Keywords

Keywords let you automatically respond when someone texts a specific word to your number. You can use keywords to send an auto-reply message, trigger a Flow, or opt people in to receive messages from

To manage keywords, go to Settings → Channels → Texting → Keywords.

Built-in Keywords

Daisychain includes three built-in keywords required by CTIA guidelines for SMS compliance. These keywords cannot be removed or modified.

HELP

Sends a help message with your organization's contact information. The response is automatically generated using your organization's name, website URL, and contact email from Settings → Account.

Aliases: help, info

START

Opts the person back in to receive text messages from your organization.

Aliases: start, unstop, subscribe

STOP

Opts the person out of receiving text messages from your organization. The STOP keyword also includes an AI Auto Opt-Out toggle. When enabled, Daisychain uses AI to detect and honor natural-language opt-out requests — even when they don't match a standard keyword. For more details, see Opt-Outs.

Aliases: stop, stopall, unsubscribe, cancel, end, quit

Custom Keywords

Custom keywords let you define your own trigger words with custom responses. To create one, click New Keyword from the Keywords settings page.

Creating a Custom Keyword

Keyword: The word someone texts to trigger this keyword. Must be a single word with no spaces. Matching is case-insensitive.

Keyword Aliases: Optional additional words that also trigger this keyword. Click the + button to add aliases.

Opts people in: When enabled, texting this keyword will subscribe the person to receive messages from your account. For more on what "subscribed" means, see Subscription Statuses.

Response Mode: Choose one of the following:

• Message: Send a single auto-reply message. The response message composition box supports emoji and variables for inserting personalized content, including any standard or custom field.

• Flow: Start an automated conversation Flow. Select an existing Flow from the dropdown. You can use your Flow's instructions to control the first message sent.

Restrictions

You cannot create a custom keyword that matches any built-in keyword or alias. For example, you can't use "help," "stop," "subscribe," or any of the other built-in aliases as a custom keyword.

How Keyword Matching Works

Keywords match when someone's entire message is just that keyword — a single word with nothing else. If someone sends a message that includes the keyword as part of a longer sentence, it will not trigger the keyword.

For example, if you have a keyword called VOLUNTEER:

Incoming message	Triggers keyword?
volunteer	✅ Yes
Volunteer	✅ Yes (case-insensitive)
VOLUNTEER	✅ Yes (case-insensitive)
I want to volunteer	❌ No
Can I volunteer?	❌ No

What Happens When Someone Texts a Keyword

When someone texts a keyword to your number, a few things happen:

1. A person is created if one doesn't already exist for that phone number. The person will be marked as "Textable" — meaning you can send them messages. See Subscription Statuses for more details.

2. If "Opts people in" is enabled, the person is also marked as "Subscribed." This applies even if the person had previously opted out — texting a keyword with the opt-in toggle enabled will re-subscribe them.

3. The auto-response is sent. Either the configured message or the selected Flow is triggered.

4. If the person is already opted in and texts the keyword again, they will still receive the auto-response. This is by design — otherwise people might think the keyword isn't working.

Things to Keep in Mind

Keywords always fire, even during active conversations. If someone is in an ongoing conversation with an organizer and their reply happens to be a single word that matches a keyword, the auto-response will be sent. This is important to consider when choosing your keywords.

For example, if you set up a keyword called VOLUNTEER, and an organizer asks someone "did you want to donate or volunteer?" — if that person replies with just "volunteer," the keyword auto-response will trigger. To avoid this, choose keywords that are unlikely to come up as natural single-word replies in a conversation, or use more distinctive words and phrases for your keywords (e.g., "VOL" instead of "VOLUNTEER").

Keywords are account-wide. All keywords apply to all phone numbers on your account.

Built-in keywords take priority. Custom keywords cannot override built-in keyword behavior.