Match Customer Replies by Exact Phrase or Contained Words

When a contact texts or emails back, you often want the workflow to react only to certain answers, such as "YES" or "stop". The reply-based triggers give you two ways to compare the message with your own wording.

The two match types

• Exact match phrase: the reply must be exactly the text you entered. "Yes" matches "yes" but not "yes please".
• Contains phrase: the reply only has to include your words somewhere. "Yes" matches "yes please call me".

You can also pair either one with tag, channel and intent filters to be even more precise.

Set up a reply keyword trigger

1. Open a workflow and click Add New Trigger.
2. Select Customer Replied.
3. Name the trigger, then click Add filters.
4. Choose Exact Match Phrase or Contains Phrase and type the words.
5. Optionally add Has Tag, Doesn't Have Tag or Reply Channel.
6. Click Save Trigger.

Choosing between them

Use exact match for strict opt-in or menu replies such as "1", "2" and "YES", where a longer sentence should not count. Use contains for open-ended topics, such as any reply mentioning "price" or "reschedule".

Because contains is generous, short words can match more than you intend; "no" would also match "know". A longer phrase avoids that.

Combining phrases

Add several phrase filters if different wordings should trigger the same flow, for example "pricing", "cost" and "how much". Create a second trigger or a branch for replies that should go somewhere else.

Positive and negative intent filtering is also available on reply triggers when you care about the meaning of a reply rather than specific words.

Good to know: Send a test text from your own number to confirm the phrase matches before publishing.