This new feature adds an AI-powered SMS agent that automatically responds to inbound text messages with booking intent, qualifies leads, and books jobs through Adaptive Capacity, so your team never misses a text-based booking opportunity.
What's new?
When someone texts your business number, that message currently sits unread in the message center until a customer service representative (CSR) manually checks it. During after-hours, weekends, or high-volume periods, inbound texts can go unanswered for hours or even days. This means lost bookings and frustrated homeowners who expected a fast reply.
Now, with Virtual Agent Inbound SMS, ServiceTitan intercepts inbound text messages and routes them to an AI agent. The agent classifies the intent, holds a back-and-forth text conversation, checks availability through Adaptive Capacity, and books the job without any human intervention. Messages that do not match a booking intent, such as spam, auto-responders, or technician texts, are filtered out automatically. If the conversation is complex or unclear, the agent escalates to a human who can take over in real time from Growth > Interactions.
Resources
Before and After
Before (Current)
A homeowner texts your business number at 8 PM about a leaking water heater.
The text sits unread in the message center until a CSR manually checks the inbox.
During after-hours or high-volume periods, the message goes unanswered for hours.
The homeowner calls a competitor who responds faster.
Your team loses the booking and has no record of the missed opportunity.
Impact: Inbound texts go unanswered during off-hours and busy periods, leading to lost bookings and frustrated homeowners.
After
A homeowner texts your business number at 8 PM about a leaking water heater.
The Virtual Agent Inbound SMS agent immediately recognizes the message as a service request.
The agent checks Adaptive Capacity for available slots and has a text conversation with the homeowner.
If the homeowner stops texting, the AI voice agent can follow up with them via a call.
The agent books a next-day appointment and confirms the details.
The full conversation appears in Growth > Interactions, where your CSRs can review or take over at any time.
Impact: Inbound texts receive an instant response at any hour. More text inquiries convert to booked jobs, and your team can focus on higher-value conversations.
Who uses this feature
Residential Service and Replacement
Administrators, CSRs
Region availability: USA, CAN
How it works for your industry
Residential Service and Replacement
A homeowner texts about a leaking water heater at 8 PM. The Inbound SMS agent responds in seconds, checks Adaptive Capacity, and books a next-morning appointment without any customer service representative (CSR) involvement.
A prospect submits a form through your web scheduler and then texts a follow-up question about pricing. The agent recognizes the lead, personalizes the response, and completes the booking by text.
During a weekend heatwave, your phones are overwhelmed with calls. Homeowners who text instead of calling get an immediate response from the agent, which books air conditioning (AC) repair appointments while your CSRs handle the phone queue.
How to prepare?
This feature is only available to Max and Virtual Agent customers. It is not available for any customers currently using the ServiceTitan CRM feature.
Have an administrator reach out to your Pro Account Manager (PAM) or your Customer Success Manager (CSM) to have Inbound Virtual Agents and any prerequisite configurations (including Adaptive Capacity) enabled.
Confirm that the Inbound SMS toggle is enabled in Voice Agent Settings > Inbound SMS after the configuration is active.
Identify which team members need the View Customer Chats and Send Message permissions to monitor and take over agent conversations in Growth > Interactions.
Train your CSRs on how to review Inbound SMS conversations in Growth > Interactions and how to use the Take Over button when the agent escalates a conversation.
Bookmark any knowledge base articles or Academy videos for team training.