Text the caller: WhatsApp and SMS from a call

A phone call is a bad place to read out a link. This guide sets up two agents that do the sensible thing instead: they say what the customer needs, then send it — on WhatsApp or as an SMS — and tell the customer it’s on its way. Both come ready-made. In Agents, choose Start from a pre-built agent and pick Insurance advisor or Loan enquiries. Their instructions already cover when to offer a message, to ask first, and to say it was sent only after it was.

An agent sends messages in two ways, and these examples use both. During the call, it sends a message when the customer asks for something. After the call, it sends one more, the same message every time, for the calls you choose. See Actions and After the call.

What the agent can and can’t send

It can send only templates you prepared, with the blanks filled in. It never writes its own words into a WhatsApp or an SMS. That is a platform rule on WhatsApp, and a regulator’s rule (DLT) for SMS in India, so the messages you see below are exactly what you approved.

	WhatsApp	SMS
What it is	An approved Utility template	A DLT-approved template, sent through your own provider
Goes to	The number the customer called from	The same number, Indian mobiles only
Costs	Charged like any WhatsApp template	Billed by your SMS provider, not from your wallet here

Example 1: an insurance line that sends a renewal link on WhatsApp

The template

On Templates, create a Utility template and get it approved:

Name: renewal_link

Hi {{1}}, here is the link to renew your {{2}} policy. Please keep your policy
number handy. Reply here if you need help.

Give it a link button to your renewal page, with a fixed address (a button address with a blank in it can’t be filled by an agent). Then open the approved template and tick Agents may send this during a call or chat.

The agent

Start from Insurance advisor, then on its Actions page switch on Send the customer a WhatsApp.

What the call sounds like

Agent    Shield Insurance — how can I help?
Caller   Mera health policy renew karna hai.
Agent    Of course. Can I have your policy number, or the registered mobile number?
Caller   Registered number is nine eight seven six…
Agent    Thank you. And the date of birth on the policy?
Caller   Twelve March, nineteen eighty-four.
Agent    That matches. Your renewal is due on the twentieth. Shall I send the
         renewal link on WhatsApp?
Caller   Haan, bhej do.
         → the agent sends "renewal_link" with {{1}} = Rahul, {{2}} = health
Agent    Done — it's on WhatsApp now. Anything else?

What the customer receives on WhatsApp:

Hi Rahul, here is the link to renew your health policy. Please keep your policy number handy. Reply here if you need help. [ Renew now ]

Two things worth noticing. The agent asked first and sent only after a clear yes. And it said “on WhatsApp now” only after the send succeeded. If the send fails, the agent says so and offers to have a colleague send it, instead of pretending.

And after the call

Add a second message that goes out after every answered call. In the After the call card on the agent’s Actions page:

Send after: Calls somebody answered
WhatsApp template: a Utility template such as thanks_for_calling:

Name: thanks_for_calling

Hi {{1}}, thanks for calling {{2}} on {{3}}. Your request is noted — reply here
and we will help you further.

Blanks: Customer’s first name, Business name, Date of the call

An after-call template needs no tick. You choose it, so it’s sent only to the people and calls you set.

Example 2: a loan line that sends a documents list by SMS

Set up SMS first

SMS in India needs a registered sender ID and templates, and your own provider. See SMS for each step and the provider list, including the PE–TM chain step that, if skipped, gets every message dropped. On the SMS page, add a template exactly as your DLT portal approved it:

Name: loan_documents — Category: Service (implicit)

Dear {#var#}, thank you for contacting Sunrise Finance. Your documents list and
apply link: {#var#}

The second blank holds at most 30 characters, so use a short link like sunrise.in/apply. Tick Agent may send this during a call or chat, then send a test to your own mobile to check the provider, sender ID and DLT ids work together.

The agent

Start from Loan enquiries, then on its Actions page switch on Send the customer an SMS.

