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SMS conversations route through . When the AI hands off an SMS thread, your rep picks it up as a live chat inside the Zendesk and replies on the same number the customer texted.

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Pre-requisites

Connect and verify your SMS number first. No inbound SMS can reach OpenCX until the channel is live — start with Connect SMS and come back here.

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How conversations land in Zendesk

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Setting up

1

Confirm SMS is connected

Open Channels → SMS in the OpenCX dashboard. Your SMS number should be listed and active.
2

Confirm Sunshine is connected

In Settings → Integrations, open Zendesk → Messaging. The status should show Active.
3

Trigger a test handoff

Text your connected number and ask to speak to a human. The AI should hand off.
4

Verify in the Zendesk Agent Workspace

The conversation should appear as a live chat tagged opencx_channel_sms. Reply from the Agent Workspace and confirm the response lands as an SMS on the customer’s phone.

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What the rep sees

  • A live chat in the Agent Workspace tagged opencx_channel_sms.
  • Contact phone number attached via the Sunshine user.
  • Full transcript of the AI-to-customer exchange.
  • opencx_session_id on the conversation — the trace key to the full OpenCX session.
  • Replies deliver as SMS within a couple of seconds, carrier willing.

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Channel-specific details

US SMS numbers require or before they can reliably deliver outbound messages. Complete this on the OpenCX side — see SMS compliance. The Zendesk integration doesn’t change the requirement.
OpenCX matches Sunshine messaging contacts to existing Zendesk support users. SMS merges primarily on phone number; email is used only when the customer has shared one on another channel first.
SMS messages are split into 160-character segments by carriers. Reps in the Agent Workspace don’t see the split — the full reply is sent as one logical message and the customer sees it as one thread. Keep replies tight; carrier costs scale per segment.
Media sent by the customer (MMS) appears as attachments on the Sunshine conversation when the carrier supports it. Outbound MMS support depends on your SMS provider’s capabilities.

AI SMS Support

The channel itself — connect, routing, compliance.

Sunshine Conversations setup

Credentials, webhook, and user merge.

Zendesk overview

What else Zendesk lights up across every channel.

Troubleshooting

Replies not reaching SMS, duplicate contacts.