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Inbound SMS Collector Types
A detailed reference for all collector types in TextingOnly — ITR, Conversational, Custom Questions (with Name Capture and Multilingual variants).
What It IsA detailed reference for every collector type — ITR, Conversational, and Custom Questions variants.
How to ChooseMatch the collector to your interaction depth and the data you need to capture.
Who Needs ItAnyone deciding which inbound automation to build for a new lead source.
Collector Type Reference
| Collector Type | Slug | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ITR (Standard) | collector-itr | Text menu with numbered options. OTTO routes by reply number. |
| ITR (Multilingual) | collector-itr-multilingual | Same as ITR but supports language-specific message variants per option. |
| Custom Questions | collector-custom-questions | Open-text question sequence. OTTO captures each answer as a data field. |
| Custom Questions + Name Capture | collector-custom-questions-captures-name | Custom Questions with an explicit first-step name capture question. |
| Custom Questions (Multilingual) | collector-custom-questions-name-multilingual | Custom Questions with name capture and multilingual message support. |
| Custom Questions (Multilingual Alt) | collector-custom-questions-multilingual | Multilingual variant without mandatory name capture at step one. |
| Collector & Messaging Framework | collector-messaging-framework | Full framework overview: all types, use cases, and configuration logic. |
Multilingual Variants
Multilingual collector types allow each message in the OTTO flow to have language-specific variants. When used with a Language Funnel entry point, the contact selects their language on the interstitial and OTTO serves the matching language variant. Leads are still delivered to your team in English regardless of which language the contact used.
Choosing the Right Type
- Routing / segmentation — ITR Standard or ITR Multilingual
- Data capture / qualification — Custom Questions or Custom Questions + Name
- Multilingual market — ITR Multilingual or Custom Questions Multilingual
- Full lead brief with name — Custom Questions + Name Capture
- Understanding all options first — Collector & Messaging Framework article
Frequently Asked Questions
What collector types are available?
ITR (standard and multilingual), Conversational (the OTTO data collector), and Custom Questions, including Name Capture and Multilingual variants.
How do I choose a type?
Use ITR for routing and segmentation, Custom Questions or Conversational for data capture and qualification, and the multilingual variants for non-English markets.
How do multilingual variants get the right language?
They’re paired with a Language Funnel — the contact’s language selection routes OTTO to the matching variant.