Your AI Connector Docs

SMS Provider (Bring Your Own Twilio)

This page controls the Twilio account used for WhatsApp Business API. By default, WhatsApp Business API runs on the platform’s managed Twilio account — you never see Twilio, and you do not sign up for Twilio yourself. If you have connected your own Anthropic key (BYOK), managed-Twilio WhatsApp messages cost 0.05 credits each, inbound and outbound. On every other account those delivery costs are already covered by your AI credit rate, so there is no separate per-message charge. (WhatsApp’s own message pricing changes on 1 October 2026 — see WhatsApp Costs & the October 2026 Change.) This is only relevant if you specifically want WhatsApp Business API to run on your own Twilio account instead.

SMS is always Bring Your Own Twilio. SMS regulation (A2P 10DLC, brand registration, sender ID approval) has to be filed in your own business’s name, so the platform does not offer managed SMS numbers. Wire up SMS separately using the SMS via Twilio card in Settings → Channels (there’s also an Android-phone SMS gateway option). This page — the Twilio Account card — controls the WhatsApp Business API account and does not change your SMS number.

Why would I switch WhatsApp Business API to my own Twilio?

Most users wouldn’t. The managed account is simpler:

  • WhatsApp number rental, template submission, sender registration, and number health are all handled for you. A number rented here costs at least 50 credits a month, and that rent includes the WhatsApp connection — see Phone Numbers.
  • There is no separate Twilio invoice. If you have connected your own Anthropic key (BYOK), managed-Twilio WhatsApp messages cost 0.05 credits each, inbound and outbound. On every other account those delivery costs are already covered by your AI credit rate, so there is no separate per-message charge. See WhatsApp Costs & the October 2026 Change for the WhatsApp pricing change coming on 1 October 2026.
  • Support can help debug delivery issues directly.

You might want to bring your own Twilio if:

  • You already have an established Twilio account with approved WhatsApp templates and warmed-up numbers you want to keep using.
  • Your company has a procurement or compliance reason to pay Twilio directly.
  • You want full visibility into the underlying carrier-level usage and pricing.

Keeping a warmed-up number is a two-step job. Switching the account over (below) only changes which Twilio account we send through. Your existing WhatsApp number does not appear as a channel until you also attach it — see Attaching a WhatsApp number you already have. Do them in that order.

How to Switch

How to get there: Settings → Channels group → Channels, then find the Twilio Account card.

What you see depends on your current setup:

If you’re on the managed account (default)

You’ll see a short explainer and a Manage button on the Twilio Account card. Clicking it opens the Switch to your own Twilio account form, asking for your Twilio Account SID and Auth Token — with the destructive-action warning shown right in the dialog.

Before you confirm, read the warnings carefully — the switch is destructive:

  • All numbers you bought through the platform will be permanently released. If you want to keep using a number, keep it in the managed account (don’t switch), or buy/port it into your own Twilio first.
  • Approved WhatsApp templates won’t transfer. Templates live with the WhatsApp Business Account that owns the sender — you’ll need to re-submit them on your own account and wait for re-approval.
  • Existing chats and message history stay visible, but new replies on released numbers will fail (the number is gone).
  • You can switch back later, but you’d get a fresh managed account with no numbers and no templates — your old ones don’t come back.

Where to find your Account SID and Auth Token: log in to the Twilio Console at console.twilio.com. Both are on the main dashboard, in the “Account Info” panel. The Account SID starts with AC and is 34 characters long.

After you enter both values and confirm, the system:

  1. Validates that the credentials work.
  2. Releases each managed phone number from Twilio.
  3. Closes the managed sub-account.
  4. Saves your credentials so all future outbound WhatsApp uses your account. Your separately-connected SMS via Twilio number is stored independently and is not released or changed by this switch.

This can take from a few seconds to a couple of minutes if you had several numbers.

If you’re already on your own Twilio account

The card shows your connected account and lets you switch back to the managed setup.

