All messaging transmitted via the Pinnacle Ai platform, regardless of use case or phone number type (e.g., long code or toll-free), must comply with Application-to-Person (A2P) messaging standards. All A2P messages originating from the system are subject to this Messaging Policy, which includes the following rules and prohibitions:

Consent (“opt-in”): Consent cannot be bought, sold, or exchanged. For example, you cannot obtain the consent of message recipients by purchasing a phone list from another party. SMS should only be sent to opted-in contacts.

Revocation of Consent (“opt-out”): The initial message sent to an individual must include language such as “Reply STOP to unsubscribe,” or an equivalent, so individuals have the ability to revoke consent at any time by replying with a standard opt-out keyword.

Sender Identification: Every initial message must clearly identify you (the party that obtained the opt-in from the recipient) as the sender, except in follow-up messages of an ongoing conversation.

Messaging Usage: You should not send messages related to alcohol, firearms, gambling, tobacco, or other adult content.

Filtering Evasion: We do not allow content designed to evade detection by unwanted messaging detection and prevention mechanisms. This includes intentionally misspelled words or non-standard opt-out phrases created to evade these mechanisms. We do not permit snowshoeing, which is spreading similar or identical messages across many phone numbers to evade unwanted messaging detection and prevention mechanisms.

This policy applies to all customers using Pinnacle Ai's phone messaging services to safeguard their messaging capabilities and services.

How We Handle Violations

When we identify a violation of these principles, we will, where possible, work with customers in good faith to get them back into compliance with the messaging policy. However, to protect the continued ability of all our customers to freely use messaging for legitimate purposes, we reserve the right to suspend or remove access to the platform for customers or customers’ end users who are not complying with the Messaging Policy or following applicable laws or communications industry guidelines and standards, in some instances with limited notice in the case of serious violations of this policy.

SMS Ramp-Up Model (V2)

Starting February 1st, 2024, all accounts created under Pinnacle Ai Phone will have an 8-level ramp instead of the 7-day ramp with a lower limit. Below is the table detailing the ramp:

How it Works:

• This ramp does not start on the signup date; it starts on the day the first successful SMS message is sent.
• All accounts start at Level 1, enabling them to send 100 SMS within 24 hours.
• To increase sending limits, the account must send the full level sending limit within a 24-hour window.
• After sending the full level sending limit within 24 hours, the account will be temporarily restricted from sending SMS for the next 24 hours. During this temporary restriction, SMS sending is disabled.
• After 24 hours, the temporary restriction will be removed, and the account will unlock the next level sending limit, increasing their sending limit.

Example:

• A new account will start at Level 1 with a sending limit of 100 SMS within 24 hours.
• To unlock Level 2, the account must send 100 SMS within 24 hours.
• After sending 100 SMS within 24 hours, the account will be temporarily restricted from sending SMS for 24 hours. After 24 hours, SMS sending will be allowed again, and the account will unlock Level 2 with a sending limit of 250.
• This process continues until Level 8, which allows for sending 3000+ SMS.

FAQs on SMS Ramp-Up Model

• Can I change or remove this ramp-up model? No. Previously, agencies could change the SMS limit within the ramp or post-ramp period. That capability has been removed.
• Do one-to-one and missed call text back SMS count toward my daily limit sending? Yes. Previously, one-to-one messages and missed call text back messages were not counted as part of the day’s total message; this will be counted henceforth.
• Can I send one-to-one messages during the 24-hour temporary sending restriction after reaching my level limit? No. Previously, when a location was temporarily restricted, one-to-one messages were allowed. That capability has been removed.

Why the Change?

Pinnacle Ai's phone policy was implemented to:

• Avoid SMS spam blasts from fake signups. New accounts on Pinnacle Ai Phone will follow the Ramp-Up Model.
• Avoid getting accounts blocked due to suspicious activity.
• Avoid legal actions due to increased spamming to non-consenting customers. Only bulk SMS sending will have daily limitations to avoid account suspension due to non-compliant messaging activity.

Error Screens or Notifications During a Violation:

• Conversation Error: You have exceeded your SMS sending limit.
• Bulk Action: You are allowed to send 5000 message(s) in a day. You have already sent 5000 message(s). If you wish to proceed, 1 Message(s) will be failed.

Spam Message Handling

Each message sent from the account ends up with one of the following four statuses:

• Sent: The messages for which we did not receive a response from the carrier can be in any of the statuses below.
• Delivered: The messages successfully delivered to the contact.
• Failed: The messages canceled or not sent to the carrier to forward to the contact.
• Undelivered: The messages sent were suspicious or did not fulfill the messaging policy.

As part of this feature, we will only consider undelivered messages. All undelivered messages will have a particular error code stored at each message level. We will use these codes to enable Temporary/Permanent DND at a contact level, preventing new SMSs from being sent to them and increasing your deliverability rate.

