A 'text me' iMessage line for creators, answered by AI in your voice

Who uses iMessage for a creator text line?

A creator text line suits creators, coaches, authors and educators who sell courses, memberships or merch and get more questions than they can answer by hand. ZeroSettle is an iMessage API: a real phone number on real iMessage, running on Apple hardware we operate for you in a server facility, that your code texts customers from and hears back on through a bearer token and signed webhooks. On a creator line, ZeroSettle’s hosted AI agent takes the place of that code.

The problem it solves: DMs pile up faster than one person can read them, the platform owns the relationship, and an email list reads like a newsletter rather than a conversation. A ‘text me’ number gives each fan a one-to-one thread in Messages. Nearby jobs in the list of iMessage use cases include text-to-buy for shops, an AI receptionist for after-hours questions, and win-back for former members who opted in.

How iMessage for a creator text line works, step by step

Fans start every conversation from a ‘Text me’ link, and ZeroSettle’s hosted AI agent answers in your voice until the fan has your checkout link.

1. Put a ‘Text me’ sms: link on your link-in-bio page and say the number in videos (see getting people to text first). The fan’s own text makes your number a known sender, so the checkout link in a later answer is tappable.
2. Write the business_context in your voice: FAQs, course details, prices, boundaries.
3. Choose the custom personality and set response_time to human (5–10 minutes), so answers don’t feel instant.
4. Set goal to purchase with your checkout link.
5. Switch the line to Managed by AI Agent (Beta), in the console’s Messaging tab or with PUT /api/imessage/agent. Do this last: until you replace it, business_context describes a made-up software business.
6. Read every thread in the ZeroSettle console; its Messaging tab also shows the AI credits left.

The trade-off is control: while the agent manages a line, ZeroSettle refuses your own sends from it (API, MCP send_imessage or the console composer) with 403 managed_by_zerosettle. Answering one superfan yourself means switching the line back to Managed by API, and then the agent answers no one on it until you switch again.

Example conversation: a creator text line

A fan arrives from a video, asks two questions and heads to checkout. The agent sent three texts, so the thread has used three AI credits; if Sam goes quiet, the one follow-up a day later uses a fourth.

Setup: a link in bio plus a custom-personality agent

A creator text line needs an sms: link and one agent configuration. Neither needs a server, because a line the agent manages never calls your webhook.

<a href="sms:+18055550100&body=Hi%20Nora!%20(TikTok)">Text me</a>

Use your number in place of +18055550100. With a different prefilled body per platform, such as (TikTok) or (YouTube), each fan’s first text in the console shows where they came from, unless they edit it. On Android the link opens the SMS app, so keep an email address beside it. Tap the link yourself from the app your fans use before you post it.

BASE=https://portal.zerosettle.io     # ZEROSETTLE_TOKEN holds your API token

cat > agent.json <<'EOF'
{
  "managed_by": "zerosettle",
  "personality": "custom",
  "custom_personality": "Text like Nora: warm, short, one emoji at most, never pushy. Introduce yourself as Nora's assistant.",
  "response_time": "human",
  "business_context": "You answer texts to Bake with Nora, a sourdough course.\nModule 6 is gluten-free loaves, including the buckwheat loaf from the viral video.\nPrice: $147, or 3 payments of $49.\nNo health or diet advice. Brand deals: hello@nora.example.com.",
  "goal": "purchase",
  "link": "https://nora.example.com/course",
  "timezone": "America/Los_Angeles",
  "triggers": [{"id": "followup", "repeat": "once", "after_days": 1, "at": "morning",
    "instruction": "If they haven't replied and haven't bought, send one short, friendly follow-up. Never follow up with someone who just bought."}]
}
EOF

curl -s -X PUT "$BASE/api/imessage/agent" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ZEROSETTLE_TOKEN" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d @agent.json

Because business_context goes in the same call as the switch, the agent never answers from the made-up example; the field takes up to 40,000 characters (about 14,000 tokens). The trigger’s plain-words instruction keeps the follow-up from reading oddly to a fan who just bought. The timezone line is for a national audience: by default the one follow-up goes the morning after the conversation goes quiet, 9 to 11 AM in America/New_York, which is 6 to 8 AM in California and earlier than the 8 am start for anything promotional. With America/Los_Angeles, follow-ups land 9 to 11 AM Pacific, noon to 2 PM Eastern. The AI agent docs and how the hosted AI agent works cover every setting.

Limits and consent for a creator text line

A creator text line is limited by AI credits, not contacts: fans who text first never count toward ZeroSettle’s new-contact limit, but every text the agent sends uses one credit.

The math for a video that takes off: at three credits per conversation, as in the example, Pro’s 1,000 monthly credits cover about 330 conversations, and each follow-up to a fan who goes quiet costs one more. If 2,000 fans text in one weekend, that is 6,000 credits before follow-ups: the month’s 1,000 plus a 5,000-credit pack for $200. Buy the pack before you post, because a fan who texts while the balance is at zero gets no answer until they text again. Packs never expire, so one bought for a video that doesn’t take off is used later.

• Fans initiate, so an answer is what they asked for. A question about one course is not consent to hear about the next.
• Say it’s an assistant. ZeroSettle’s terms require “transparent disclosure of AI interaction in systems like chatbots, unless it is contextually evident”.
• Ask before launch announcements, keep the record, and send nothing promotional before 8 am or after 9 pm in the fan’s time zone. ZeroSettle’s docs say US marketing texts need written consent under the TCPA; the FCC’s rule, 47 CFR § 64.1200, defines that consent as a written agreement, signed by the person, that clearly authorizes the marketing messages and names the number they go to. This isn’t legal advice.
• STOP is enforced automatically across every number on your account. Any text with the word STOP in it counts, as does a clear request like “take me off your list”, so “don’t stop posting these” opts a fan out until they text START as the whole message (see how STOP works).

When ZeroSettle is not a fit for a creator text line

ZeroSettle is the wrong tool for a creator text line in four cases.

• You want to jump into threads yourself. Agent-managed lines refuse your sends. To answer fans personally, keep the line Managed by API and reply from the console.
• You would send launch announcements to everyone who ever texted, without asking. ZeroSettle’s terms prohibit unsolicited messaging, and ZeroSettle suspends lines used for it.
• Your audience is mostly on Android. iMessage goes to iPhone and other Apple users (see Apple’s comparison of iMessage, RCS and SMS), and ZeroSettle has no SMS fallback, so a texting service that sends SMS or RCS, which Android phones receive, fits better.
• You want group chats with fans. ZeroSettle conversations are one-to-one; group chats are on the roadmap.

How much does iMessage for a creator text line cost?

A creator text line costs the plan price plus any AI credit packs: Pro is $49/month for one number with 1,000 credits a month included.

Pro and Growth carry a 30-day money-back guarantee on the subscription, not on packs. See the plans, the API docs, or get a number.