How to Set Up SMS Automation in GoHighLevel (Complete 2026 Guide)

Why SMS automation outperforms email for service businesses

Email open rates for business communication average 20 to 30 percent. SMS open rates consistently measure above 95 percent with most messages read within 3 minutes of delivery. For time-sensitive business communication like missed call responses, appointment reminders and estimate follow-up, the difference in open rate translates directly into revenue.

The response rate gap is even larger. A typical business email follow-up gets a 2 to 5 percent reply rate. The same message sent as an SMS gets 20 to 45 percent. This is not because people like SMS more than email. It is because SMS interrupts attention in a way that email sitting in an inbox does not. For a contractor whose estimate follow-up currently converts at 15 percent, switching from email-only to SMS-first follow-up can push that to 25 to 30 percent with no other changes.

Step 1: Set up your GHL phone number

In GoHighLevel, navigate to Settings, then Phone Numbers, then click Add Number. You can search for a local number by area code. Choose a local number rather than a toll-free number for service businesses. Local numbers have higher answer rates for calls and higher response rates for SMS because people recognise the area code as local.

Once you select a number, it is assigned to your sub-account and appears in the phone numbers list. This is the number all outbound SMS will come from and all inbound SMS and calls will route to. If you want to forward inbound calls to your actual business line, configure call forwarding in the phone number settings.

Test the number immediately. Call it from your personal phone. Confirm it forwards correctly. Send yourself a test SMS from within GHL's conversations tab. Confirm it arrives. This 5-minute test prevents the frustration of building workflows on a misconfigured number.

Step 2: Connect Twilio

GoHighLevel uses Twilio as its SMS carrier. For most sub-accounts, Twilio is connected automatically when you add a phone number and GHL handles the Twilio relationship on your behalf. You should not need to create a separate Twilio account.

If you are on an agency account and want more control over SMS costs or want to use your own Twilio account for client sub-accounts, you can connect a dedicated Twilio account under Agency Settings, then Twilio Integration. This is an advanced setup that makes sense for agencies sending high SMS volumes but is unnecessary for most single-location businesses.

Check your SMS credits under Settings, then Billing. GHL includes a monthly credit allocation with each plan. Review your usage after the first month to understand whether your usage stays within the allocation or requires top-up credits.

Step 3: Build your first SMS workflow

The best first SMS workflow to build is the missed call text-back. It has the fastest setup, the clearest ROI and requires no ongoing management after it is published. Go to Automation, then Workflows, then Create Workflow. Start from Scratch. Name it "Missed Call Text-Back."

Add the trigger: Missed Call. Leave filters empty to catch all missed calls. Add the action: Send SMS. Write your message. Set delay to zero. Enable re-enrollment in the trigger settings so the workflow fires on every missed call, not just the first one from each contact. Publish the workflow. Done.

Call your GHL number from your personal phone. Do not answer it. Within 60 to 90 seconds you should receive the test SMS. If you do not receive it, check: the workflow is published not draft, the phone number is correctly connected and the trigger filter is not accidentally excluding your test call.

See our dedicated missed call text-back guide for the full setup with trade-specific templates.

Step 4: Write messages that get replies

The quality of your SMS message text directly determines your reply rate. A few principles that consistently improve performance:

Keep it under 160 characters. This fits in a single SMS segment. Messages over 160 characters split into multiple segments which look fragmented on some phones and cost twice as much to send.

Use the recipient's first name. The GHL token {{contact.first_name}} inserts the contact's first name automatically. Messages addressed to a person by name convert at measurably higher rates than generic messages.

Ask one question. Messages that ask a single clear question get replies. Messages that include multiple questions or multiple pieces of information get read and ignored. "What can we help you with?" is better than "Please let us know what service you need and we will get back to you as soon as possible with our availability."

Sound like a person. The fastest way to kill SMS response rates is to write something that sounds like an automated system. "Hi [NAME], your request has been received and will be processed within 1 business day" sounds like a robot. "Hi [NAME], sorry I missed your call. What do you need help with?" sounds like a person. Write every SMS in the first person and read it aloud before saving it.

Step 5: Set timing and business hours

In Workflow Settings, find the Allow Workflow to Run During Business Hours toggle. Turn it on and set your business hours. This prevents automated messages going out at 2am or on Sunday morning when nobody expects to hear from a business.

The missed call text-back is the one exception worth considering. For trades like plumbing or HVAC where emergency calls happen at any hour, keeping the missed call text-back running 24/7 makes sense. A burst pipe at midnight still deserves a 60-second response. For all other sequences, business hours filtering is the right default.

For follow-up sequences, think carefully about the optimal send time for your specific audience. Contractors tend to respond to SMS between 7am and 9am before the work day starts. Office-based professionals respond better between 10am and 12pm. Homeowners are most responsive in the early evening between 6pm and 8pm. Test different send times and check your reply rates in GHL's reporting.

Step 6: Stay compliant with TCPA

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act requires that businesses obtain explicit consent before sending automated text messages to a phone number. This means your lead capture forms need a clear consent checkbox: "By checking this box, I agree to receive automated text messages from [Business Name] at the number provided. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out."

GoHighLevel automatically handles STOP and HELP responses at the carrier level. When a contact replies STOP, GHL marks them as opted out and stops all automated messages to that number. You cannot and should not override this.

Do not send promotional SMS to contacts imported from old lists who have not explicitly opted in through a GHL form. If you import existing customers and want to text them, send a single opt-in request first: "Hi {{contact.first_name}}, this is [Business Name]. Reply YES to receive helpful updates and offers by text." Only add contacts who reply YES to your automated SMS sequences.

Advanced SMS tactics

Two-way conversation triggers. When a contact replies to an automated SMS, their reply appears in GHL's unified inbox. You can also build workflows that trigger based on specific replies. If someone replies "yes" or "interested," a workflow can immediately notify your team and move the contact to the next pipeline stage.

MMS for visual impact. GoHighLevel supports MMS (picture messages). For service businesses, sending a photo of a recently completed job alongside a review request or an estimate follow-up can increase response rates. A photo of a finished roof repair sent with "Hi {{contact.first_name}}, just wanted to show you how the roof turned out. Happy with it?" is more engaging than a text-only message.

Voicemail drops alongside SMS. GHL's ringless voicemail feature sends a pre-recorded audio message directly to a contact's voicemail without ringing their phone. Combining an SMS and a voicemail drop in the same workflow creates a multi-channel touchpoint that stands out from SMS-only sequences. This is particularly effective for estimate follow-up on high-value jobs where additional touchpoints justify the added attention.

See our full workflows tutorial for how to combine SMS with other channels in a single automated sequence.