The Messaging Portal supports two ways to send a single SMS to multiple recipients: SMS Broadcast and Group Texting. The two methods differ in how recipients experience the message and how replies are delivered.
Note to the Enterprise Admin
SMS Group is a separate feature and is not covered in this article. An SMS Group is a number-sharing arrangement in which a single phone number is shared by a group of Teams users — it is not a way to send to multiple recipients. For configuring SMS Groups, see Configure SMS Groups.
Send Modes at a Glance
SMS Broadcast | Group Texting | |
|---|---|---|
Recipients see each other | No | Yes |
Reply behavior | Each reply returns as a private 1-to-1 thread to the sender | Replies are visible to all recipients in the shared thread |
Where to send from |
|
|
Where to reply to inbound messages |
|
|
Requirements | Always available | Your SMS number must support group texting AND your service provider must have Group Texting enabled for your enterprise. |
Maximum recipients | 10 | 10 |
Best for | Announcements, alerts, and follow-ups where replies should stay private to the sender | Small-group conversations where everyone needs to see the discussion |
Choosing a Send Mode
Choose based on how recipients should experience the message and how replies should be handled:
Use SMS Broadcast when each recipient should receive the message privately and reply directly to the sender without other recipients seeing the reply. This is appropriate for announcements, alerts, and individual follow-ups.
Use Group Texting when all recipients should be part of the same conversation and see each other's replies. This is appropriate for small-group discussions where shared visibility is important.
Before You Begin
Confirm the following before sending:
Make sure the following prerequisites are met before initiating SMS conversations with multiple recipients.
Your Enterprise Admin has enabled SMS service for your Teams user and assigned at least one SMS-capable phone number to you, either as a personal number or as a member of an SMS Group.
Understand the full user experience as a ConnecttoTeams user by reading the key user guide:
For SMS Connector App (Legacy) users, see Using the SMS Connector App (Legacy).
For Unified Connector App users, see Using the Unified Connector App for SMS.
Understand how to use the SMS Page. See Using the SMS Page within the App
If you are in the US or Canada, understand your organization’s 10DLC compliance procedure to avoid your sender number getting blocked. This is outside the scope of ConnecttoTeams. Your administrators will comply with the rules based on guidance of your underlying SMS provider.
For Group Texting only, both of the following must also be true:
The sender's phone number supports group texting.
Your enterprise's service provider has Group Texting enabled.
Important
If either Group Texting prerequisites is not met, the Group SMS option will not be shown. When multiple recipients are entered in the SMS Page, the messages are always sent as SMS broadcast.
Sending an SMS Broadcast
An SMS Broadcast can be initiated from the SMS Page (available in both the legacy SMS Connector App and the Unified Connector App) or using the AI Messaging Assistant (Unified Connector App only).
From the SMS Page
Open the Connector App in Microsoft Teams and go to the SMS page.
In the Message as dropdown, select the number to send from. If only one number is assigned to you, it is pre-selected.
Click New icon.
In the Mobile Number field, enter up to 10 recipients. You can type each phone number or contact name and press Enter after each entry, or paste a list of numbers directly into the field.
Select Broadcast SMS as the send option.
Compose your message in the text box.
Click the send icon.
Each recipient receives the message individually. Replies return to you as separate 1-to-1 conversations.
With AI Messaging Assistant (Unified Connector App)
From the AI Messaging Assistant or application Chat tab, describe what you want to send in plain language and specify that the message should be sent as a broadcast. The AI Messaging Assistant handles the rest, including selecting recipients and sending the message.
Sending a Group Text
A Group Text can be initiated from the SMS Page (available in both the legacy SMS Connector App and the Unified Connector App) or from the AI Messaging Assistant (Unified Connector App only). Before sending a Group Text, verify that both prerequisites listed in Before You Begin are met.
For a complete overview of Group Texting — including how to have the feature enabled for your enterprise, carrier compatibility, AI Messaging Assistant usage, Secure SMS behavior, and feature support across components — see the Group Texting article.
