Create an AI-Powered Workflow with Zapier, OpenAI & touchSMS

12 Jul Create an AI-Powered Workflow with Zapier, OpenAI & touchSMS

Posted at 11:57h in Mobile Technology, SMS Integrations, Zapier SMS by

Today, customers expect quick, helpful responses – no matter how they reach you. With the rise of automation tools like Zapier, AI platforms like OpenAI, and powerful communication tools like touchSMS, you can now build a seamless AI-driven SMS support workflow that runs 24/7.

Here’s how to do it.

🛠 What You’ll Need

  • A touchSMS account (with a Virtual Number enabled for 2-way messaging)
  • An OpenAI account with GPT-4 or GPT-3.5 API access
  • A Zapier account to build the automation
  • A central knowledgebase or help guide (like ours at support.touchsms.com.au) to train or prompt the AI
  • Optional: Google Sheets, CRM or help desk platform (like HubSpot or Zendesk)

🔄 Workflow Overview

  1. Customer sends an SMS inquiry to your touchSMS Virtual Number
  2. Zapier catches the inbound SMS using our touchSMS trigger
  3. Zapier sends the message to OpenAI, with a prompt referencing your support documentation
  4. OpenAI generates a helpful response
  5. Zapier sends the reply via SMS using touchSMS
  6. Optionally: Save the message history to Google Sheets or your CRM

🔧 Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Set up touchSMS Trigger in Zapier
Create a Zap with the trigger “New Inbound SMS” in touchSMS. Choose the Virtual Number that customers will text.

Step 2: Add OpenAI Action
Add a step to “Send Prompt to OpenAI”. Here’s a sample prompt:

“You are a helpful support agent for touchSMS. Based on the following question from a customer and referencing our knowledge base at https://support.touchsms.com.au, provide a short, friendly reply via SMS.”

Step 3: Return the AI response via SMS
Use the “Send SMS” action in touchSMS to send OpenAI’s response back to the sender’s number.

Step 4: (Optional) Log the conversation
Add another action to save the SMS thread to a Google Sheet or CRM for future tracking or escalation.

💡 Real-World Use Cases

  • After-hours support
    Customers get answers to common questions even when your team is offline.
  • Onboarding assistance
    New customers can text questions and get real-time answers about how to set up features or integrations.
  • Lead qualification
    Ask follow-up questions based on an inbound SMS and route qualified leads to a sales rep.

📎 Things to Keep in Mind

  • AI responses are only as good as the prompt and reference materials.
  • You can tune the tone of OpenAI’s response (professional, casual, technical, etc.).
  • Always include a fallback in your replies – like, “Text HUMAN to have a support person call you during business hours”

🚀 Try It Yourself

Setting this up takes less than an hour, and it could save you hundreds of hours in manual responses over time. If you’re already a touchSMS account, you’re halfway there.

Need help? Browse our support guides at support.touchsms.com.au or reach out to our team.

By combining OpenAI’s intelligence, Zapier’s automation, and touchSMS’s reliability, you can deliver responsive and scalable support that feels personal, directly to your customers’ phones.

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