Log Twilio SMS Leads to Airtable and Alert the Team on WhatsApp
Every inbound text message to your Twilio number is captured as an Airtable record and instantly pushed to a WhatsApp chat so an agent can follow up on the appointment lead.
Use this templateWhy use it
Texts to your business number pile up in a Twilio log nobody opens. Someone asks about booking an appointment on a Saturday afternoon, and by the time a person notices, the lead has already called the next place on their list. There is no shared list of who wrote in, what they asked for, or whether anyone replied — so leads get answered twice, or not at all.
How it works
- 1Twilio fires the moment an SMS lands on your number, handing over the sender's number, the message body, and the time it arrived.
- 2Airtable creates a new record in your leads table with that phone number and message text, so every enquiry has a permanent row someone can sort, filter, and mark as followed up.
- 3A WhatsApp message goes out to the agent or team chat with the lead's details, so whoever is on duty sees the enquiry on their phone and can call or text back straight away.
What it connects
- Twilio
- Airtable
- WhatsScale
Questions
Which Airtable fields does the record use?
You map them yourself when setting up the step — typically a phone number field and a long text field for the message body. Any extra columns in your table, like status or assigned agent, stay empty and can be filled in by hand.
Does the customer get a reply automatically?
No. This flow only records the lead and alerts your team. The follow-up call or text is made by a person, which is usually what you want for appointment enquiries where availability has to be checked.
Can the WhatsApp alert go to a group instead of one person?
Yes. The destination is just a WhatsApp chat, so you can point it at a group where your front desk or sales team all see the same incoming leads and can claim them.
What happens if the same person texts twice?
Each inbound SMS is treated separately, so you get two Airtable rows and two WhatsApp alerts. If you want them merged, handle deduplication inside Airtable with a view or grouped field rather than in the flow.
Will MMS or photos come through?
The trigger fires on inbound messages to your Twilio number and passes the text body along. Attached media is not written into the Airtable record or the WhatsApp alert, so treat this as a text-lead capture.