click **Save configuration**.

5. Go back to Twilio console, and copy the **Account SID**, **Auth token**, and **Phone number**.


## Connect Twilio SMS to your bot

To connect a Twilio SMS to your bot, follow these steps:

1. Log on to `https://cloud.yellow.ai` and navigate to **Overview > Channels > Messaging > Twilio SMS**.


2. Enter the **Account SID**, **Auth token**, and **Phone number** that you have copied from the Twilio console (see step 6 in the "Setup Twilio SMS" section).


3. Click **Save**.
This will connect you to the Twilio SMS.

## Setup your bot

Before you start testing your bot, setup your bot with intents to automatically respond to user messages within your inbox, as explained below.

* **Define bot's purpose and scope**: First, understand the scope and purpose of your bot (use case). Clearly outline what types of questions or requests the bot should handle based on your intended use case.
* **[Create Intents](https://docs.yellow.ai/docs/platform_concepts/studio/train/intents)**: Include the intents for common questions or requests. Add the utterances to each intent and train them to trigger the respective flow.
* **[Create flows](https://docs.yellow.ai/docs/platform_concepts/studio/build/Flows/journeys)**: Design customized conversation flows to manage responses to your FB posts. You can incorporate text, images, videos, and file prompts within the flow. While quick replies are supported, they will be displayed as plain text in the bot's responses.

Once you set up the bot, verify whether the bot effectively handles and responds to user messages according to the defined expectations.

## Test Twilio SMS

After successfully configuring Twilio SMS, you can test the chatbot.

To test your Twilio SMS chatbot, follow these steps:

1. Copy the phone number from the [Twilio console](https://console.twilio.com/) and save it to your contact list

<center><img src="https://i.imgur.com/lUBBjOJ.png" alt="drawing" width="50%"/></center>

3. Send a message to the saved number to initiate the conversation.