Switching back to managed provisions a fresh managed sub-account. As above: it does not restore the numbers or templates you had before — you’d start from scratch.

Attaching a WhatsApp Number You Already Have

Once the account is on your own Twilio, the Connect WhatsApp button on the WhatsApp Business API card changes what it offers: the managed option becomes Through your Twilio account, which attaches a WhatsApp sender inside the Twilio account you connected, and buying a managed number is no longer offered. That’s deliberate — buying a number or running the Meta signup would create a second, platform-managed Twilio account alongside yours, and your messages would then be sent from one account while the number lives in the other.

Before you start

Your number has to already be a working WhatsApp sender inside your own Twilio account:

  • It is registered as a WhatsApp sender in Twilio, attached to your own WhatsApp Business Account.
  • Twilio shows that sender as Online.

This screen does not register anything. It does not create a sender, does not talk to Meta, and does not submit your number for approval — it connects a sender that already works. If you don’t have one yet, do the WhatsApp sender setup in Twilio first.

Steps

  1. Go to Settings → Channels group → Channels.
  2. On the WhatsApp Business API card, click Attach your sender.
  3. Enter the WhatsApp number in international format (for example +31612345678), exactly as it appears on the sender in Twilio.
  4. Optionally give it a Label — a name for the number inside the app. Left blank, it uses the name on your Twilio sender profile.
  5. Click Attach sender.

You do not re-enter your Account SID or auth token: we already have them from the account switch.

What happens behind the scenes

  1. We look up the sender for that number in your Twilio account and check that Twilio has it online.
  2. We make sure a messaging service exists in your account and point its inbound webhook at us (creating one, named after the app, if you don’t have one already). This is also what makes template sending work.
  3. We link your sender to that messaging service.
  4. We point the sender’s own webhook at us, so incoming messages arrive here.
  5. The number appears in your numbers list, marked Your Twilio (BYO), ready to assign to a campaign or agent.

Your approved templates stay exactly where they are, in your own account. Nothing is re-submitted and nothing is released.

Costs

There is no monthly maintenance charge on a number you attach this way — you pay Twilio directly for the number and its per-message fees. AI replies still use credits as normal.

If it doesn’t work

  • “No WhatsApp sender for … exists in your Twilio account” — the number isn’t registered as a WhatsApp sender there, or it’s typed differently. Check the exact sender ID in the Twilio Console and re-enter it in international format.
  • “The WhatsApp sender … is not online in Twilio” — Twilio’s own reason is included in the message. Fix it in Twilio first; attaching a sender that Twilio has offline would only fail later, silently.
  • “… is already connected to another account” — the number is attached to a different account here. Disconnect it there first.
  • “This account is still on the managed Twilio account” — do the switch above first.
  • “we could not update its webhook in Twilio” — the number is attached and will send, but the sender still points at whatever webhook you had on it. Clear that webhook on the sender in the Twilio Console so incoming messages reach us.

Limits

  • You can switch providers at most once every 24 hours. This prevents repeated bounces from racking up Twilio API costs and rate limits.
  • SMS sending is completely unaffected by this setting — if you’ve already connected your own Twilio via the SMS via Twilio card, that’s a different connection and stays where it is regardless of what you do here.

What If Something Goes Wrong?

  • “Could not authenticate with the provided Twilio credentials” — double-check the SID (starts with AC, 34 characters) and the auth token. Both are case-sensitive.
  • “Account is not active” — the Twilio account you’re trying to use is suspended or closed. Use an active account.
  • “Please wait Xh before switching again” — you’re inside the 24-hour cooldown. Wait it out.
  • Partial migration (some numbers released, some not) — re-run the switch. The system is idempotent; it picks up where it left off and finishes releasing whatever’s still in the managed sub-account.

If you’re stuck after switching — outbound messages not sending, templates not appearing — contact support with your Account SID (never the auth token).

Need Help?

If you’re not sure whether switching is right for you, or run into trouble, contact support and we can help you decide.