Use the Twilio: Send Voice Message automation action to place an outbound phone call through Twilio and play a text-to-speech voice message to the recipient. This action is ideal for alerts, reminders, and time-sensitive notifications that need to be delivered by voice instead of SMS.
What this action does
When this automation runs, SmartSuite sends a request to Twilio Programmable Voice using your connected Twilio account. Twilio then places the outbound call and reads your message using text-to-speech. The message can include both static text and dynamic values pulled from the trigger record or previous automation steps.
At this time, a successful run in SmartSuite means the request was successfully sent to Twilio for execution. Outcomes such as a busy line, voicemail, or an unavailable recipient do not currently cause the SmartSuite automation run to fail.
Before you start
Before using this action, make sure you have:
A Twilio account connected in SmartSuite, or the ability to add a new Twilio credential during setup. Existing Twilio connections used for Send SMS in the same Solution can also be reused for voice messaging.
A valid Twilio phone number to use as the From Phone number.
A destination phone number that can receive the call.
Legal and compliance notice
Important: Legal & Compliance Notice
By using Twilio Voice, you confirm that you have the required consent and legal basis to place automated or prerecorded or AI-generated voice calls to the numbers you contact. You are responsible for complying with all applicable laws and regulations, including TCPA and local equivalents. SmartSuite does not provide legal advice. If you are unsure whether you are permitted to place these calls, do not use this feature.
Twilio Text-to-Speech uses artificial intelligence and machine learning. Use of these capabilities is subject to Twilio’s applicable terms for predictive and generative AI or ML features.
Action fields
The Twilio: Send Voice Message action includes the following fields:
Twilio Account
Select the Twilio account you want to use for the call.
This field is required.
Existing Twilio credentials already connected for Send SMS in the same Solution are available here as well.
To connect a new account, choose + Add new Twilio credential and complete the Twilio connection flow. Once connected successfully, the new account is added to the Solution and selected automatically.
From Phone
Choose the Twilio phone number that will appear as the caller ID for the outbound call.
This field is required.
The selected Twilio account is used to authenticate requests and determine which Twilio phone number is used as the caller.
Phone Number
Enter the destination phone number that should receive the call.
This field is required.
You can enter a static value manually or insert a dynamic value from the trigger or a previous automation step.
Voice Message
Enter the message that Twilio will speak during the call.
This field is required.
The message editor uses SmartDoc as the input surface.
SmartDoc authoring capabilities are not enabled for this field.
Use the + menu to insert dynamic values into the message.
Language
Choose the language for text-to-speech playback.
This field defaults to English (US).
The selected language maps to TwiML `
<Say language="...">`.
Voice
Choose the voice Twilio should use when reading the message.
The available voices depend on the selected language.
SmartSuite presents a voice list for the chosen language and hardcodes other criteria such as type, gender, and provider to **All** in order to show the fullest set of available voices.
Depending on your Twilio account configuration, available voices may include basic Twilio voices as well as provider voices such as Amazon Polly or Google voices.
How to set up a Send Voice Message action
Add the Twilio: Send Voice Message action to your automation.
Select an existing Twilio Account or add a new Twilio credential.
Choose the From Phone number you want Twilio to use as the caller.
Enter the destination Phone Number. Use a static value or insert a dynamic value from the trigger or a previous action.
Write your Voice Message in the message editor. Use the + menu to personalize the message with dynamic values.
Select the Language for playback. English (US) is selected by default.
Select the Voice you want to use for that language.
Save the automation and test the action.
Example
A customer success team might create an automation that calls a contact when an urgent case is opened. The voice message could say:
> Hello {{Contact Name}}. This is an automated call from SmartSuite. A high-priority case has been opened for your account. Please check your email for details.
This kind of message can combine static text with dynamic values from the record.
Notes and current behavior
The action has a fixed structure with predefined fields for account selection, phone numbers, message content, legal notice, language, and voice.
Voice message requests are sent through Twilio Programmable Voice using text-to-speech.
SmartSuite currently treats the action as successful once the request is accepted by Twilio, not when final call completion outcomes are known.
Possible errors
If the request cannot be sent successfully, you may see an error related to one of the following:
Authentication or authorization failure
Invalid To or From phone number
A From number that is not voice-capable or not allowed
Insufficient funds or account restrictions, which can be common in Twilio trial or locked accounts
Text-to-speech execution failures, such as invalid TTS configuration or message length issues
Rate limits or concurrency limits returned by Twilio, including HTTP 429 responses
Things to keep in mind
Twilio applies outbound calling limits. The requirements note that Twilio accounts typically default to 1 outgoing call per second, and additional calls may be queued as capacity becomes available.