---
description: This release we've enables WhatsApp Broadcasts, Twilio SMS Broadcasts, Twilio SMS imports &amp; more.
title: The August 2019 Release - Twilio SMS &amp; WhatsApp Broadcasts + Contact Imports
image: https://assets2-proxy.respond.io/ph8r57dk1q9w/2oYuVZloWQygSdrVaFKLHO/b3508057abe9001f6ffd01d40d574929/August2019BlogCoverPlatformRelease_57fc944e124aa0cbac4ebf34aef90dd0.png
---

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# The August 2019 Release - Twilio SMS & WhatsApp Broadcasts + Contact Imports

[![Iaroslav Kudritskiy](https://assets2-proxy.respond.io/ph8r57dk1q9w/6o5vEh0bSXWSag850EhEI8/93566f2c809b2dda69330b4e6164df70/62179c59eaad4ba0b5e3b747_Avatar-3.svg?q=70&w=400&fm=avif)](/author/iaroslav-kudritskiy)

[Iaroslav Kudritskiy](/author/iaroslav-kudritskiy)

· 31 Jan 2025

·

3 min read

![The August 2019 Release - Twilio SMS & WhatsApp Broadcasts + Contact Imports](https://assets2-proxy.respond.io/ph8r57dk1q9w/2oYuVZloWQygSdrVaFKLHO/b3508057abe9001f6ffd01d40d574929/August2019BlogCoverPlatformRelease_57fc944e124aa0cbac4ebf34aef90dd0.png?q=70&w=400&fm=avif)

It's the middle of August, and we're hoping that many of you are on vacation right now. However, I can assure you. We're not. Rocketbots is here year-round providing new features and improvements. The August 2019 release is focused on enabling broadcasts over WhatsApp & Twilio SMS, importing contacts for Twilio SMS as well as other bits & bobs.

* [WhatsApp Broadcast](#whatsapp-broadcast)
* [Twilio SMS: Contact Imports & Broadcasts](#twilio-sms-contact-imports-broadcasts)
* [Away Message](#away-message)
* [Dialogflow: Assignment & More](#dialogflow-assignment-more)
* [New User Role: Owner](#new-user-role-owner)
* [UI Improvements](#ui-improvements)

## WhatsApp Broadcast

[WhatsApp Broadcast ](https://respond.io/blog/whatsapp-broadcast)or [WhatsApp bulk message ](https://respond.io/blog/whatsapp-bulk-message)is one of the upvoted items on our Feature Requests page so how could we not oblige? Many of you have had your WhatsApp connected to Rocketbots for a long time now. Those of you who have, know that broadcasts have not been supported for WhatsApp in the past. 

![WhatsApp Broadcasts are now supported on the Rocketbots platform.](https://assets2-proxy.respond.io/ph8r57dk1q9w/6TBrnqz8EUNYXcBii80czb/b1256536c3e867663f0abfe00396401c/Screenshot2019-08-14at4_19_31PM_f86b8e93124b29a5597169aa19334af8.png) 

Well now, WhatsApp broadcasts is supported too. For the first few weeks or so we will be running WhatsApp broadcasts in beta mode. So if you have any questions on how to get the best out of your WhatsApp Broadcasts, you should [contact us](https://rocketbots.io/contact/).

## Twilio SMS: Contact Imports & Broadcasts

Part of the mission of a Messaging App CRM is to build a solution that allows businesses to access their customer base over Chat apps easily but within terms of service set out by Messaging App companies. Twilio SMS Contact Imports and Broadcast enable companies to acquire their customers as Messaging App contacts with ease.

We call it customer matching. You've dutifully collected your customers' mobile numbers and communicating over SMS for use cases like Two Factor Authentication. However, using SMS for customer support can get expensive. Wouldn't it be great if you could convert your list of customers to Messaging App contacts on Facebook, WhatsApp, WeChat & more?

![With Rocketbots you can Import your Twilio SMS Contacts to send them a broadcast or to live chat over SMS](https://assets2-proxy.respond.io/ph8r57dk1q9w/19z2tRPiDqLNFA9kZaGyG0/9caae7aa22f2930b0a1222f9596202b5/Screenshot2019-08-14at4_28_11PM_4c8f80330d04c63d1cad9b9f326afd3e.png) 

With Rocketbots it's easy. Upload your customer list to your Twilio SMS channel. Craft a fantastic broadcast message using Facebook m.me links, WhatsApp Click to Chat links and any other messaging app you wish to acquire your customers on. Then send an SMS broadcast to let your customers know you're available to chat over their Messaging App of choice. To learn more [check out our documentation on Importing SMS Contacts](https://help.respond.io/l/en/).

## Bits & Bobs

This wouldn't be a Rocketbots release without a few bits & bobs. This month we've focused on creating an Away Message system, added a few nifty additions for our Dialogflow users, added a new user role and made a few small UI improvements to make using the platform just that bit easier.

### Away Message

If you're a small but growing business like us, you can't be there to answer questions 24 hours a day although we try! The bottom line is even though you're not there, you still have to give some indication of when a customer can expect to get some support.

![This image shows how to enable away message](https://assets2-proxy.respond.io/ph8r57dk1q9w/5nyaCotVfOJgC9y1SfSWD9/8e1f27674c8ad1f866fb358014b61c30/Screenshot2019-08-14at4_43_08PM_1c9356008508b7777927952f9386e87a.png) 

We've created a straightforward Away Messaging function inside Settings. You can turn the Away Message on when you go to sleep for the night, turn the Away Message off when you're back and decide how long the delay will be before your Away Message is sent. [For more info about the Away Message, please check out our documentation](https://help.respond.io/l/en/). 

### Dialogflow: Assignment & More

For our Dialogflow users, we've added a brand new parameter to use in their agents. Dialogflow users can now assign contacts to a user based on the intent triggered. For more info, [check out our RB\_USER\_ASSIGN documentation](https://help.respond.io/l/en/).

![The assignment parameter allows Dialogflow Users to auto assign contacts to certain users based on the the intent they have triggered.](https://assets2-proxy.respond.io/ph8r57dk1q9w/gvU8fP9KKcGTsYbj4PhFw/20768d24593adac3bfaf1187624b17dd/Screenshot2019-08-14at4_37_56PM_add662b68f087b9d6d2e64ba0ecd50a1.png) 

Aside from the new parameter, the Dialogflow community has also requested that we pass the original channel data on as part of the package delivered with each message. We have now enabled the _originalDetectIntentRequest_ to pass directly through our platform to your Dialogflow Fulfilment service.

### New User Role: Owner

Another month another User Role. We've been in conversation with several of our power users over the last few weeks, discussing how to optimize and improve our set of user roles. Due to the latest change, we've now grown to four user roles with different access levels. The newest addition to the bunch is Owner.

Creators and other owners can invite new owners to the Space. Owners have access to all modules of the platform except for billing. With this change, managers will lose their privilege to access settings. For detailed descriptions of user roles, [check out our Access Levels documentation](https://help.respond.io/l/en/).

### UI Improvements

If you haven't noticed, Rocketbots feature list has been growing and growing. To make it easier to know about and use these features, we make little UI changes here and there to make things a little smoother. 

This month we've added a locale flag to the Messaging module and added a Dynamic Variable Picker to all fields where Dynamic Variables can be used. Remember Dynamic Variable are not available in broadcasts. For more info, please check out our [Dynamic Variables documentation](https://help.respond.io/l/en/dynamic-variables/dynamic-variables).

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