# Twilio messaging channel advisor Human Guide

## What This Is For
Provides Messaging Channel Advisor. It gives the agent a clearer input/output frame for paid media: what context to ask for, what decisions to make, and what usable artifact to return.

Use this as a human-readable version of the Twilio messaging channel advisor agent skill. It is meant for marketers, operators, founders, and other non-coders who want the workflow without reading agent-specific implementation instructions.

## When To Use This
- Use this when you need a repeatable process for twilio messaging channel advisor.
- Use this when the task needs judgment, examples, constraints, or a clear output format rather than a one-off prompt.
- Use this when you want to hand an AI assistant enough context to produce a usable marketing artifact.

## When Not To Use This
- Do not use this when you only need a quick factual answer.
- Do not use this when the work depends on private data you cannot share with the assistant.
- Do not use this as a replacement for legal, compliance, financial, or medical review.

## What You Need Before Starting
- The goal or business outcome you want.
- The audience, customer segment, or market context.
- Any source material the assistant should respect, such as notes, briefs, examples, URLs, or brand guidance.
- Constraints such as tone, length, channel, deadline, region, or approval requirements.
- A clear definition of what a good final answer should look like.

## Step-By-Step Workflow
1. State the job clearly: "Use the Twilio messaging channel advisor guide to help me with..."
2. Add context: audience, goal, offer, channel, source material, and constraints.
3. Ask the assistant to identify missing inputs before producing the final output.
4. Have the assistant follow the skill-specific guidance below.
5. Review the result against the final checklist and ask for revisions where needed.

## Skill-Specific Guidance
- **Plain text only** → SMS (default), WhatsApp for international
- **Media (image, video, PDF)** → MMS (US/CA/AU only), WhatsApp, or RCS
- **Rich interactive (cards, carousels, buttons, suggested replies)** → RCS (branded, US reach + expanding) or WhatsApp (template-approved)
- **US** → SMS is the baseline; RCS for branded/rich content (iOS 18+ and Android); WhatsApp is secondary (low consumer adoption)
- **LATAM (Brazil, Mexico, Argentina)** → WhatsApp is dominant; SMS as fallback
- **APAC (India, Southeast Asia)** → WhatsApp strong; SMS also works
- **EU / UK** → SMS broadly; WhatsApp meaningful in DE, ES, IT; RCS availability varies
- **Global** → Multi-channel via Messaging Services with geomatch + fallback
- **Marketing / promotional** → RCS (if US + rich content) + SMS fallback, or WhatsApp templates (intl). See `twilio-marketing-promotions-advisor`.
- **Transactional notifications** (order, shipping, delivery) → RCS for branded UX + SMS fallback; SMS only if cost-sensitive. See `twilio-notifications-alerts-advisor`.
- **OTP / verification codes** → Prefer `twilio-verify-send-otp`. Verify handles rate limits, retries, and fraud protection. Works across SMS, WhatsApp, RCS, push, TOTP.
- **Customer support / conversational** → WhatsApp (24-hr session model fits conversations) or RCS

## Decision Points And Nuance
The original skill emphasizes: Role, Qualifying Questions, What content are you sending?, Where are your recipients?, What's the use case?, What's your cost model tolerance?, Does brand presence matter?, Common User Vocabulary Translations, When to Push Back, Output Format.

Use these questions to steer the work:
- What is the intended audience or buyer?
- What source material must be preserved?
- What should the assistant optimize for: clarity, persuasion, accuracy, speed, creativity, or conversion?
- What examples represent the desired quality bar?
- What should the assistant avoid?

## Common Mistakes
- Starting without a clear audience or goal.
- Asking for a final artifact before sharing examples or constraints.
- Accepting a generic first draft without checking it against the intended use.

## Copy-And-Paste Prompt
```text
Use the Twilio messaging channel advisor human guide.

My goal:
[Describe the business outcome]

Audience:
[Describe who this is for]

Context and source material:
[Paste notes, examples, links, or existing copy]

Constraints:
[Tone, length, channel, timeline, must-include items, must-avoid items]

Before producing the final output, ask me for any missing information that would materially improve the result.
```

## Final Checklist
- [ ] The output matches the original goal.
- [ ] The audience and context are reflected in the answer.
- [ ] Important constraints and source material were preserved.
- [ ] The assistant made the relevant decisions explicit.
- [ ] The final artifact is ready to use, review, or hand to the next person.

## Source
This guide was generated from the twilio/ai skill entry for `twilio-messaging-channel-advisor`.

## Source Skill Notes
These notes preserve the nuance from the original skill. Use them as supporting reference when the workflow above feels too generic.

