Setting Up Reply Automations

PostedApril 6, 2026

UpdatedApril 6, 2026

ByMark Nugent

🔄 SMS Campaigns

Setting Up Reply Automations
on Outbound SMS Campaigns

Reply automations connect OTTO to the response side of outbound bulk campaigns. When a contact replies YES to a re-engagement send, OTTO qualifies them automatically — no manual handling. Every reply type is handled: YES, questions, Spanish, STOP.

Reply AutomationsBulk SMSOTTORe-engagement5 min read

Jump to:What Are Reply Automations Reply Types Handled Setup Steps Multi-Touch Sequences

Sending a bulk campaign is the outbound. Reply automations are what convert it into revenue. Without OTTO on the reply end, a 10% reply rate on 5,000 contacts means 500 manual conversations to handle — impossible at scale. With reply automations configured, every reply type routes automatically: YES contacts get qualified, Spanish contacts get a Language Funnel, STOP contacts are suppressed immediately.

What Are Reply Automations?

A reply automation is an OTTO collector that activates when a contact replies to an outbound bulk SMS campaign. Instead of the reply hitting an inbox for manual handling, OTTO intercepts it and routes it to the appropriate configured flow based on the reply content.

Reply Types Handled Automatically

✅

YES / Interested

Triggers the configured qualification flow — ITR menu, custom questions, or Conversational OTTO. Contact gets qualified; lead alert fires to your team.

❓

Questions

OTTO’s Q&A automation handles common questions and escalates to the 1-to-1 inbox for manual handling only when needed.

🇪🇸

Spanish Reply

Language Funnel activates automatically — full Spanish qualification conversation runs, English lead data delivered to your team.

🚫

STOP / Opt-Out

TCPA-compliant opt-out confirmation fires automatically. Contact removed from all future sends. Suppression list updated in real time.

Setup Steps

Create the collector you want to fire on YES replies

Build your ITR or Conversational collector first — this is what activates when a contact replies affirmatively to the outbound campaign

Go to SMS Campaigns → Create Campaign

Select the SMS Campaign number — must be the same number the collector is assigned to

Write the outbound message with a clear reply CTA

End with “Reply YES if interested” or “Reply 1 to connect” — the reply trigger must be clear for OTTO to route correctly

In Campaign Settings, select the collector as the Reply Automation

Links the outbound campaign to the OTTO collector — YES replies now trigger that collector automatically

✓

Send or schedule — OTTO handles every reply from the moment the campaign goes out

Replies arrive in the collector’s qualified leads report — not in a manual inbox queue

✓ Same number rule

The SMS Campaign number used for the outbound send and the number assigned to the reply automation collector must be the same. Replies go back to the number they came from — OTTO can only intercept them if that number is assigned to the configured collector.

Multi-Touch Sequences

For re-engagement campaigns, a single send is a campaign. A sequence — day 0 outbound, day 7 follow-up to non-responders, day 14 final touch with a different angle — is a re-engagement system. Non-responders from the first send can be exported as a segment and re-sent with a new message and reply automation at each step.

📌 Non-responder handling

Contacts who don’t reply to the first send aren’t lost — they’re non-responders. Export the non-responder segment from the campaign report and schedule a second outbound with a different angle and the same reply automation. OTTO handles every YES regardless of which send in the sequence generated it.

← PreviousCreating and Managing SMS Campaigns

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