Nick George — AI Agents & Automation
Missed-Call Text Back · Integration

Missed-call text back with OpenPhone

What OpenPhone's auto-reply does today, where it stops, and two ways to close the gap: a DIY setup with real steps, or a managed agent that texts the caller and answers their reply.

How Missed-Call Text Back works

$249/mo · $850 setup · month to month

Nick George  ·  Published September 22, 2026

What it does today

OpenPhone is called Quo now, and it already texts missed callers.

Type openphone.com and you land on quo.com; its help center now says “Quo, formerly OpenPhone.” Two of its features bear on a missed call, and between them you may not need anything else.

The first is auto-replies. As of September 2026, Quo documents triggers for missed calls, new voicemails, and incoming texts, each with an after-hours version. Quo sends each at most once every three hours per contact, and not at all if you recently contacted that person. It comes with every plan: Starter $19, Business $33, Scale $47 per user per month, billed monthly (Quo pricing).

The second is Sona, Quo's AI agent. It can answer calls by voice, priced in credits (Sona pricing), and a newer mode, lead capture over SMS, texts back a missed call from a number with no history, answers from what you trained it on, and hands the thread to your team with a summary. It's in beta and free on every plan for now.

Side by side

Three ways a Quo line can answer a missed call.

A fixed auto-reply reads the same to a new lead and to a regular whose spring treatment is due. Sona writes per conversation, but only for numbers it has never seen.

Quo auto-replySona over SMS (beta)Managed agent
What sets it offA missed call, a new voicemail, or a text, with separate after-hours versionsA missed call or first text from a number with no history in the inboxA missed call that Quo forwards to the new number and that rings out there too
What the text saysThe one message you wrote, to everyoneWritten per conversation from the Knowledge doc you train it onWritten per call from your hours and records, then checked by a second model against your prices, hours, and links
Callers you already knowGet the same messageNot triggered; your auto-reply handles themGreeted by first name when your customer list is in HubSpot and they're on it
Replies fromYour Quo number, in your Quo inboxYour Quo number, in your Quo inboxA separate toll-free number, logged to HubSpot or a webhook tool
Cost, as of September 2026Included on every Quo planFree on every plan while in beta$249/mo + $850 setup + usage

Quo columns: Quo's help center and pricing, September 2026.

Do it yourself

Switching on the Quo auto-reply takes one settings page.

Registration is the slow part: Quo says most approvals take 24 to 48 hours, some sit for up to 20 days, and no text reaches a US number until it clears (carrier registration).

  1. 01

    Finish carrier registration (A2P 10DLC) for the number first.

  2. 02

    Open Quo on the web or desktop app; the mobile apps can't set auto-replies.

  3. 03

    Click Settings, then Phone Numbers under Workspace settings, and pick the number.

  4. 04

    Open the Automations tab and scroll to Auto-Replies.

  5. 05

    Write a message for Missed calls, and for the after-hours version if you want one. After-hours replies follow the business hours set on the number.

  6. 06

    Call the number from a phone Quo hasn't seen recently, let it ring out, and read what arrives.

A fixed reply that holds up for everyone

Saltmarsh Pest Control here, automated text. Sorry we missed your call. We'll call you back today, or book an inspection now: saltmarsh.example/book. Reply STOP to opt out.

172 characters

Saltmarsh Pest Control is made up. A text every caller gets should promise only what is true of every call: a call-back and a booking page. It asks no question, because nothing reads the answer until you do.

If Sona's SMS beta has reached your workspace, it sits under Sona, then Messaging (Beta): train it in the Train tab, then test and switch it on in Activate. Quo says Sona takes new conversations and your auto-reply covers the rest, so nobody gets two texts. That pair is a sound free setup.

The managed route

Quo keeps ringing your team. A forward step catches what nobody answers.

There is no Quo plug-in. In Quo's call flow builder you drag a Forward call step in after Ring users and enter the toll-free number provided at setup. Per Quo's forwarding article, external forwards work to any US or Canadian number and keep the original caller's number as caller ID, the number the agent texts. Forwarding only unanswered calls is a Business or Scale feature on Quo's pricing page; Starter can only forward every call.

