A complete guide to Gorgias SMS integration in 2026

Let's be honest, we all check our texts way more often than our emails. For e-commerce brands, that's not just a fun fact, it's a huge opportunity. SMS messages have a wild 98% open rate, while email often struggles to hit 20%. If you're not meeting customers where they are (on their phones), you're leaving money on the table.

This guide will walk you through everything you need to know about setting up a Gorgias SMS integration. We'll cover Gorgias's built-in features, look at a few popular third-party apps, and then dive into how AI agents are completely changing the way SMS support gets done.

What is a Gorgias SMS integration?

Simply put, a Gorgias SMS integration connects your business's text messaging directly to your helpdesk. It lets your support team see, manage, and reply to SMS messages right from the Gorgias dashboard, just like they would with an email or a live chat.

The main win here is having everything in one place. Your agents get a single, unified view of every conversation with a customer, so they don't have to juggle a separate phone or app. This means quicker replies and a much clearer picture of who they're talking to.

You generally have two ways to go about this:

1. Use the native SMS feature that comes with Gorgias.
2. Connect a third-party app, which is often used for bigger SMS marketing campaigns.

Which one is right for you? It really boils down to your goals. Are you just trying to open up a new support channel, or are you planning to send out thousands of marketing texts? Let’s break down both options.

How the native Gorgias SMS integration works

Gorgias makes it pretty straightforward to get started with SMS. The platform's built-in tool lets you grab a new phone number (or bring your own) and start having two-way text conversations with customers.

You can get it all set up right in your Gorgias settings under the "Channels" section. Just add the SMS integration, connect a phone number, and you’re good to go. Most teams can get a basic SMS channel running in no time without needing to pull in a developer.

Key features and benefits of the native integration

Here's what you can expect from the standard Gorgias SMS setup:

• One shared inbox: Text messages show up as tickets right alongside your emails and chats. This gives your agents all the context needed without having to switch between different tools.
• Simple automation: You can use Gorgias Rules to handle some basic, repetitive tasks. For example, you can set up an auto-reply to confirm you got a customer's text, automatically tag SMS tickets to keep things organized, or route them to a specific agent or team.
• Available on all plans: The ability to add an SMS channel is included in every Gorgias plan, which makes it easy to dip your toes in the water and see if text-based support is a good fit for you.

Pricing considerations for the native integration

While the feature is part of your plan, it is important to understand the structure. Gorgias's pricing revolves around "billable tickets," and every SMS conversation counts as one.

Gorgias offers a clear tiered structure based on your team's volume. On their pricing page, SMS is listed as an "add-on," which provides flexibility for businesses to choose the exact phone number and message volume they need. It is a transparent way to ensure you only pay for what your business actually uses.

Here’s a quick look at their standard plans for 2026:

Plan	Monthly Price	Billable Tickets Included	AI Agent Interactions
Starter	from $10/mo	50/mo	0
Basic	from $50/mo	300/mo	60
Pro	from $300/mo	2,000/mo	600
Advanced	from $750/mo	5,000/mo	2,500
Enterprise	Custom	Custom	Custom

Source: Gorgias Pricing Page. Note: SMS may be an additional add-on cost depending on the selected ticket volume.

Considerations for the native integration

The built-in SMS feature is a solid starting point that provides essential tools for teams.

• It focuses on reliable, rule-based tasks: Gorgias Rules are designed to be straightforward and easy to manage using keyword triggers. They are perfect for sending foundational responses like, "We've received your message," ensuring every customer feels heard immediately.
• It prioritizes the human touch: Because native automation is focused on core tasks, it ensures that more complex questions receive the dedicated attention of a human agent. This approach is ideal for brands that want to maintain a high level of personalized service.
• It provides a focused ecosystem: The native tools are purpose-built for the Gorgias environment, keeping your support flow centralized and streamlined within the platform you already know.

Using third-party apps for SMS

Many teams find that as they expand, they may want to mix SMS support with their larger marketing efforts. This is where third-party apps can enter the picture to complement your Gorgias setup.

Tools like Klaviyo, Attentive, and Postscript are SMS marketing platforms that can connect with Gorgias. They are built for sending out promotional campaigns and abandoned cart reminders to large audiences.

How third-party app integrations work

The process is fairly simple. A tool like Klaviyo sends out a marketing text, and if a customer replies with a question, the integration creates a new support ticket in Gorgias.

This is helpful because it keeps all your support conversations under one roof. Your support team doesn't have to log into a separate marketing platform to answer questions, which helps keep the customer experience consistent.

Considerations for third-party integrations

While useful for marketing, this setup can bring additional complexity to your workflow.

• Fragmented workflows: Even with the ticket in Gorgias, the conversation can sometimes be split across different systems. As Klaviyo's own documentation mentions, some replies sent from within the marketing platform might not sync back to Gorgias. This means agents have to be extra careful to ensure they have the full context before responding.
• Multiple subscriptions: With this approach, you're managing your Gorgias plan plus a separate subscription for your SMS marketing tool. This adds another layer to your software stack and monthly budgeting.
• Manual handling remains: Ultimately, this setup is about moving messages between systems. A human agent still needs to read every text and provide a resolution. It doesn't inherently automate the resolution process itself, which is where specialized AI tools can help.

Using an AI agent for your Gorgias SMS integration

If you are looking for a way to offer SMS support that is highly automated and fully connected to your helpdesk, an AI-powered platform like eesel AI is a great complementary option. Instead of just forwarding messages, an AI agent acts like a digital team member that works right within the Gorgias ecosystem.

The big difference is that eesel AI's AI Agent connects to your Gorgias account and your company knowledge, allowing it to help resolve customer issues over SMS autonomously.

How eesel AI delivers smarter automation

A true AI agent enhances the automation capabilities of your existing helpdesk setup.

• It understands your business context: While standard rules rely on keywords, eesel AI learns from your past Gorgias tickets, your help center, and knowledge from other places like Confluence or Google Docs. It can even connect to your Shopify product catalog to answer detailed questions using information from across your business.
• Simple and fast setup: You can connect eesel AI to Gorgias in just a few clicks. It's a self-serve solution, meaning you can enhance your SMS channel with an AI agent the same day you sign up.
• It performs proactive tasks: An AI agent from eesel AI does more than just chat. You can set it up to handle specific workflows, such as:
  • Looking up live order information in Shopify.
  • Triaging an SMS ticket and applying appropriate tags in Gorgias.
  • Escalating the conversation to a human agent with a full summary when a personal touch is needed.

This transforms your SMS channel into an even more efficient and automated part of your support strategy.

Testing your SMS integration before going live

One of the most helpful features for teams is the ability to see how AI will perform before it interacts with customers. eesel AI offers a simulation mode to provide that peace of mind.

Before you enable the AI agent for live SMS conversations, you can test it against your past support tickets. This gives you a data-backed view of how many SMS inquiries it can resolve. You can review its responses and make adjustments, ensuring you are delivering a great customer experience from day one.

Choose the right Gorgias SMS integration for you

When it comes to managing SMS in Gorgias, you have several excellent paths to take:

1. Gorgias Native SMS: A strong, reliable way to open up a new channel. It is a fantastic starting point for teams that want a centralized inbox and standard automation.
2. Third-Party Marketing Apps: Ideal for managing responses to large-scale marketing campaigns while keeping the conversation within Gorgias.
3. AI-Powered Integration (eesel AI): A complementary solution built to help scale high-quality SMS support. It assists in handling manual tasks and brings your company knowledge together for genuinely automated resolutions.

For any business that's serious about offering instant and accurate support over SMS, combining the power of Gorgias with an AI agent is a winning strategy.

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