Let your AI agent answer texts (Business AI Texting)
Business AI Texting lets your AI agent write back to texts your business number receives — grounded only in your knowledge base, in your team's voice, 24/7. It hands a conversation to your team the moment it needs a person, and anyone on your team can take over any conversation with one click.
Before you start
- You need the web app and admin access. (Your team can see the AI's replies and take over conversations on mobile too.)
- Your agent should have a knowledge base with the answers you want it to give — see Build your knowledge base. With no knowledge, the AI only acknowledges and hands off; it never invents hours, prices or policies.
- Texting must be live on your workspace: your business text registration is approved, or you use a toll-free number. You can set everything up before that — the AI starts answering automatically the moment texting is live. See Texting during the free trial.
- Each reply uses AI credits (see What it costs below).
How the three switches work
AI texting has three independent switches, so you can be as precise as you like:
| Switch | Where | What it controls |
|---|---|---|
| AI texting on the agent | AI agent → AI texting card | Whether this agent may answer texts at all |
| A number linked to the agent | AI agent → AI texting → Lines, or Settings → Numbers → How texts answer | Which business numbers this agent answers texts on. Independent of who answers calls — a line can ring your team for calls and still let the AI answer its texts |
| I'll take it from here on a conversation | Inbox → the conversation | Pauses the AI in that one conversation so you can reply yourself. Everything else keeps working |
All three must be "on" for a text to be answered. The status pill on the card tells you where you are: Live (answering), Waiting (on, but something is missing — the card says what), or Off.
Step-by-step: turn it on
Click the AI agent icon in the left sidebar. If you run several agents, pick the one that should answer texts under Your AI agents.
Scroll to the AI texting card and flip the AI texting switch on. It saves immediately — no publish needed.
Under Lines, flip on each business number this agent should answer texts on. The toast confirms "+1 (…) now texts with Astra". If a number already texts with another agent, turning it on here moves it.
Make sure the agent itself is on (the Live/Off badge next to its title). AI texting waits while the agent is off — the card shows a banner with a Turn agent on button if that's the case.
Send your business number a test text from your phone. The reply appears in the Inbox marked ✦ so your team knows the AI sent it.
You can also link a number from Settings → Numbers: open the number's cube and, under How texts answer, pick the agent (or Off).
Step-by-step: take over a conversation
- Open the conversation in the Inbox.
- Click I'll take it from here (the AI replies on pill in the header on desktop; the strip above the composer on mobile).
- Reply as usual. The AI stays quiet in this conversation — even if the customer texts again next week — until you click Hand back to Astra.
When the AI hands a conversation off on its own (a refund request, a complaint, "can I talk to a person?", or a question the knowledge doesn't cover), the conversation shows Astra handed this one to you. That's your cue to look.
What the AI will and won't do
- Answers only from your knowledge. Hours, prices, services, policies, addresses, availability — if it's not in an article the texting AI may read, the AI says your team will confirm and hands off. To control which articles it reads, see Choose which AI uses an article.
- Matches your voice. It learns from the replies your team has already sent and from the agent's tone setting.
- Never pretends to be human. Asked if it's a bot, it says it's your business's AI assistant and offers to bring in a teammate.
- Never asks for card numbers, IDs, passwords or codes, and never promises a booking, payment or callback time unless your knowledge says exactly how that works.
- Hands off on refunds, cancellations, disputes, complaints, legal, medical or safety topics, and whenever someone asks for a person.
- Stays out of the way of carrier keywords (STOP, START, HELP, YES…), of a teammate who already replied, and of a conversation you took over.
- Won't loop. At most 20 AI replies per conversation per hour, and exactly one reply per incoming text.
What it costs
Each reply uses 30 AI credits per text segment, from the same credits as Astra's calls. A one- or two-sentence reply is usually one segment (30 credits); a longer one can be two (60). Only replies that are actually sent are charged — skipped texts and hand-offs without a reply cost nothing. The Recent activity list on the card shows every reply with its segments and credits, and the Usage tab lists each AI text. See Astra credits and usage.
Turning it off
- For one conversation: I'll take it from here in the Inbox.
- For one number: flip the line off under Lines, or set How texts answer to Off in Settings → Numbers. Texts to that number go to your team only.
- For the agent: flip the AI texting switch off. Linked numbers stay linked and resume when you turn it back on — the toast reminds you.
- Turning the whole agent off while numbers are still connected to it (for calls or texts) opens a short dialog: Turn off and disconnect the numbers, or Turn off, keep numbers linked. Nothing is disconnected silently.
Troubleshooting
- The pill says Waiting. Read the banner under it: no number is linked → flip a line on; the agent is off → click Turn agent on; texting isn't live yet → finish texting setup in Settings → Numbers; the AI starts automatically once it's live.
- A number is linked but AI texting is off. The card shows "Numbers are linked, but AI texting is off" with a Turn on button — until then, those texts go unanswered by the AI.
- The AI answered something wrong. Fix or add the article in your knowledge base; the AI only says what the knowledge says. Check the article's audience includes AI texting.
- The AI didn't reply to a text. Open Recent activity on the card: each skipped text shows why (a teammate replied first, a carrier keyword, out of credits, the conversation is paused…).
- Replies feel too formal / too casual. Adjust the agent's tone in Agent → Voice & tone, and keep sending a few replies yourself — the AI imitates your team's recent replies.
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Frequently asked questions
Where does the AI get its answers from?
Only from your knowledge base — the articles whose audience includes AI texting (or AI texting on that number). If the knowledge doesn't cover a question, the AI says your team will confirm and hands the conversation to you. It never guesses.
Can I jump into a conversation the AI is handling?
Yes. Open the conversation in the Inbox and click I'll take it from here. The AI goes quiet in that conversation only — it keeps answering other texts — until you click Hand back.
What does an AI reply cost?
30 AI credits per text segment, from the same credits as Astra's calls. A one- or two-sentence reply is usually one segment (30 credits). Only replies the AI actually sends are charged.
Does the AI reply to STOP, HELP or other keywords?
No. Carrier keywords like STOP, START, HELP and YES get the standard automatic response and are never answered by the AI.
I turned AI texting on — why is nothing being answered?
Check the status pill on the AI texting card. Waiting means something is missing: no number is linked, the agent itself is off, or texting isn't live on your account yet. The card names the missing piece and offers a one-click fix.