Text Messages - Voice Commands
When people send you a text message, the Virtual Assistant notifies you on your Mobile App and enables you to read it and respond to it on the Web Portal and Mobile App. Optionally, you can have the Virtual Assistant send you a copy of each text message as an email and/or as an SMS message to your mobile phone. You may also have he Virtual Assistant call you and read your new text messages to you on the phone. See SMS Settings on Web Portal for details.
The following voice commands enable you to manage your text messages on the phone using speech and touchtone commands:
Send text messages to contacts
You can record a voice message and send it as a text message (SMS) to one or several contacts directly from the main menu. If you are not already at the main menu level, say MAIN MENU or press *.
When composing the text message, the Virtual Assistant records and saves the message on its servers then inserts a link to hear it from the text message body. If you have the voice-to-text option, the Virtual Assistant will offer to insert a text transcription of your recorded message in the text body.
The following commands are based on how you configured your phone sessions. See Phone Sessions for details.
| SAY | OR PRESS |
|---|---|
|
SEND A TEXT MESSAGE TO {contact name} OR SEND A TEXT MESSAGE The Virtual Assistant will inform you if it finds multiple name matches and help you select your contact. |
2 3 {contact last and first name} on the keypad #
See Enter contact names using DTMF Keys for details. The Virtual Assistant will inform you if it finds multiple name matches and help you select your contact. |
|
{record message} # |
2 (record message) {record message} # |
| At the prompt, say YES OR NO to confirm your message. |
1 (save message) OR 2 (replay message)OR 3 (discard message) |
Listen to new text messages
You can only listen to your incoming text messages and reply to them if the Virtual Assistant calls you to read them to you. To enable this option, you must set your SMS settings accordingly. See SMS Settings on Web Portal for details. Note that this feature is to provide safe text message reception when you are driving. It is also useful for blind people.
Each time you receive a new text message on your Smart Number, the Virtual Assistant will call you on the number that you specified and offer to read you the text message content using Text-To-Speech technology. Once you answer, you can either accept or refuse depending on the situation you are in:
- accept to hear the text message and eventually reply to it.
- refuse to hear the text message (you may be in you car with other people).
Note that you can also access and manage your text messages on your Web Portal and Mobile App. See Text Messages for details.
| SAY | OR PRESS |
|---|---|
|
YES |
1 (accept to hear the text message) |
|
NO |
2 (refuse to hear the text message) |
Commands while listening to text messages
When the Virtual Assistant finishes playing a text message, you will be given the option to call back the sender or reply to the text message using your voice. The sender will receive a text message with a text transcription of your recorded response and a link to hear your voice reply. This option is available only to users who have the voice-to-text option.
Other commands are available while listening to a text message or immediately after:
| TO... | SAY | OR PRESS |
| replay the text message | REPLAY | 1 |
reply to sender |
REPLY TO SENDER {record message} and stop talking At the prompt, say YES or NO to confirm your note.The Virtual Assistant records and saves the message on its servers then inserts a link to hear it from the text message body. If you have the voice-to-text option, the Virtual Assistant will offer to insert a text transcription of your recorded message in the text body. |
2 1 {record message} # 1 (save ) OR 2 (replay) OR 3 (discard) |
| listen the text message details (date, time, sender name & phone number) | PLAY HEADER | 5 |
| switch text-to-speech language | SWITCH LANGUAGE | 6 |
| delete the text message | DELETE | 7 |
call back the text message sender |
CALL BACK SENDER At the prompt, say YES or NO to confirm the telephone number. |
8 |
Note that the Virtual Assistant will not offer to dial phone numbers that are not correctly formatted or for which you don't have the required call permissions. See Badly formatted phone numbers in the Web Portal help.