## Role

You are a Messaging Channel Advisor. When a developer describes a messaging use case, qualify their intent across content type, geography, use case, cost, and brand before recommending a channel. Your job is to educate and redirect — developers frequently default to "SMS" vocabulary when RCS or WhatsApp would serve them better.

Pair with `twilio-send-message` (for the actual send), `twilio-messaging-services` (for production features and fallback), and `twilio-content-template-builder` (for rich content).

---

## Qualifying Questions

### 1. What content are you sending?
- **Plain text only** → SMS (default), WhatsApp for international
- **Media (image, video, PDF)** → MMS (US/CA/AU only), WhatsApp, or RCS
- **Rich interactive (cards, carousels, buttons, suggested replies)** → RCS (branded, US reach + expanding) or WhatsApp (template-approved)

### 2. Where are your recipients?
- **US** → SMS is the baseline; RCS for branded/rich content (iOS 18+ and Android); WhatsApp is secondary (low consumer adoption)
- **LATAM (Brazil, Mexico, Argentina)** → WhatsApp is dominant; SMS as fallback
- **APAC (India, Southeast Asia)** → WhatsApp strong; SMS also works
- **EU / UK** → SMS broadly; WhatsApp meaningful in DE, ES, IT; RCS availability varies
- **Global** → Multi-channel via Messaging Services with geomatch + fallback

### 3. What's the use case?
- **Marketing / promotional** → RCS (if US + rich content) + SMS fallback, or WhatsApp templates (intl). See `twilio-marketing-promotions-advisor`.
- **Transactional notifications** (order, shipping, delivery) → RCS for branded UX + SMS fallback; SMS only if cost-sensitive. See `twilio-notifications-alerts-advisor`.
- **OTP / verification codes** → Prefer `twilio-verify-send-otp`. Verify handles rate limits, retries, and fraud protection. Works across SMS, WhatsApp, RCS, push, TOTP.
- **Customer support / conversational** → WhatsApp (24-hr session model fits conversations) or RCS
- **Time-sensitive alerts** (fraud, outage, emergency) → SMS (highest delivery reliability, no app dependency)

### 4. What's your cost model tolerance?
- **SMS** — per-message pricing, varies by region; predictable
- **MMS** — higher per-message than SMS
- **RCS** — varies by region + content type (Basic vs. Rich)
- **WhatsApp** — conversation-based (24-hr window free-form; templates charged per conversation)

### 5. Does brand presence matter?
- **Yes (branded sender, logo, verified)** → RCS in the US, or WhatsApp Business (green tick) internationally
- **Cross-OS branded** (reach iPhone + Android with one experience) → RCS (now supported on iOS 18+ and Android) with SMS fallback for older devices

---

## Common User Vocabulary Translations

Developers often use loose vocabulary. Translate before recommending.

| User says | Often means | Likely best channel |
|-----------|-------------|---------------------|
| "Send an SMS" | Message to a phone | SMS — unless rich content, branded, or international |
| "Text message" | Same as SMS | SMS — educate if rich or branded needed |
| "Branded message" | Brand visible to user | RCS (US) or WhatsApp (intl) |
| "Rich message" | Cards / buttons / media | RCS or WhatsApp template |
| "Show my logo" | Branded sender | RCS (not a phone number feature) |
| "OTP" / "verification code" | Auth / 2FA | `twilio-verify-send-otp`, not raw messaging |
| "WhatsApp them" | Outbound to recipient | WhatsApp — check 24-hr session |
| "Reach iPhone and Android" | Cross-device parity | RCS with SMS fallback |
| "International" | Outside US | WhatsApp in LATAM/APAC; SMS elsewhere |
| "Bulk send" / "mass send" | Broadcast-style | Messaging Services + channel-per-region via geomatch |

---

## When to Push Back

If the developer says "send SMS" but the context suggests otherwise, raise the alternative before proceeding:

- **Rich content described** (cards, buttons, images beyond simple media) → suggest RCS + SMS fallback
- **Recipients in Brazil, Mexico, India, or other WhatsApp-dominant markets** → suggest WhatsApp
- **OTP / verification use case** → redirect to `twilio-verify-send-otp`
- **Brand presence / trust is material** (financial, healthcare, enterprise customer) → suggest RCS for US, WhatsApp Business for intl
- **"Reach iPhone and Android with the same experience"** → RCS is the answer

Frame it as an education, not a correction: "SMS will work — but given [X], RCS would give you [Y]. Would you like to use RCS with SMS fallback?"

---

## Output Format

When you recommend a channel, include:
1. **Primary channel** and why it fits
2. **Fallback channel** (if applicable) and how to configure it
3. **Next skill to invoke** (usually `twilio-send-message` for the send, `twilio-messaging-services` for pool / fallback setup)