Two-way texting moves into Gmail as CompleteSMS lets teams manage SMS from the inbox

A Gmail add-on that keeps email and text conversations together

CompleteSMS has launched a Gmail add-on that lets businesses manage SMS messages directly from their email inbox. The tool, released this week, plugs into Gmail and brings two-way texting, message templates, and contact threading into the same view where teams already read and reply to email. Instead of switching apps, customer reps can send and receive texts linked to email conversations, and small teams can treat SMS like another mail folder. The company says the add-on works with Google Workspace accounts and pairs with CompleteSMS’s cloud messaging backbone so messages travel through the firm’s SMS network rather than the user’s phone.

How the add-on works — features and technical points

The add-on sits inside Gmail as a sidebar panel. From there agents can pick a contact, view past text threads, and type a new SMS that sends out immediately. It supports one-to-one texting and small group messages, plus MMS so images and short files can go to customers. Templates and quick-replies are built in, letting teams insert standard messages with one click. There’s basic scheduling for later delivery and a simple delivery-status indicator so users can see if a message was sent, delivered, or failed.

On the technical side, CompleteSMS says the extension uses Google’s add-on framework to appear inside the web and Workspace mobile Gmail apps. Messages route through CompleteSMS’s APIs to carrier networks; the company handles number provisioning, SMS encoding, and regional fallbacks for unreliable routes. The add-on can plug into an org’s existing contact list and CSV imports, and it exposes a small webhook for teams that want to forward inbound SMS to their CRM or help desk. Security notes include TLS in transit and optional IP allowlists; CompleteSMS says it does not store plain-text payment data in the platform.

Who benefits and how teams can use it every day

Customer support, field operations, and sales are the clearest beneficiaries. Support reps can keep a single thread with a customer that includes email and text, which avoids lost context when a customer flips channels. Field technicians can send arrival texts from the same inbox where they get job details. And sales teams can use quick templates to nudge late prospects with a short SMS instead of composing a separate message in a phone.

For small businesses the value is speed and fewer apps. For mid-size teams the benefit is record-keeping: texts sent from the add-on can be attached to customer files and exported for reporting. CompleteSMS also highlights lower friction for compliance — built-in opt-out handling and message templates that remind reps to confirm permission before they message — which, the company says, reduces the risk of accidental rule breaches.

Where this fits in the messaging and productivity landscape

CompleteSMS is entering a crowded but hungry space. Many companies have added texting to their toolkits as customers prefer SMS for quick updates and confirmations. Big help-desk and CRM vendors already offer native or partner SMS options, and several standalone SMS platforms have pushed into inbox-style integrations.

The new Gmail add-on follows a wider trend: bring messaging where workers already spend time. That reduces friction and raises the bar for vendors who still make employees juggle phones, desktop apps, and multiple web portals. For CompleteSMS the open question is scale: can the company compete on deliverability and pricing against well-funded rivals that already own deep CRM links and large carrier contracts? If it can match reliability, the tight Gmail workflow could be a useful point of difference.

A spokesperson’s take and a quick company sketch

CompleteSMS’s CEO, Maya Patel, framed the launch as a simple fix to a common time-waster. “People move between email and text because they have to,” Patel said in the company release. “Our goal was to stop that switch and let teams finish conversations in one place.” She added the firm has been testing the add-on with a set of regional customers and tweaked delivery fallbacks to reduce failed sends.

CompleteSMS was founded in 2018 to help small and mid-size companies use SMS at scale. It operates a cloud messaging platform that sells number leases, delivery services and developer APIs. The firm remains privately held and pitches the add-on as an easy plug-in for Google Workspace users.

What customers should check and what to expect next

For customers considering the add-on, the practical checks are clear: confirm who owns sending credentials, review opt-in and unsubscribe flows, and verify where message logs are stored. CompleteSMS says pricing will be per-message plus an admin seat fee, with a limited free trial, though details were not final at release.

Regulators and privacy teams will watch opt-ins and cross-border routing closely — messages sent from a US account to overseas numbers can trigger local rules. Watch for deeper CRM connections, more analytics, and support for other mail clients as likely next steps.

Sources

• prnewswire.com