# SMS Templates, Personalization and AI Content From a draft to a personal message Example campaign Campaign brief Invite returning customers to explore the autumn collection. Keep it concise and include an opt-out. Illustrative personalization. Preview the final text for representative contacts before using it in a send. [Part of the Bird SMS platform](/sms-api) ## Write once. Review what each person receives. Personalization is useful when it makes the message more relevant. It also changes length, which matters for a channel billed in segments. ## Keep a clear purpose Give the recipient one reason to care and one next action. Identify the brand and include the opt-out route appropriate to the campaign. ## Use meaningful defaults Choose fallback values for missing properties. Preview a short name, a long name and an empty value before using the content with an audience. ## Check the rendered text Review encoding and segment boundaries after substitution. An emoji can switch the message to Unicode; some GSM-7 characters consume two units. ## AI drafts. Your team sets the standard. Use AI to turn a brief into alternatives, shorten a draft or adapt the language. Review the offer, link, brand voice and local meaning before publishing the version you want to send. ## Draft alternatives Ask for a concise launch announcement, reminder or follow-up. Compare the intent of each option rather than accepting a longer list of generic copy. ## Adapt by market Prepare the language and sender experience for the destination. A translation still needs a review of its meaning and segment length. ## Publish deliberately Separate work in progress from the version selected for a campaign. Keep reusable content connected to the campaign that used it. ## Make message length a visible decision - [SMS length calculator](/tools/sms-segment-calculator): Inspect encoding and segment boundaries for a draft. - [Character limits guide](/docs/guides/sms/character-limits): Understand GSM-7, Unicode and multipart messages. - [Smart encoding](/docs/guides/sms/smart-encoding): See which substitutions Bird applies and when the original text is preserved. ## Questions about SMS templates ### Does personalization change the segment count? Yes. Segment counting applies to the rendered message for each recipient. A longer name or another substituted value can cross a segment boundary. ### Does AI-generated copy send automatically? Drafting content and sending a campaign are separate actions. Review the draft and audience, then authorize the send through your team’s workflow. ### Can I reuse the same content on email, WhatsApp and SMS? Reuse the intent and shared customer properties, then prepare a channel-specific message. SMS length, WhatsApp template requirements and email layout are different constraints. ### What is smart encoding? Smart encoding replaces supported characters with GSM-7 equivalents when that lets the whole message use GSM-7. It is opt-in; if the result still needs Unicode, Bird preserves the original text. ## Keep building your SMS program - [SMS marketing](/sms-api/features/marketing): Return to the complete campaign workflow. - [SMS API](/sms-api/features/sending): Build application-triggered notifications. - [Delivery analytics](/sms-api/features/analytics): Understand each delivery outcome. - [SMS resource library](/sms-api/resources): Find a guide, answer or diagnostic tool. ## Scale without losing control. Organize teams in workspaces, control API access, and trace changes through audit logs. Harbor Organization Workspaces Production Sandbox ### Delivery agent API key · Customer operations team Active Permissions Access Email Read & write SMS Read & write WhatsApp Read Read & write AL Alex Lee Admin Permissions updated ### Audit log Production API key updated Alex Lee · 09:42:18 UTC Workspace Production Resource Delivery agent WhatsApp Read Read & write Succeeded [Workspaces](/docs/guides/workspaces)[Team roles](/docs/guides/users-teams-roles)[API authentication](/docs/guides/authentication) [Explore Enterprise](/enterprise) ## Start with SMS. Build across channels with Bird. [Get started](/dashboard/signup?returnTo=%2Fdashboard%2Fw%2Fsms%2Fonboarding) · [Contact Sales](/demo?product=sms) [Email](/email-api) · [SMS](/sms-api) · [WhatsApp](/whatsapp-api) · [Apple Messages](/apple-messages-api) · [Voice](/voice-api) ## Related resources - [Sending an SMS with a template](/learn/sms/sending-an-sms-with-a-template) (video) - [SMS templates](/docs/guides/sms/templates) (docs) - [Build your first integration](/learn/paths/integration) (course) [Get an implementation brief](/learn/workspace?topic=sms-templates)