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Compare Standard and Enhanced SMS Channel Capabilities
View a side-by-side comparison of standard and enhanced SMS channels. Going forward, new features are available exclusively in enhanced SMS channels.
Required Editions
| View supported editions. | |
This article applies to:
|
Standard and Enhanced SMS channels |
This article doesn’t apply to:
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Enhanced In-App Chat, Enhanced Web Chat v1, Enhanced Web Chat v2, Enhanced WhatsApp, Standard and Enhanced Facebook Messenger, Enhanced Apple Messages for Business, Enhanced LINE, and Bring Your Own Channel |
Important Standard SMS channels were retired on February 14, 2026. To avoid service
interruptions, upgrade your standard SMS channels to enhanced channels now. Enhanced SMS
offers many of the standard SMS features you love plus session transfers and AI agent support.
See Upgrading from Standard to Enhanced Messaging.
Enhanced SMS channels are built on our new conversation platform. The conversation platform also houses Service Cloud Voice, Enhanced Chat, and all other enhanced Messaging channels, such as WhatsApp. This shared platform has several benefits.
- When we roll out a new feature, it’s often shared across all channels on the conversation platform. Service reps get a consistent experience, regardless of channel.
- These channels are designed to scale beyond the customer support use case.
For an in-depth demo of upgrading a standard SMS channel to enhanced, watch this video:
Upgrade from Standard to Enhanced SMS.
Standard Versus Enhanced SMS
| Capability | Standard SMS | Enhanced SMS |
|---|---|---|
| Provisioning Methods | ||
| Long codes | Yes | Yes |
| Toll-free long codes (US) | Yes | Yes |
| Toll-free long codes (Canada) | Yes | Yes |
| Short codes (US) | Yes | Yes |
| Short codes (Canada) | Yes | Yes |
| Setup and Routing | ||
| Automated channel setup | No (must create a case) | Yes |
| Can upgrade from standard channels | N/A | Yes |
| Omni-Channel Flow routing | Yes, in Lightning Experience only | Yes |
| Queue-based routing | Yes | Yes |
| Enhanced routing | No | Yes |
| Tab-based capacity | Yes | Yes |
| Status-based capacity | No | Yes |
| Available with Sales Cloud | Yes | Yes |
| Messaging Session Start and End | ||
| Customer can start session | Yes | Yes |
| Service rep can start session | Yes, via the Start Conversation quick action (beta) | Yes, via the Send Message global action |
| Automated outbound messages | Yes | Yes |
| Broadcast (one-to-many) messaging | Yes | No |
| Service rep can end session | Yes | Yes |
| Service rep can mark session inactive | No | Yes |
| Available session statuses | New, Waiting, Active, Ended | New, Consent, Waiting, Active, Inactive, Ended, Error |
| Customer Experience | ||
| Typing indicator: customer side | N/A | N/A |
| Typing indicator: service rep side | N/A | N/A |
| Read receipts: customer side | N/A | N/A |
| Read receipts: service rep side | N/A | N/A |
| Delivered receipts: customer side | N/A | N/A |
| Delivered receipts: service rep side | N/A | N/A |
| Service Rep Experience | ||
| Quick text | Yes | Yes |
| Einstein recommended replies | No | Yes |
| Rep-to-rep transfer | No | Yes |
| Rep-to-flow transfer | No | Yes |
| Rep-to-queue transfer | No | Yes |
| Flag raise | No | Yes |
| Supervisor whisper to service reps | No | Yes |
| Multi-rep conferencing | No | Yes, up to 2 reps |
| Conversation transcripts | Yes | Yes. When a channel is upgraded from standard to enhanced, the Enhanced Conversation component doesn't show messages that were exchanged with the customer before the upgrade. Service reps must open individual messaging session records to see them. In the first post-upgrade conversation with a customer, the rep can check the customer's most recent messaging sessions in the channel to learn what was discussed. |
| After-conversation work timer | Yes | Yes |
| Compatible with AI agents | No | Yes |
| Compatible with Einstein Bots | Yes, in Lightning Experience only | Yes |
| Channel-object linking | Yes | Yes |
| Individual-object linking | Yes | Yes |
| Channel menu | Yes | Yes |
| Content Sharing | ||
| Text | Yes. For short codes: 160 characters. For long codes and toll-free long codes: 912 characters, or 396 characters if the message includes special characters. | Yes. For short codes: 160 characters. For long codes and toll-free long codes: 912 characters, or 396 characters if the message includes special characters. |
| Images* | Yes: .jpg, .jpeg, .png. Limits vary by carrier:
|
Yes: .jpg, .jpeg, .png. Limits vary by carrier:
|
| Emoji | Yes, in Salesforce Classic only | Yes |
| GIFs | Yes | Yes, inbound only |
| PDFs | No | No |
| Audio files | No | No |
| Video files | No | No |
| Enhanced link messaging components | No | Yes (plain text only) |
| Question with options messaging components | No | Yes (plain text only) |
| Time selector messaging components | No | Yes (plain text only) |
| Auto-response messaging components | No | No |
| Form messaging components | No | Yes (plain text only) |
| Notification messaging components | No | Yes (plain text only) |
| Payment messaging components | No | Yes (plain text only) |
| Authentication messaging components | No | Yes (plain text only) |
| Custom messaging components | No | Yes (plain text only) |
| Post-session survey | No | Yes (plain text only) |
| Right-to-left languages | No | Yes |
| Automated Responses | ||
| Conversation acknowledgment | Yes | Yes |
| Service rep accept | Yes | Yes |
| After-hours response | Yes, in Salesforce Classic only | No |
| Inactive conversation | No | No |
| End session | Yes | Yes |
| Security and Consent Management | ||
| Sensitive data rules | Yes | Yes |
| Encryption at rest | Yes, in Lightning Experience only | Yes |
| Channel consent type: Implicit opt-in | Yes | Yes |
| Channel consent type: Explicit opt-in | Yes (short codes) | Yes |
| Channel consent type: Double opt-in | Yes (short codes) | Yes |
| Customers can opt out | Yes | Yes |
* Sending images is supported only in standard and enhanced SMS channels associated with US and Canada long codes and toll-free long codes. It isn’t supported for short codes.
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