Where texts go

Every number has its own text destination, separate from where its calls go. How defaults work, who can see a thread, and how to move one.

Every phone number has a "Text messages go to" setting, and it's independent of where the number's calls go. A number's calls can ring a whole team while its texts land with one person — or the other way around.

The three destinations

• An extension. That extension's user owns every thread on the number — it shows up in their Inbox and their softphone's Messages tab, and nobody else sees it unless a thread is explicitly moved into a shared queue.
• A queue. A shared inbox. Anyone who's a member of that queue can see every thread on the number and take one to reply.
• The AI receptionist. Reserved for a future release. For now, texts sent to a number set this way are visible only to admins.

Set this on the number itself, on the Phone numbers page — it's a separate control from the number's call routing.

Defaults when you buy a number

You don't have to set this by hand every time:

• If the number's calls are routed to an extension, its texts default to that same extension.
• If the number's calls are routed to a call flow or a queue, its texts default to your org's default queue.

Change either default any time from the number's settings.

Who can see a thread

• The extension the number's texts go to — just that person, for an extension-routed number.
• Every member of the queue — for a queue-routed number.
• Admins and owners always see every thread, on any number, regardless of routing.

Moving a thread

A thread can be moved into a queue — say, the person it's assigned to wants a teammate's help, or it needs to be picked up by whoever's available. Moving a thread into a queue adds the queue as an audience; it doesn't take the thread away from wherever it started. If a text arrived on an extension's number and gets moved into a queue, both the extension's user and the queue's members can see it afterward.

The from-number picker

When you start a new text or reply, the composer only offers numbers whose texts go to your own extension or to a queue you're a member of. You won't see a number that routes to someone else's extension or to a queue you don't belong to — ask an admin to add you to the queue, or to point the number at you, if you need to text from it.

Common gotchas

• A number's call routing and text routing can point at completely different places. Don't assume texts follow the same person or team the calls ring — check the number's own "Text messages go to" setting.
• Moving a thread to a queue doesn't remove it from the original owner's Inbox. If you're trying to hand a conversation off entirely rather than share it, say so in the thread and ask the original owner to stop replying — removal isn't automatic.
• A newly bought number with calls routed to a flow lands its texts in the default queue, not with any specific person — check that queue has members, or repoint the number, before relying on it for texts.