Missed calls
Send one text when a call to your Smileline number or your connected phone provider goes unanswered, worded for opening hours or for after hours.
When nobody picks up a call to one of your Smileline phone numbers, or on a phone provider you connected (JustCall, Aircall or VoiceStack), the caller gets a text straight away, so they know you saw it and when you'll call back. Set it up under Settings → Automations → Missed calls.
Missed-call texts are for practices in the United Kingdom and the United States with a Smileline phone number or a connected phone provider. They don't need the AI calling add-on.
What the caller gets
There are two texts, and Smileline picks one by the time of the call and the opening hours of the number's location (or, if the number has no location or the call came through a phone provider, the location set for automations):
- In opening hours — Hi Sarah, sorry I missed your call. I'll call you back as soon as I can, or just reply here.
- When closed — Hi Sarah, we missed your call to Bright Smiles Dental as we're closed right now. Is tomorrow at 9:00 good for a call back, or is another time better?
Next opening time ({{practice.nextOpen}}) in the closed text fills with when the location next opens, counting closures such as bank holidays: today at 9:00 early in the morning, tomorrow at 9:00 in the evening, on Monday at 9:00 at the weekend. If the location has no opening hours set, the caller gets the opening-hours text.
Both are ordinary SMS templates: pick or edit them on the tab, or under Settings → Templates.
Set it up
Go to Settings → Automations and open Missed calls.
Check the two texts, or pick other templates.
Switch Text missed calls on.
Who gets a text
- Patients and leads Smileline recognises from their number.
- New callers who rang one of your ad tracking numbers, or chose the new-patient option on your phone menu (see Call routing).
- New callers on a phone provider: Smileline creates their lead while the phone rings (see Phone providers), so they're recognised by the time the text goes.
A number Smileline doesn't recognise that called your main line gets no text, so suppliers and sales calls aren't texted. Its missed call still shows under Reached out on Leads and in the call log.
Good to know
- One text per caller per day, however many times they call.
- UK: the text goes straight away at any hour — they just called, so they're awake. US: texts go between 08:00 and 21:00 in the location's time zone; a call outside those hours gets the closed text at 08:00.
- The text respects an SMS opt-out. It carries no marketing footer and needs no marketing consent: it answers the caller's own call.
- A missed call counts as the lead getting in touch, so their flows stop and your team takes over. Call them back from Reached out near the top of Leads: every number that rang and nobody answered waits there until someone calls it back, the caller gets through, or someone dismisses it. Leads has no separate Missed badge.
- With AI calling — on pay-as-you-go at £0.15 or $0.12 a minute from the first minute, on the older price list as an add-on — an A call is missed rule can also have the AI ring the caller back. The AI calls from your Smileline number, so this needs Smileline Voice set up, also for calls on a phone provider. The text is set up here, not on the rule.
- A text that can't be sent appears in the review queue with Retry.