Phone, SMS & website

Connect Twilio and a phone number

Add your Twilio credentials, buy or bring in a phone number, link it to an assistant, or ask us to port a number you already have.

AIVA answers calls and texts on phone numbers in your own Twilio account. Twilio bills you directly for numbers, call minutes and messages at its published rates. AIVA adds no markup. You need a Twilio account, its Account SID and Auth Token, and an assistant to link the number to.

1. Find your Twilio credentials

Sign in to Twilio. Your Account SID and Auth Token are shown in the Twilio Console. Twilio's own help pages explain where to find them. Keep the Auth Token private. It works like a password for your Twilio account.

2. Add the credentials to AIVA

  1. In the sidebar, open Communication → My Numbers.
  2. Click Config Twilio. (If nothing is set up yet, the page shows Twilio Configuration Required with a Configure Twilio button that does the same.)
  3. In Configure Twilio Credentials, fill in Twilio Account SID and Twilio Auth Token.
  4. Click Save.

You'll see Config saved successfully when it works. Once saved, the token field shows Saved · never shown again. To change only the SID later, leave the token blank to keep the saved one.

If you see Invalid Twilio Account SID or Auth Token. Please verify your credentials., copy both values from Twilio again. Each Twilio account can be linked to only one AIVA account.

3. Get a phone number

You have two options. You can buy a new number from inside AIVA, or bring in numbers you already own on Twilio.

Buy a new number

  1. On My Numbers, click Buy a number.
  2. Choose a Country: US (+1), Canada (+1), UK (+44) or Australia (+61).
  3. Optional: enter an Area Code or Pattern, such as 510 or 510555****.
  4. Click Search. AIVA lists up to 20 available numbers. Click Buy next to the one you want.
  5. Check the details in Confirm Purchase and click Confirm Purchase.

Buying a number charges your Twilio account for the monthly rental straight away.

Use a number you already have on Twilio

Click Sync Twilio. AIVA pulls in the numbers from your connected Twilio account and lists them on My Numbers. There's no separate form for adding an existing number. Sync is how you bring one in. A number already connected to another AIVA account is skipped.

The Buy a number dialog only offers US, Canada, UK and Australia numbers. To use a number from another country, such as India, get it in your Twilio account first (Twilio may ask for local regulatory documents), then click Sync Twilio.

Each plan allows a set number of phone numbers: Starter 1, Growth 3, Pro 10. If you hit the limit, AIVA tells you your plan's limit and asks you to upgrade.

A number only answers once it's linked to an assistant. Until then its Status reads Not linked. Each assistant can be linked to one number. If you pick one that already has a number, you'll see This assistant is already linked to another number.

  1. Click the number's row, or its Manage button, to open the number's panel.
  2. Click Link Agent.
  3. In Select Agent, pick the assistant and click Link.

Linking also points the number's Twilio settings at AIVA for you. The Status changes to Active. To switch assistants, open the panel again and click Change. To unlink, use the unlink button next to the assistant's name, then confirm with Unlink.

The same panel shows the number's Twilio webhook URLs. AIVA sets these when you link the number. Only change them if you route calls through another system. Reset to AIVA's default puts them back.

Read the numbers table

  • Capabilities shows Voice plus the texting state: Texting ready, Texting pending (waiting on US business texting registration) or Voice only.
  • Monthly shows what Twilio charges to rent the number.
  • A warning mark beside a number means it's Not verified in Twilio. Run Sync Twilio again, or link a different number.

If a number shows Texting pending, see Register for A2P 10DLC.

Port a number from another carrier

If your business number is with another phone company, you can ask us to move it into Twilio for you. Porting is a manual process that our team handles with you.

  1. On My Numbers, click Port a number.
  2. Fill in Number to port, Current carrier and Name on the account.
  3. Click Start port.

Your request appears under Porting requests with a Porting badge, and we follow up by email to finish it. Your current carrier keeps the number working until the transfer completes, so you don't lose service. To withdraw a request, click the X next to it.

Release a number or disconnect Twilio

  • Release a number: open its panel, go to Release this number and click Release number…, then Delete. This permanently releases the number from Twilio. It can't be undone.
  • Disconnect Twilio: in Config Twilio, click Remove Configuration. This removes your credentials and the numbers listed in AIVA. The numbers stay active in your Twilio account.

Next steps

Something here doesn’t match what you see in the dashboard? Email support@aivachat.io and we’ll fix the guide.