# Text and WhatsApp

Updated: 2026-10-07 · Canonical: https://tillyvet.com/features/sms-whatsapp

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# Answer every text the way you answer every call

Plenty of pet owners would rather text than call. Tilly answers SMS, WhatsApp, email and chat on your website, books appointments, answers questions and takes requests, with the same safety rules as on the phone. Your team can take over any conversation.

[Start free](/start)

Updated October 7, 2026

app.us.tillyvet.com/inbox

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Maple Street Animal HospitalDemo clinic — sample data

ConversationsLast 7 daysSearch conversations

Time

Caller

Pet

Intent

Outcome

Length

7:42 p.m.

Jordan Lee

Biscuit

BookingAfter hours

Booked

2:14

7:15 p.m.

Sam Rivera

Luna

Refill requestAfter hours

Task created

6 msgs

6:58 p.m.

Casey Nguyen

Daisy

Possible emergency

Urgent · transferred

1:02

5:30 p.m.

Alex Kim

Pepper

Reschedule

Rescheduled

1:48

12:41 p.m.

+1 •••• ••• 0177

—

Hours and parking

Answered

0:52

12:05 p.m.

Morgan Patel

Milo

Results callback

Task created

4 msgs

9:12 a.m.

Taylor Brooks

Rosie

Asked for a person

Transferred

0:38

Demo clinic — sample data

## Clients text. Your front desk can't watch every channel.

Messages sit unread while the phone rings. Tilly replies in seconds and keeps every channel in one place.

## How it works

1.  1
    
    Clients message you
    
    on your clinic number by SMS, on WhatsApp, by email or in the chat on your website.
    
2.  2
    
    Tilly replies within seconds
    
    and says it's an AI in the first message.
    
3.  3
    
    It does the work.
    
    Books, reschedules, answers questions, takes refill requests and sends payment or intake links.
    
4.  4
    
    Your team can step in.
    
    Take over any thread from the dashboard. Tilly stays quiet until you hand it back.
    

Example from our demo clinic

Client

\[photo\] He's had this on his paw since yesterday

Tilly

Thanks — I've attached your photo for the team. I can't look at photos myself. Would you like me to book a visit so a vet can see it?

Tilly passes photos to your team. It never looks at or comments on them.

## Details

-   One timeline per client.
    
    Calls, texts and WhatsApp messages from the same client appear together.
    
-   Photos go to people.
    
    Clients can send photos; Tilly attaches them for your team and never assesses them.
    
-   Emergencies by text.
    
    A message that sounds urgent gets an immediate reply asking the client to call now, with your emergency partner's details, and your team gets an alert.
    
-   Opt-out in every language.
    
    STOP and its equivalents work in all supported languages.
    
-   Registration handled.
    
    We take care of US text-messaging registration (A2P 10DLC) and WhatsApp template approval during setup.
    
-   Web chat.
    
    Add one line of code to your website to put Tilly's chat on every page.
    

## Your control

-   Edit message templates within safe limits.
    
-   Choose whether clients see when a team member joins a thread.
    
-   Turn on only the channels you want.
    

-   No medical advice.
    
    Tilly never diagnoses, names medicines or doses, or suggests home remedies.
    
-   Emergencies go to a person.
    
    A possible emergency is passed to your team, or your emergency partner after hours, within seconds.
    
-   Always says it's an AI.
    
    Every call and message starts with "I'm Tilly, the AI assistant at your clinic."
    

[Read how safety works →](/safety)

## Related features

-   [Reminders, recalls and waitlist](/features/reminders)
-   [Refill and results requests](/features/refills-and-results)
-   [Emergency detection and hand-off](/features/emergency-triage)

## Questions

### Do messages cost extra?

Each plan includes 1,000 SMS and WhatsApp messages per location per month, counted per message, not per text segment. After that it's $0.02 per message. Email and web chat aren't counted.

### Can we use our existing clinic number for texts?

Usually yes, if your number can receive texts through Tilly. Otherwise Tilly gives you a local textable number.

### Does WhatsApp need a separate account?

Tilly sets up a WhatsApp Business sender for your clinic during setup. You'll need your business details handy.

### Will clients know it's an AI?

Yes. The first message of every new conversation says so.

## See it on a real call

[See pricing](/pricing)