How to send text messages with Automations
Use Calendly Automations to automatically send text message reminders to yourself or your invitees. These reminders help reduce no-shows and keep everyone informed before and after meetings.
Before you begin
- Calendly sends text messages through Twilio, a third-party platform.
- Messages come from random U.S. numbers.
- Replies from invitees aren’t delivered or monitored.
- Invitees can choose to receive or stop text messages at any time.
- Some phone carriers, especially outside the U.S., may block these messages. Read Twilio’s support article for more details.
- Each message can include up to 180 characters. A real-time counter helps you stay within the limit.
- If a variable exceeds the character limit, the message will still send without being cut off.
- Calendly shortens invitee answers from booking forms to 40 characters or fewer to reduce message volume.
- New accounts: To help protect against spam and misuse, new accounts have limited access to SMS customization. This restriction is temporary and will be lifted automatically as your account becomes more established. In the meantime, you can select from available built-in templates for your text notifications.
Set limits and follow guidelines
To maintain quality, Calendly limits how many text messages an organization can send.
- Text messages are only available for Group events with 100 or fewer invitees. Use email Automations for larger groups.
- Don’t use URL shorteners like bit.ly—some phone carriers block these links. Use full URLs to make sure your messages are delivered. Learn more in this article.
Include reschedule or cancel links (optional)
By default, SMS reminders don’t include reschedule or cancel links. You can add them by inserting custom variables in your message.
Reschedule link:
https://calendly.com/reschedulings/{{invitee_uuid}}
Cancel link:
https://calendly.com/cancellations/{{invitee_uuid}}
Replace {{invitee_uuid}} with your invitee’s unique ID using Calendly’s variable options.
Which countries can I send SMS messages from?
Stay compliant with Twilio
Calendly follows Twilio’s Acceptable Use Policy. If your messages break these rules, Calendly will turn off your SMS feature.
Don’t send messages about:
- Cannabis
- Gambling
- Firearms
- Other restricted topics
Read Twilio’s Messaging Policy to understand all rules.
SMS opt-in and privacy
Invitees must choose to receive texts before Calendly can send them automated messages. This is required under GDPR and other privacy laws to protect people from unwanted messages.