Ten Minute Agents

How to set up missed-call text-back in GoHighLevel

By Lisa McCarthy · 16 October 2026

Short answer: in GoHighLevel you can text every missed caller automatically, in two ways.

  • The quickest is the built-in Missed Call Text Back setting: Settings → Phone System → Voice → Voicemail & Missed Call Text Back.
  • For more control (a wait, tags, an alert to you or an AI that answers the reply), build a workflow. Use the Call Details trigger, filtered to incoming calls with status busy, no-answer or voicemail, add a short Wait, then Send SMS.

Either way, you need a number on the account that can send texts, and calls must ring through that number.

Why it's worth ten minutes

If you run a salon, clinic, trade or local service business, a missed call is often a lost booking. Most callers don't leave a voicemail. They ring the next business on Google.

A short text within a minute keeps the conversation open. You apologise, ask how you can help and share your booking link. You still call back. The text just stops them going elsewhere while you're with a customer.

Before you start

  1. A GoHighLevel account. Try GoHighLevel (affiliate link)
  2. A phone number on that account that can send SMS. UK numbers may need a registration or compliance step before texts go out; follow the prompts in your phone settings.
  3. Inbound calls ringing that number, either ported in or forwarded from your existing line.
  4. A message you're happy to send to every missed caller.

Option A: the built-in Missed Call Text Back (fastest)

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Click Phone System, then Voice in the top menu.
  3. Open Voicemail & Missed Call Text Back, then Missed Call Text Back.
  4. Tick Enable Missed Call Text Back, click Customize and write your message.
  5. Send yourself a test, then click Save.
  6. In the voicemail settings, set the incoming call timeout: how long the phone rings before the call counts as missed.

If the number they called can't send texts, HighLevel tries another eligible number on the account.

One catch: the built-in setting texts on every missed call. If someone rings three times in five minutes, they get three texts. If that matters to you, use Option B.

Option B: a workflow (more control)

Use a workflow when you want a wait, tags, an alert to you, or an AI assistant to handle the reply.

  1. Go to Automation → Workflows → Create Workflow → Start from Scratch. Name it something clear, such as 'Missed Call Text-Back'.

  2. Click Add New Trigger and choose Call Details (under Events).

  3. Add the filters:

    • Call Direction = Incoming
    • Call Status = busy, no-answer and voicemail (you can select all three)
    • Optional: In Phone Number = your main line, if you have more than one

  4. Add a Wait of about 30 seconds, so someone who redials straight away isn't texted mid-call.

  5. Add Send SMS. For example:

    Hi, it's {{custom_values.business_name}}. Sorry we missed your call! How can we help? You can also book here: {{custom_values.booking_link}}

  6. Optional extras:

    • add a tag such as missed-call, so you can see how many you get
    • add a wait of 2 hours, then an internal notification to you if they haven't replied
    • hand the reply to a Conversation AI bot that can answer questions or book them in

  7. Open the workflow Settings and check Allow re-entry. Without it, someone who calls again next week won't get a text.

  8. Test: call your business number from a mobile that isn't already a contact, let it ring out and check the text arrives.

  9. Publish. Draft workflows don't run on live calls.

Use one method, not both. If the built-in setting and a workflow are both on, callers get two texts.

If it isn't working

  • Is the workflow published?
  • Compare the call with each filter. Was it really incoming? Did the status come through as voicemail rather than no-answer?
  • Open the workflow's Enrollment History and Execution Logs. If the contact never enrolled, the trigger is the problem. If it enrolled but the SMS failed, check the sending number and its registration.
  • Check Allow re-entry if repeat callers aren't getting texts.

Message tips

  • Keep it to two or three short sentences, and name the business.
  • Ask one clear question: 'How can we help?'
  • Add a booking link if you have one.
  • Don't promise a call-back time you can't keep.
  • Don't ask for a review in this text. Save that for after the job.

After the job: review requests

Many businesses pair missed-call text-back with a review request once the job is done. If you do, send the review link to everyone. Asking only happy customers for public reviews is 'review gating', and Google's policy doesn't allow it. A better pattern is to send everyone the link, and get a private alert when someone gives a low score, so you can put it right.

Want it ready-made?

The Missed-Call Text-Back and Reviews agent from Ten Minute Agents sets all of this up for you:

  • the workflow
  • an AI front desk that answers questions and books callers in
  • a review request with no gating

It comes with a plain-English guide designed to take about ten minutes. You can buy it on its own for £29, or get it with all five agents in the Small Business Agent Pack.

Not sure it's the right one to start with? Take the 2-minute quiz.

FAQ

Do I need a GoHighLevel phone number? Yes. Calls need to ring a number on the account for the built-in setting or the Call Details trigger to see them.

Will every missed call get a text? Only if the feature or workflow is switched on, the number can send texts, and the caller is on a mobile. Landlines can't receive the text.

Can the same person get texted more than once? With the built-in setting, yes: every missed call triggers a text. With a workflow, re-entry and your waits decide it. Contacts still active in the workflow won't enter it again.

Does this replace calling people back? No. The text buys you time and captures what they need. You, or your AI assistant, still close the loop.

Sources

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