The table below summarizes the undelivered SMS error codes, their descriptions, and the relevant remediation measures:

• Temporary DND: The DND set at a contact level can be revoked by the agency or location.
• Permanent DND: The DND set at the contact level cannot be revoked by the agency or location as the contact is incapable of receiving the message or has opted out of receiving messages.
• Opt-Out Keyword: Individuals must have the ability to revoke consent at any time by replying with a standard opt-out keyword like STOP, Unsubscribe, etc. In this case, a permanent DND will be enabled at the contact level.

Advantages:

• This will restrict the location from sending SMS to non-relevant contacts, eventually increasing the deliverability rate and decreasing the possibility of getting blocked.
• Locations will only send messages to contacts who have opted in.

Spam Messaging Error Screens:

• Conversation: Cannot send messages as DND is active for SMS.
• Bulk Action: All SMS sent via features like workflow and bulk SMS will automatically skip the DND-marked contacts from the sender list.

How to Revoke the DND for a Contact:

• For Temporary DND, go to the contact details and remove the DND flag.
• For Permanent DND, you cannot revoke it from the UI. To revoke the permanent DND, request the contact to send a reply with the "START," "YES," or "UNSTOP" keywords to the number. This should automatically remove the DND from the contact.

Note: If the START keyword does not revoke the DND and incoming/outgoing messages still fail, please raise a support ticket.

Opt-Out Language Addition

Consent for sending communications cannot be bought; it must be obtained explicitly from the user. Each initial message sent out by the company to an end-user must include two mandatory pieces of information: Sender ID and opt-out language.

• Opt-Out Language: The end user should have the capability to remove consent at any time. Each initial message should include opt-out keywords like STOP, UNSUBSCRIBE, etc. We will additionally add the opt-out language: “Reply STOP to unsubscribe.”

Note:

• The “Opt-out message” feature is applicable to bulk actions (Bulk SMS), workflows, and campaigns, but not to one-on-one conversations unless it is the first text being sent to a new contact who has never sent a text to the Pinnacle Ai phone number before.

Sender Information Addition

Consent for sending communications cannot be bought; it must be obtained explicitly from the user. Each initial message sent out by the company to an end-user must include two mandatory pieces of information: Sender ID and opt-out language.

• SenderID: Every message you send must clearly identify you (the party that obtained the opt-in from the recipient) as the sender, except in follow-up messages of an ongoing conversation. We will additionally add the sender info: “Thanks, .”

Note:

• The “Sender ID” feature is only applicable to bulk actions (Bulk SMS), workflows, and campaigns, and not to one-on-one conversations.

Error and Opt-Out Rate Monitoring

We focus on helping our customers deliver trusted communications. To ensure that the carrier does not block or suspend the account permanently based on bad usage, we will monitor the delivery rate of the overall account and take proactive measures to keep the delivery rate in check:

• Violation Email: We will send a notification email when the account hits an error rate of 8% and an opt-out rate of 1%.
• Temporary Account Restriction: We will send a suspension email when the account hits an error rate of 12.5% and an opt-out rate of 2.5%.

Note: When the account hits the temporary suspension, all upcoming outbound SMS will fail until 00:00 AM UTC.

What to Do When You Receive a Violation Email:

• Stop all workflows, campaigns, triggers, and/or bulk actions to contacts who have not explicitly opted in to receive messages from the account.
• Enable and customize the opt-out language and SenderID message as per your use case to prevent upcoming messages from being flagged.
• Discuss with your client to ensure no bulk communication, message blasts, or cold prospecting message campaigns are sent in the near future before replying to the support ticket.

Error and Opt-Out Rates:

• High Opt-Out Rate: Indicates that contacts receiving your messages have objected, generated complaints, or marked your SMS as spam. A good opt-out rate is typically 0—1%. Once the opt-out rate hits 2%, the account will be locked for sending text messages for 24 hours.
• High Delivery Error Rate: Indicates sending SMS to contacts that are no longer in service, unreachable, or using a non-SMS-capable device such as a landline. This may also mean external carrier filters are refusing to deliver your SMS due to past bad sending behavior. A good error rate is typically 0—6%. Once the error rate hits 12%, the account will be locked for sending text messages for 24 hours.

How to Remove Account Suspension Early:

The account suspension will be lifted in 24 hours. If the account is permanently suspended, refer to the article "Why is your account suspended" to unsuspend the account.

Note: One-on-one conversations, test SMS, resend messages, and missed call text back are allowed even if the account is suspended.

FAQs:

• How often does the SMS limit last? The SMS limit refreshes every 24 hours. For new accounts, the increments increase daily according to the ramp-up table. After the 8th day, the SMS limit is capped at 5000 per day.
• Can I send more than 5000 SMS per day? Once your location(s) hit the 8th-day mark (5000 SMS per day), you may request a limit extension from support.
• What happens when we hit our daily limit? Can we respond to SMS if a lead replies? No. The SMS daily limits affect all messaging activities, including manual SMS in conversations, automation within workflows, and bulk actions.
• Can we undo the DND option in bulk? No, this prevents sending SMS in bulk again after DND is enabled for the contacts.
• Does the auto-append Sender ID and Opt-Out Language feature apply to every first text of workflow or manual SMS? This feature is only applicable to bulk actions (Bulk SMS) and not to one-on-one conversations, workflows, or campaigns.