On arrival the new number rings your cell for 20 seconds, then plays a one-line apology promising a text. Landlines and withheld numbers are dropped before anything is spent, so those callers hear the promise and get nothing, as does anyone calling after 8 pm. Someone who hangs up while your cell is still ringing gets no text and leaves no entry in the agent's log; only your phone's recent-calls screen shows they tried. The first text names your business, flags itself as automated, and closes with STOP instructions. With no voicemail on this path, the answer follows the caller's reply.

The trade-offs: Quo won't record, transcribe, or voicemail a call it forwarded out. The thread lives on the new number, not in your shared Quo inbox, and logs to HubSpot or a webhook tool. In return, a person trains the agent on your site, sends rehearsal drafts, and reads a copy of every live text for the first weeks. The reply rules are described in Twilio's messaging policy; ask your counsel how they apply to you. The Twilio page covers the number underneath.

The arithmetic

Free versus $249 a month is a real comparison here.

Quo's options cost nothing extra for now, so the managed agent has to earn its whole bill. Year one, using the high end of usage: $4,318.

Year one, managed
$4,318
First visit (example)
$240
Extra jobs needed
18 a year

At an example $240 first visit, the agent must win 18 jobs a year that the free Quo reply would have lost. Run the auto-reply for a month and count the callers you still lose. That count decides it. Full terms are on the pricing page.

When Quo alone is enough

Most Quo users should start with what they already pay for.

Stay native if your team lives in the shared Quo inbox and wants every reply there. Stay native if the calls you lose come at night: Quo has an after-hours auto-reply, and the managed agent stays quiet from 8 pm until 8 am. If the Sona beta is on and most missed callers are new, give it a month.

Pay for the managed agent when you want someone else to build and watch it, when a wrong price in a text would hurt, or when regulars call often and deserve more than a canned line. It's $249 a month plus $850 setup, plus AI and phone usage, typically $20–40 a month. The mechanism is on the main missed-call text back page. On RingCentral instead? See the RingCentral setup. Desk-phone callers are covered in the landline page.

Not sure this is the right agent?

Say what you're on and how many calls go unanswered. I'll tell you which agent, or none, before you pay anything.

Owner questions

Questions about openphone.

Is OpenPhone the same thing as Quo?

Yes. OpenPhone rebranded as Quo; openphone.com now redirects to quo.com, and Quo's help center refers to the product as "Quo, formerly OpenPhone." Auto-replies, call flows, and the Sona AI agent are documented there under the Quo name.

Can Quo text back a missed call on its own?

Yes. As of September 2026, Quo's auto-replies can fire on a missed call, a new voicemail, or an incoming text, with separate after-hours messages, on every plan. Each is one message you write, sent at most once every three hours per contact. Sona's lead capture over SMS, in beta, writes replies per conversation for numbers with no history in your inbox.

Will the text come from my Quo number?

Not with the managed agent. It attaches by forwarding unanswered calls from Quo to a separate toll-free number provided at setup, and the texts come from that number. Forwarding only unanswered calls is a Business or Scale feature on Quo's pricing page; Starter can only forward every call. Replies are logged to HubSpot or any tool that accepts a webhook, not to your Quo inbox. If replying from your Quo number matters most, use Quo's own auto-replies or Sona.

Does forwarding from Quo pass the caller's number through?

Quo's call forwarding article says forwarded calls keep the original caller's number as caller ID. That matters because the agent texts the number it sees. Quo also notes that a call forwarded to an outside number isn't recorded or transcribed by Quo and doesn't reach your Quo voicemail.

Do I still need Quo's carrier registration?

For Quo's own auto-replies and Sona texts, yes: Quo's docs say unregistered numbers can't text US numbers. The managed agent sends from its own toll-free number, whose carrier verification is filed under your business during setup and typically clears in about three business days.

Have Missed-Call Text Back set up for you.

One call, one link, then the carrier's wait. Everything on this page runs from your own number.

Everything Missed-Call Text Back does