A customer may ask to continue a support request in Messages. The invitation carries that choice into the channel without treating every stored phone number as an open conversation.

## What does the business need?

The business needs the approved invitation setup, an appropriate Apple-managed template and explicit customer opt-in. [Apple’s invitation requirements](https://register.apple.com/resources/messages/msp-rest-api/business-updates) govern this separate path.

Keep the purpose clear when collecting the customer’s choice. An invitation for a service continuation is not a general marketing broadcast.

## Is an invitation an ordinary reply?

No. An invitation is addressed through its phone workflow. Ordinary replies use [Apple’s Opaque ID](https://support.apple.com/guide/security/secure-apple-messages-for-business-sec1c603aab4/web), an identifier for the relationship between that customer and that business. This identifier lets you reply without receiving the customer’s phone number or Apple Account details.

Keep the original service request available so an accepted conversation can continue with useful context.

## Does sending mean the customer accepted?

No. Submission, acceptance and the resulting conversation are different observations. Follow the recorded customer response and the conversation that it opens. Missing response information remains unknown.

Stop that invitation journey when the customer declines, because they have not agreed to continue in Messages. [Leaving an existing conversation](https://support.apple.com/en-us/102053) is a separate choice to stop receiving that business’s messages. Check the recorded response and current messaging preference before sending a follow-up.

## How do I build the invitation journey?

Capture the customer’s request, use the approved template and preserve the service context through the response. Prepare a permitted alternative for an unsupported device.

Correlate the [invitation and customer response](/docs/guides/apple-messages/invitations), then measure the resulting conversation in [your outcome reporting](/products/apple-messages/analytics). Keep a missing response separate from an explicit decline.

## Related resources

- [Apple Messages for Business](/products/apple-messages) (product)
- [Integrate an Apple Messages customer journey](/docs/guides/apple-messages/api) (docs)
- [What is Apple Messages for Business?](/explained/apple-messages/what-is-apple-messages-for-business) (answer)

[Get an implementation brief](/learn/workspace?topic=apple-messages)