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Overview

When someone replies STOP (or another opt-out keyword), they must stop receiving your messages. It’s a legal requirement and a carrier rule. Autocampaign AI checks every incoming message for opt-out keywords, flags the contact, and leaves them out of all future campaigns automatically. This is called opt-out. You manage opt-out keywords and the optional confirmation reply at Settings → Opt-out (the page shows Opt-out and Opt-in side by side).
Time to complete: ~5 minutes  ·  Difficulty: Beginner  ·  Who can do this: Owners, Admins and Managers can view; you need to be an Owner or Admin to make changes.

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How opt-out detection works

1

A contact replies with a keyword

Autocampaign AI checks each incoming message against your opt-out keywords before anything else. So STOP in reply to a poll counts as an opt-out, not a vote.
2

The keyword is matched

Capitals don’t matter, and the keyword must be at the start of the message as a whole word. STOP, stop, STOP., and STOP now all opt out; STOPOVER does not.
3

The contact is opted out

Autocampaign AI marks the contact as opted out and records an Opted out entry on their activity timeline (with the keyword and message). They are removed from future campaign audiences. Repeated STOPs change nothing further.
4

An optional confirmation is sent

If you’ve set up an auto-reply message, Autocampaign AI sends it. See the exceptions for keywords your provider answers itself, below.

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The default keywords

Every workspace starts with the carrier-standard opt-out keywords:

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How opt-outs work on WhatsApp and calls

  • WhatsApp — a contact who replies with one of your opt-out keywords on WhatsApp is opted out of WhatsApp only. A contact who has opted out of SMS is also never sent WhatsApp messages.
  • Calls — blocking a caller under Settings → Voice also opts the matching contact out of SMS. Unblocking the number does not opt them back in. See Calls.

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Set up opt-out

1

Open opt-out settings

Go to Settings → Opt-out. The left column is Opt-Out Settings.
2

Manage keywords

Under Keywords, type a keyword and press Enter (or click Add) to add your own, such as leave or optout. Edit or delete any keyword in place. You can have up to 75 keywords per workspace.
3

Set an auto-reply (optional)

Under Auto-Reply Message, enter an optional confirmation (up to 1,600 characters) that’s sent when someone opts out, then click Save. Leave it blank to send nothing extra.

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Keywords your provider answers for you

Carriers and your provider (the phone company behind your numbers) reserve the standard keywords and reply to them before the message reaches Autocampaign AI:
  • Twilio automatically handles STOP, STOPALL, STOP ALL, UNSUBSCRIBE, CANCEL, END, QUIT. For these, Twilio sends its own STOP confirmation and blocks Autocampaign AI’s duplicate reply. Your custom keywords (like leave) are detected and answered by Autocampaign AI instead.
  • Telnyx behaves the same way when advanced opt-out sync is turned on for the profile.
Because of this, your custom auto-reply may not be sent for the standard keywords. The provider’s own STOP reply is delivered instead. Both may arrive in some setups.

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FAQ

Opting out flags the contact, so they’re left out of future SMS campaign audiences. Always confirm consent before re-adding anyone.
Yes, if they reply with an opt-in keyword like START. See Opt-in & auto-reply. They also can’t be re-added through a join link while opted out.
Yes, 75 per workspace. Capitals don’t matter, and each keyword must contain at least one letter or digit.
Each contact’s activity timeline shows an Opted out event with the keyword and incoming message. Opted-out contacts are left out of campaign sends automatically.

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Troubleshooting

For the standard keywords (STOP, UNSUBSCRIBE, etc.), the carrier sends its own reply and blocks Autocampaign AI’s. Your custom auto-reply is sent only for keywords you’ve added yourself.
Opt-out is checked at the moment of sending. If the campaign was already going out when they replied STOP, the last message may already have been on its way. New campaigns leave them out. Confirm the Opted out event appears on their timeline.
The keyword must be a whole word at the start of the message, so STOPOVER won’t match STOP. If a message opted out unexpectedly, check whether it starts with one of your keywords.

Opt-in & auto-reply

How opted-out contacts re-subscribe.