Group Texting
Message multiple people in a shared thread from your Avochato number.
How Group Texting works
Group texting lets you text a group of people in one shared thread from your Avochato number. It works like a group thread on your phone, but with your Avochato tools built in.
Group size: Add 2 to 8 recipients per group.
Phone number: We'll set up a new, dedicated number for your group texting.
On the recipient's end, it looks just like any group text they'd get today.
Before you start
- Group texting is in beta. Contact help@avochato.com to request access for your inbox.
- Group texts can only be sent from local (10DLC) numbers.
Existing inbox or new inbox?
- Existing inbox: Your contact list is already there. Trade-off: opting out is inbox-wide. If a contact replies STOP to a group text, they're also opted out of your 1:1 messages and broadcasts on that same inbox.
- New inbox: Opt-outs from group texts stay isolated there. Your existing line isn't affected. Trade-off: contacts are unique to each inbox, so you'll need to rebuild or re-import your list.
See it in action
Account balance and cost of group texts
Group texts draw from the same account balance as your other messages. Segments are billed per recipient, same as a broadcast. For example, a 2-segment message sent to a group of 5 uses 10 segments total (2 segments × 5 recipients).
Creating a group
- On left nav, go to the Group Texts section.
- Click New Group.
- Add recipients: search an existing contact, or type in a new phone number.
- If it's a new number, you can name the contact before adding them.
- Give the group a name
- Choose the number to Send From.
- Click Create.
Managing a group conversation
- View modes: Group Texts supports the same Classic, Compact, and Pro views as your main inbox.
- Assign an owner: Group threads can be assigned to a teammate.
More inbox filtering and management options will be coming soon as group texting moves out of beta.
Archiving and filtering
- Archiving: Archiving a group removes it from your active list and stops any further messages to that group. Archived threads and their history are still viewable under the Archived tab.
- If you start a new group with the same people later, it creates a brand new thread. It won't reconnect to the old one's history.
- Filtering: Filter your Group Texts list by assignee to quickly find groups owned by you or a teammate.
Texting into an archived group
If a recipient replies into a group thread after it's been archived, it comes into your main inbox as a 1:1 message with that person, not into the group thread.
Opting in and out
- LEAVE: A recipient can leave one specific group. They'll stay reachable on your other threads and your main number. If they reply after leaving, it comes into your main inbox as a direct message, not into the group thread.
- STOP / START: Replying STOP opts a recipient out of everything from your business, both group texts and your main number. Replying START (as a direct message to the number, or inside a group thread) opts them back in.
- If everyone but one recipient leaves or is removed from a group, that group can no longer receive messages. You'll see an alert if you try to send to it.
Contacts
Any group a contact belongs to is listed on that contact's profile, so you can see their group history at a glance.
Beta notes
Group texting is new, so it doesn't yet have full parity with the main inbox. Current limitations:
- Images (MMS): You can't yet send images in a group text. Incoming images are received but don't yet display in the group thread.
- Sorting: Group Texts are sorted by when the group was created, not by most recent activity like the main inbox.
- Not yet available in group texts: notes, scheduled messages, campaigns/broadcasts, search, and custom field variables.
- One active group per contact: A contact can only be part of one active group at a time. If you try to add someone who's already in a group, you'll be routed to that existing group instead of creating a duplicate.
- Direct texts to a group number: If someone texts your group number directly (not into the shared thread), it shows up as a 1:1 message in your main inbox, not in the group thread.
We'd love your feedback. If you run into anything confusing or have a feature you'd like to see added, let your account manager or our support team know.