From the SMS Page
Open the Connector App in Microsoft Teams and go to the SMS page.
In the Message as dropdown, select the number to send from. If only one number is assigned to you, it is pre-selected.
Click New icon.
In the Mobile Number field, enter up to 10 recipients. You can type each phone number or contact name and press Enter after each entry, or paste a list of numbers directly into the field.
Select Group SMS as the send option.
Enter the Group Name -— a short label that helps identify this conversation in your list. Only, you, the sender sees this label. This field is required.
Compose your message in the text box.
Click the send icon.
All recipients become part of the same conversation thread. Anyone in the thread can see replies from any other recipient.
With AI Assistant (Unified Connector App)
From the AI Messaging Assistant or application Chat tab, describe what you want to send in plain language and specify that the message should be sent as a group text. The AI assistant handles the rest, including selecting recipients and sending the message.
Replying to Inbound Group Texts
Replies to a group text can be sent from multiple places, depending on which Connector App is in use:
SMS Page — available in both the legacy SMS Connector App and the Unified Connector App.
Using the SMS Composer (Legacy) — available in the legacy SMS Connector App. Replies sent using the SMS Composer are delivered as part of the group text thread.
Regular Teams chat — available in the Unified Connector App. The conversation appears as a regular Teams chat; replies sent in that chat are delivered as part of the group text thread.
Recipient Limits and Compliance
Recipient limit: A maximum of 10 recipients per message applies to both SMS Broadcast and Group Texting.
Opt-in and opt-out: Recipient consent and opt-out handling are the responsibility of the sender and the enterprise. ConnecttoTeams does not manage consent records or process opt-out requests. Senders should use discretion when adding recipients, particularly for broadcast messages, and follow applicable regulations in their jurisdiction.
Number Format Rules and Separators in SMS Page
When pasting a list of phone numbers into the recipient field on the SMS Page, the following separator characters are supported:
Comma (,)
Semicolon (;)
Colon (:)
Carriage return (Enter key)
Pasted numbers are normalized using these rules:
Extra characters such as plus signs, dashes, parentheses, and spaces are removed automatically.
A maximum of 10 numbers can be added to the recipient field.
Related Articles
FAQ
Can recipients see who else received my Broadcast?
No. In a Broadcast, each recipient receives the message individually and sees only their own 1-to-1 thread with you. They cannot see the other recipients.
If I send a Group Text, can recipients reply privately to me only?
No. In a Group Text, all replies are visible to every recipient in the thread. If a recipient needs to reply privately, they would need to start a separate 1-to-1 SMS conversation with you.
What's the difference between an SMS Group and Group Texting
An SMS Group is a number-sharing arrangement: a single phone number is shared by a group of Teams users, any of whom can send and receive messages from that number. Group Texting is a send mode: one message is sent to multiple recipients as a shared conversation thread. The two are unrelated features.
Can I use SMS Broadcast for marketing or promotional messages?
Technically yes, but recipient consent (opt-in) and opt-out handling are the sender's responsibility, not ConnecttoTeams'. Senders must comply with applicable regulations in their jurisdiction (such as The Campaign Registry in the United States) and should only broadcast to recipients who have consented to receive messages.
Does Group Texting work for recipients on any carrier?
Group Texting requires that the sender's phone number supports the feature and that your enterprise's service provider has Group Texting enabled. On the recipient side, behavior depends on the recipient's carrier and device — most modern devices and carriers support group SMS threads, but some older devices may display each message individually. If group thread behavior is important, test with a small group first.
Where do I find my SMS conversations in Teams?
his depends on which Connector App your enterprise uses. With the legacy SMS Connector App, conversations appear in a dedicated Teams channel created by the connector. With the Unified Connector App, conversations appear in your regular Teams chat list. See SMS Connector App vs Unified Connector App for details.
Why don't I see the SMS page?
The SMS Page is not available with Secure SMS. You will need to send SMS from Teams channels (in the SMS Connector App (Legacy)) or from Teams chats (in the Unified Connector App). For details, see When Secure SMS Feature is Enabled.