A customer texts back. They're engaged, interested, ready to share more about themselves. But they came in through SMS, and you have no way to connect them to the email profile that already exists in your system.
That phone-only profile sits in isolation. You know they've responded to your campaigns. You suspect they might be the same person who abandoned a cart last week. But without an email address to tie the records together, they remain a data silo. Valuable engagement trapped in a dead end.
This is the profile gap problem, and it's more common than most brands realize. Every time a customer engages on a conversational channel without a way to share their email, you lose the chance to build a complete picture of who they are.
That changes with new automation capabilities for WhatsApp and SMS.
Why zero-party data collection matters now
Privacy restrictions have made third-party data increasingly unreliable. Cookies are disappearing. Tracking is getting harder. The data customers choose to share directly has become the most valuable asset a brand can collect.
But collecting it requires the right tools at the right moment. Conversational channels like SMS and WhatsApp are ideal for this: they're personal, immediate, and customers already expect to interact. The challenge is that most automation tools limit what you can actually ask and collect.
For brands switching to Klaviyo from other providers, these updates close competitive gaps and open new possibilities for deeper customer relationships through conversational channels.
What's new: four automation upgrades
This release brings improvements for WhatsApp and SMS users, focused on four areas: expanded question types, longer message limits, rich formatting, and media support.
New question types: free text, dates, and email collection
Until now, automation questions could only collect defined choices. Preset options a customer taps to respond. That's useful, but limiting.
Questions can now collect free text, dates, and emails. You're no longer restricted to multiple choice.
Email collection is the standout. Here's why: when a phone-only profile shares their email address through an automation, that profile can merge with an existing email profile. Two records become one. The engagement history, the purchase data, the preferences—all unified.
In practice, this looks simple. A customer responds to a WhatsApp message. Your automation asks for their email to send order updates or exclusive offers. They type it in. Behind the scenes, Klaviyo matches that email to an existing profile, and suddenly you have a complete picture of that customer across channels.
Free text collection opens other doors. Ask customers what products they're looking for. Collect feedback in their own words. Gather information that doesn't fit neatly into predefined options.
Date collection lets you capture birthdays, anniversaries, or preferred delivery windows—data points that power personalized campaigns down the line.
Longer messages: say more without splitting the conversation
WhatsApp messages now support up to 1,024 characters, matching Meta's limit. That's enough room to explain an offer, include context, and add a clear call to action in one message.
For SMS, the editor now shows how many segments your message will use once it crosses 160 characters. No more guessing whether your carefully crafted text will arrive as one message or three.
This matters for clarity. Longer messages mean fewer awkward breaks, more complete thoughts, and cleaner conversations. When a customer receives a message that makes sense on its own, they're more likely to engage.
Rich formatting and media: WhatsApp gets visual
The same rich text editor you know from Templates is now available in Automations for WhatsApp. Bold, italics, and formatting options work the same way you'd expect.
Messages and Recommendations now support URL buttons and videos on WhatsApp. Add a button that links directly to a product page. Include a video that shows how something works. Visual engagement is no longer limited to email campaigns.
For SMS and RCS, the system automatically strips markdown formatting for clean delivery. You don't need to maintain separate versions. Write once, and the message adapts to the channel.
Built for brands moving fast
These features are particularly valuable for brands migrating to Klaviyo from other providers. The competitive gaps that might have given pause are now closed.
Email collection through automations strengthens Klaviyo's unified profile. Every new email address collected on a conversational channel enriches your customer data and improves segmentation across all channels. A phone-only contact becomes a fully addressable customer.
All of these capabilities work within flows and automations, meaning you can build sophisticated journeys that collect data, respond to inputs, and personalize messages—all triggered by customer behavior.
Get started
These automation upgrades are available now for WhatsApp and SMS users. Explore the new question types, try longer messages, and add rich media to your conversational campaigns.
Learn how to set up WhatsApp and SMS automation question types