Automate lead follow-up with AI SMS sequences

Let your AI agent automatically follow up with unresponsive leads via SMS, sending personalized messages based on configurable triggers and timing.

AI SMS Follow-up automatically re-engages leads who have gone silent. Instead of manually checking which contacts haven’t responded, the AI sends personalized follow-up messages on a schedule you define. If the lead replies and has an Active Tag, the AI seamlessly continues the conversation — qualifying, answering questions, and booking appointments without any human intervention.

How AI SMS Follow-up works

1. A trigger condition is met (no response after X hours, form submitted, missed appointment, etc.)
2. The workflow sends a personalized AI-generated SMS to the contact
3. If the contact replies and has an Active Tag, the AI agent continues the conversation
4. If there is still no response, additional follow-up messages are sent based on your sequence timing
5. Contacts can be automatically removed from the follow-up when they respond, book an appointment, or meet another condition

Set up AI SMS Follow-up

1. Create a new workflow

   Navigate to Automation → Workflows and click Create Workflow. Name it something clear like “AI SMS Follow-up — No Response.”

2. Choose your trigger

   Select the event that starts the follow-up sequence. Common triggers include:

   • No response after X time — contact hasn’t replied within a set period (e.g., 24 hours, 48 hours)
   • Form submission — contact submitted an inquiry form but hasn’t engaged further
   • Missed appointment — contact no-showed a scheduled call or meeting
   • Pipeline stage change — contact moved to a stage that requires follow-up (e.g., “Interested — No Reply”)
   • Tag applied — a specific tag is added to the contact (e.g., needs_followup)
3. Add the Active Tag

   Add an action step to apply the SMS Active Tag (e.g., smschat_ai) to the contact. This ensures the AI agent will respond when the lead replies.

4. Add the SMS follow-up action

   Add a Send SMS or AI Send Message action step. Write a personalized follow-up message or let the AI compose one based on the contact’s context and conversation history.

5. Add wait steps for sequencing

   Insert Wait steps between follow-up messages to space them out. A typical sequence might look like:

   • Day 1: Initial follow-up
   • Day 3: Second follow-up
   • Day 7: Final follow-up
6. Add exit conditions

   Configure conditions that remove the contact from the sequence — for example, when they reply, book an appointment, or reach a certain pipeline stage. Use a Remove Tag action to stop AI responses if needed.

Follow-up message examples

Write follow-up messages that feel personal and provide value. Here are effective templates:

• Day 1: “Hi {{contact.first_name}}, just following up on your inquiry about {{service}}. Do you have any questions I can help with?”
• Day 3: “Hey {{contact.first_name}}, wanted to make sure you saw my last message. We have availability this week if you’d like to schedule a quick call.”
• Day 7: “Hi {{contact.first_name}}, I don’t want to be a bother — just checking one last time. Would you like to chat about {{service}}, or should I check back another time?”

Managing contacts in follow-up sequences

Use workflow actions to control which contacts are in active follow-up:

• Add to follow-up — apply the trigger tag or move the contact to the trigger pipeline stage
• Remove from follow-up — remove the Active Tag, apply a “responded” tag, or move the contact to a different pipeline stage
• Pause follow-up — use the “AI OFF” toggle in the conversation view for temporary manual control