How to Connect SMS With Your Twilio Account

Summary

Overview: Connect a phone number from your own Twilio account so customers can text your business and Pippin can reply by SMS. Pippify sets up the number's incoming-message link in Twilio for you.

Prerequisites:

• You are signed in as the workspace Admin.
• Your plan includes SMS (Growth plan and up, or the free trial).
• You have at least one Lead Scoring attribute in Settings › AI Studio. The SMS form stays locked until you do.
• You have a Twilio account with a phone number that can send SMS. To get a number, buy one in your Twilio Console. Pippify does not sell phone numbers.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Unlock the SMS card

1. In the sidebar, go to Settings › Channels and click the SMS tile. The SMS card opens below the tiles.
2. If the tile shows Set up lead scoring first and the card says Add at least one Lead Scoring attribute in AI Studio before connecting an SMS channel., click the Lead Scoring attribute link, add or generate an attribute, then come back.
3. For a walkthrough inside the app, click Setup Guide on the card.

Step 2: Copy your Twilio credentials

1. Sign in to your Twilio Console.
2. On the Console home page, find the Account Info panel.
3. Copy the Account SID (it starts with AC) and the Auth Token. Treat the Auth Token like a password.

Step 3: Choose your number

1. On the SMS card, paste the Account SID and the Auth Token.
2. Next to Phone Number, click Fetch. Pippify loads the phone numbers in your Twilio account.
3. Open the Phone Number list and pick the number customers should text.

Step 4: Test and connect

1. Click Test Connection.
2. Wait for "Credentials verified successfully."
3. Click Save & Connect. You don't need to change anything in Twilio.
4. The status on the card and on the SMS tile changes to Connected, and the card shows Twilio, Your account and your number.

Verify It Worked

Success criteria:

• The SMS tile and card show Connected, and the card shows your number.
• Text your Twilio number from your own phone. The message appears in the Inbox, and Pippin replies (or drafts a reply for approval, depending on your automation level).
• The AI voice tile no longer shows Needs SMS, and the AI voice card now offers Enable Voice Answering (on the Scale plan).

Troubleshooting

Common errors

• "Invalid Account SID or Auth Token. Please check your Twilio credentials.": the credentials don't match. Fix: copy both values again from the Twilio Console Account Info panel.
• "Could not connect to Twilio. Please try again.": Twilio didn't answer. Fix: wait a moment and click Test Connection again.
• "No phone numbers found in your Twilio account.": the Twilio account has no number. Fix: buy a number with SMS capability in your Twilio Console, then click Fetch again.
• "Failed to fetch numbers. Check your credentials.": the numbers could not be loaded. Fix: check the Account SID and Auth Token, then click Fetch again.
• "Failed to connect. Please try again.": the connection was refused. Common causes: an SMS number is already connected (disconnect it first), the selected number is no longer in the Twilio account, or your plan doesn't include SMS. Fix: check those, then try again.
• The SMS tile shows Growth plan and the form is faded with SMS is available on the Growth plan and up. and an Upgrade link: your plan doesn't include SMS. Fix: change your plan in Settings › Billing.

Limitations & considerations

• You can connect one SMS number per workspace. To change it, disconnect first: click Disconnect, then Yes, Disconnect. Inbound texts stop until you reconnect.
• Disconnecting SMS also turns off AI voice answering, because voice uses the same number.
• If your plan later drops SMS, the number stays connected and new texts still create leads, but Pippin's SMS replies pause (Pippin's SMS replies are paused on your current plan. Your number stays connected.).
• With the Review every reply automation level, Pippin's SMS replies wait in the Review Queue for approval.
• Twilio trial accounts have Twilio's own limits: they can only text numbers verified in your Twilio Console, and Twilio adds a trial notice to messages. Pippify keeps replies short on a Twilio trial account.

Next Steps & Related Resources

• Next steps:
  • How to Turn On AI Voice Answering
  • How to Connect WhatsApp With Twilio
• Related articles:
  • How to Set Up Lead Scoring
  • Why Didn't Pippin Reply to an SMS?
  • Why Wasn't My SMS Delivered?
  • Why Is a Channel Greyed Out?

Need more help? For more information and assistance, please send an email to support@pippify.ai.

Last Updated: 10/15/2026