Invitations

Continue the conversation by invitation.

Invite customers who have explicitly opted in to continue a defined service in Messages. Bird connects approved invitations, customer responses and fallback paths to the request your team is already handling.

Explore Apple Messages for Business

An invitation the customer asked for

EXAMPLE

Continue your support request in Messages.

The customer chooses this option during the service journey.

Purpose

Existing support request

Consent

Explicit opt-in

Template

Apple-approved

Fictional invitation and responses. Nothing is sent. Real invitations use explicit opt-in and Apple-approved templates for the permitted service purpose.

Continue with the customer’s permission

An invitation with a clear reason to accept.

A customer is speaking with your team and asks to continue a service request in Messages. Send an approved invitation for that purpose, record their response and bring the existing context into the conversation when they accept.

Design the invitation around the service the customer expects. Keep the approved template, explicit opt-in and a useful alternative together, so accepting, declining or being unable to receive the invitation leads to an understandable result.

Read the invitations guide
Yes, I’d like to continue this request in Messages.
Service invitation
PurposeContinue a support request
PermissionExplicit opt-in recorded
Customer choiceAccepted
Invitation acceptedService context connected
Illustrative customer journey and business records.

Give the customer control of the next step.

Bird connects the invitation lifecycle to the service journey. The customer’s choice determines what happens next, including when the request should stay on its original channel.

01

Capture the defined opt-in

Explain the business, the service purpose and that the customer will receive an invitation to Messages. Record the customer’s explicit choice with the request and contact information used for this invitation.

02

Use the approved template

Prepare the invitation through Apple’s separate approval path and use the correct template and addressing operation. Check the device and account requirements for the customers you intend to invite.

03

Follow acceptance or decline

Keep send acceptance, the customer’s response and the opened conversation as separate stages. On acceptance, connect the customer to the promised service with their existing request context.

04

Continue through the appropriate fallback

If the customer declines, cannot receive the invitation or does not continue, keep the service available through the agreed alternative. Avoid repeated invitations that disregard the customer’s response.

A service invitation should feel expected.

Make the purpose recognizable

Use a business identity and invitation text that match the conversation the customer just had. The receiving team should know which request prompted the invitation and what the customer expects to happen next.

Keep approval and response records together

Retain the template reference, opt-in evidence and invitation outcome with the service request. Review the current Apple invitation requirements before launch; this is a separately approved path for defined uses, not a general marketing broadcast.

Invitations questions

Are invitations an unrestricted marketing broadcast channel?
No. Apple requires approval, managed templates and explicit opt-in; unsolicited invitations and marketing campaigns are prohibited on this path.
Is an invitation addressed like an ordinary reply?
Invitations use the customer’s opted-in phone number and may arrive in a new or existing business thread. Ordinary replies continue through the open conversation’s Apple identity.
Does sent mean the customer accepted?
No. Submission and customer response are different facts. Do not infer acceptance or decline from a missing response signal.
Is declining an invitation the same as leaving a conversation?
No. They are distinct customer actions. Follow the recorded response and preference requirements rather than collapsing them into one status.

Put it into practice.

Continue with the documentation, guides and examples for this topic. Resources are in English.

Get an implementation brief

Continue the service your customer requested.

Review your invitation approval, consent record and service handoff before opening the phone-addressed invitation path.

Start with one channel.
Add the others when you're ready.

A test API key is yours immediately. Production unlocks when you add a payment method and verify a sender.

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