What the call sounds like

Agent    Sunrise Finance — how can I help?
Caller   I want to know about a personal loan.
Agent    Happy to help. May I take your name?
Caller   Priya Nair.
Agent    Thanks, Priya. How much are you looking for?
Caller   Around three lakh.
Agent    Got it — three lakh. Are you salaried or self-employed?
Caller   Salaried.
Agent    Thank you. The lender confirms the rate after checking your documents.
         Shall I text you the documents list and the apply link?
Caller   Yes please.
         → the agent sends "loan_documents" with {#var#} = Priya, sunrise.in/apply
Agent    Sent to your mobile. A colleague can call you back today — what time suits?

What Priya receives:

Dear Priya, thank you for contacting Sunrise Finance. Your documents list and apply link: sunrise.in/apply

Notice what the agent didn’t do: it didn’t promise approval, quote a rate it wasn’t given, or ask for a PAN or Aadhaar number on the call. Those rules are in the prebuilt agent’s instructions.

And after the call

Send every caller one more message, in both channels. In After the call, choose Every call, a WhatsApp Utility template and an SMS template. For example the WhatsApp one:

Name: enquiry_noted

Hi {{1}}, thanks for contacting {{2}}. Your enquiry is noted and a colleague will
call you back. Reply here if anything changes.

and the SMS one (DLT-approved):

Name: callback_noted

Dear {#var#}, your enquiry with {#var#} is noted. A colleague will call you back.

Both blanks are filled from Customer’s first name and Business name. The same caller gets at most one of each a day, even if they ring three times, and nobody on your do-not-contact list gets either.

Checklist before going live

Connect what you'll send through

WhatsApp connected, and for SMS your provider with a passing test.

Get the templates approved

WhatsApp templates approved as Utility; SMS templates approved on DLT.

Tick the ones the agent may use mid-call

On the WhatsApp template and the SMS template. After-call templates don’t need a tick.

Switch the tools on, per agent

Send the customer a WhatsApp and Send the customer an SMS, on the agent’s Actions page. They start off.

Call it yourself first

From your own phone. Check what arrives, that it arrives once, and that the agent says it was sent only after it was.

If it didn’t send

What you see	Usually means
The tool says not ready on the Actions page	Nothing is ticked, the provider isn’t connected, or the only ticked templates have a link blank
The agent offers to send, then says it couldn’t	An unapproved template, an SMS your provider refused, or a number it can’t use. The agent tells the customer plainly and offers another way. Try it in a test call to hear which
A web call sent nothing	A call with no phone number has nowhere to send to. The agent says so
No after-call message	The call didn’t match Send after, the number was on the do-not-contact list, or it already got one in the last 24 hours
SMS refused by the provider	The text here differs from the DLT template, or your provider isn’t in your PE–TM chain. See SMS

From the API

Everything here is also in the API:

# Allow an agent to send a WhatsApp template in a call (needs a full key)
curl -X PATCH https://app.thinnest.ai/api/v1/templates/renewal_link \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "agentMaySend": true }'

# Allow an agent to send an SMS template in a call
curl -X PATCH https://app.thinnest.ai/api/v1/sms/templates/$TEMPLATE_ID \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "agentMaySend": true }'

Guides

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Build on the API

Text the caller: WhatsApp and SMS from a call

What the agent can and can’t send

Example 1: an insurance line that sends a renewal link on WhatsApp

The template

The agent

What the call sounds like

And after the call

Example 2: a loan line that sends a documents list by SMS

Set up SMS first

The agent

What the call sounds like

And after the call

Checklist before going live

If it didn’t send

From the API

​What the agent can and can’t send

​Example 1: an insurance line that sends a renewal link on WhatsApp

​The template

​The agent

​What the call sounds like

​And after the call

​Example 2: a loan line that sends a documents list by SMS

​Set up SMS first

​The agent

​What the call sounds like

​And after the call

​Checklist before going live

​If it didn’t send

​From the API

What the agent can and can’t send

Example 1: an insurance line that sends a renewal link on WhatsApp

The template

The agent

What the call sounds like

And after the call

Example 2: a loan line that sends a documents list by SMS

Set up SMS first

The agent

What the call sounds like

And after the call

Checklist before going live

If it didn’t send

From the API