Direct Answer (TL;DR)
Brilo AI’s SMS Conversation Restart Option can be configured so an inbound text either resumes the previous thread or starts a fresh conversation depending on your routing rules and session settings. By default Brilo AI matches messages by phone number and active conversation state (session context), but you can enable logic to ignore prior context and treat a new inbound message as a new conversation. This behavior is set in the agent’s messaging configuration and interacts with your CRM sync and webhook routing. Contact your Brilo AI admin to change whether Brilo AI resumes, queues, or restarts SMS threads.
How about:
Can I force Brilo AI to ignore an old SMS thread and start a new one? — Yes; Brilo AI can be configured to treat a new inbound SMS as a fresh conversation when enabled.
Will Brilo AI always resume the last SMS thread for a phone number? — Not always; Brilo AI resumes by default unless you enable the restart option or add routing rules that override session context.
How do I reset an SMS conversation in Brilo AI if a customer replies to an old message? — You can configure restart logic or use a webhook/CRM trigger to clear session context so Brilo AI starts a new thread.
Why This Question Comes Up (problem context)
Enterprises ask about the SMS Conversation Restart Option because message threading affects case handling, compliance workflows, and customer experience. In healthcare and financial services, a single phone number can represent multiple transactions or patients, and resuming old threads can surface stale context or incorrect identifiers. Brilo AI buyers need predictable behavior so automated messages, follow-ups, and human agents see the right record and don’t repeat or contradict prior interactions.
How It Works (High-Level)
When Brilo AI receives an SMS, the platform evaluates message metadata and session context to decide resume vs restart. Typical evaluation steps include matching the sender’s phone number to an active conversation, checking conversation state (open, closed, or timed-out), and applying routing rules or intent detection (confidence and intent). If configured to restart, Brilo AI clears conversational context for that contact and initiates a new session with a fresh conversation state. In Brilo AI, session context is the short-term memory the agent uses to hold recent messages and extracted entities for the active SMS thread.
Conversation state is the status flag (open, closed, on-hold) that determines whether incoming SMS should resume or spawn a new thread. Intent detection is the process that extracts sender intent from an SMS to route or trigger workflow actions.
Guardrails & Boundaries
Brilo AI should not drop critical context unintentionally. Guardrails you should consider:
Only enable automatic restart when you have clear rules for identifying record changes (for example, a confirmed booking ID or explicit “start over” keyword).
Prevent automatic restarts for messages flagged as high sensitivity or regulated transaction types unless human review is available.
Limit restart logic to defined time windows (for example, after a long inactivity period) to avoid splitting short, ongoing conversations.
Restart triggers are configuration-controlled and should be audited to ensure message threading and CRM records remain consistent.
For guidance on tuning detection and routing that affects restart decisions, see the Brilo AI intent detection & routing guide: Brilo AI intent detection & routing guide
Applied Examples
Healthcare: A clinic uses Brilo AI for appointment reminders. If a patient replies “New request” but the prior appointment thread is still open, Brilo AI can be configured to start a new SMS thread so the agent creates a new appointment record instead of appending to the old one.
Banking: A customer sends a follow-up about a resolved transaction. The bank configures Brilo AI to restart SMS threads for new dispute requests so the system opens a separate ticket and avoids merging notes with the closed transaction thread.
Insurance: A claimant messages after policy renewal; restart rules can ensure renewal conversations don’t overwrite active claims by spawning a new session when a policy number or keyword is present.
Human Handoff & Escalation
When a restart is triggered but human review is required, Brilo AI can escalate or hand off the conversation to an agent without losing the incoming message. Handoff patterns include:
Creating a CRM ticket and pushing the new conversation context to the assigned human agent.
Sending a webhook with the inbound message, extracted entities, and the “restart” flag so your backend can open a new case and notify an agent.
Routing texts to a human SMS queue where agents see “new conversation” metadata indicating context was reset.
These handoffs preserve the inbound content while ensuring human agents inherit the correct conversation state.
Setup Requirements
Review your SMS routing policy and decide when Brilo AI should restart vs resume.
Configure restart triggers in the Brilo AI messaging settings (time-based, keyword-based, or record-change triggers).
Map the phone number to your CRM behavior so that restart creates or links to the correct record in your CRM.
Provide a webhook endpoint or CRM connection to receive restart events and to create new cases or tickets.
Test with sample phone numbers and edge cases (short replies, duplicate messages, long inactivity) and adjust timeout and intent thresholds.
Deploy changes to a staging environment and monitor message threading and agent queues before going live.
For help tuning intent and routing that affects restart behavior, see the Brilo AI intent detection & routing guide: Brilo AI intent detection & routing guide
Business Outcomes
When configured correctly, Brilo AI’s SMS Conversation Restart Option reduces misrouted cases, prevents stale context from polluting new requests, and improves customer clarity by ensuring each new transaction or request starts cleanly. For regulated sectors, this control helps maintain correct audit trails and reduces manual rework for agents who otherwise must separate merged threads.
FAQs
Can Brilo AI restart an SMS conversation based on a keyword?
Yes. You can configure restart triggers to look for keywords (for example, “new”, “start”, or a case number) so Brilo AI begins a fresh session when it detects those tokens.
Will a restart delete previous messages?
No. Restarting in Brilo AI clears short-term session context for routing and agent view but does not delete stored message history in the conversation archive or your CRM unless you explicitly configure retention policies in your systems.
How does restart affect CRM sync?
When enabled, a restart can create a new CRM record or ticket depending on your mapping rules. Ensure your CRM mapping is set to create or reassign records when a “restart” flag is present in the webhook payload.
Can customers force a restart by texting “start over”?
Yes—if you configure that keyword as a restart trigger. Brilo AI will treat that inbound message as a signal to clear session context and open a fresh conversation when that rule is enabled.
Is there a way to audit when restarts happen?
Yes. You should enable event logging in Brilo AI and monitor restart events via webhook or the event logs so you can audit who or what triggered a conversation restart.
Next Step
Review Brilo AI intent and routing configuration to understand how restart triggers are evaluated: Brilo AI intent detection & routing guide
Contact your Brilo AI admin to test restart rules in staging and to enable webhook delivery for restart events: Brilo AI voice & naturalness tuning guide
If you need assistance, open a support ticket from your Brilo AI console so engineering can review message threading behavior for your account.