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The moment it happens

Answer product questions by text from a sheet catalogue

Customers who text a question get an answer from the products in your sheet within seconds.

Runs
The moment it happens
Apps
Google Sheets, Twilio
AI
Yes, uses the built-in AI allowance
Access
Twilio send; Sheets read

Send this to your assistant

Create a ClickRuntime automation: when someone texts my Twilio number with a product question, answer from my Catalogue sheet with price and availability, or say we'll get back to them if it isn't listed.

Paste it into your assistant. It tells you what it will send or change before it runs live.

First time? Adding ClickRuntime to your assistant takes about two minutes.

Why use it

Why teams use this automation

Local shops and suppliers get texts asking whether something is in stock or what it costs. Each one interrupts work, and the answer is usually already written in a stock sheet.

Answering straight from the catalogue sheet gives customers a quick, accurate reply, and keeping the sheet up to date is all it takes to keep the answers right.

What you get out of it

  • Quick answers

    Customers get price and availability in seconds.

  • Always matches your sheet

    Update a price or stock level and answers change with it.

  • Fewer interruptions

    Routine questions no longer pull you away from customers in front of you.

  • Honest when unsure

    If a product isn't listed, the customer is told someone will check.

How it works

What happens, step by step

  1. A customer texts a question to your Twilio number.

  2. It reads your product catalogue from the sheet.

  3. AI finds the matching product and writes a short answer with price and availability, or says the team will check.

  4. The answer is sent back to the customer by text.

Before it runs live

  • Connect your Google Sheets account and pick the spreadsheets it may use
  • Connect Twilio
  • Paste your automation's link into the other app's webhook settings

What you get

RunsThe moment it happens
Answer product questions by text from a sheet cataloguejust nowSucceeded
SMS · CustomerYes, the 18V Acme drill is in stock at £89. We're open until 6pm today.

Build your own

Need it to work differently?

This template is a starting point. Copy the prompt and change it, or describe a different automation from scratch, with your own conditions, more apps or an AI step. Your assistant writes it, tests it and runs it on ClickRuntime.
  • Your own rules

    Conditions, thresholds, filters and exceptions, written the way you'd explain them to a colleague.

  • Any number of apps

    One automation can read from one app and update several others. Over 248 apps are ready, and anything with an API works too.

  • AI where it helps

    Summaries, classification, extraction and drafts use ClickRuntime's built-in AI, with no extra key.

  • On a schedule or on each event

    Runs as often as every 5 minutes, or the moment an app sends an event, and keeps track of what it already handled.

Changes you can ask for

  • Act only on the items that match your own rules, and skip the rest
  • Change what the AI looks for, or how it writes the result
  • Add another app, for example also send it to Slack
  • Combine it with other Google Sheets and Twilio steps into one automation

Under the hood

The code that runs this automation

This is the Python script that runs each time the automation starts. Your AI assistant writes it for you when you send the prompt, and you allow each step in your assistant. To change how the automation works, describe the change to your assistant and it updates the script for you. For every function it can use, see the script reference.
answer_sms_whatsapp_product_enquiries_from_a_sheet_catalogue.pyexample
from google.oauth2.credentials import Credentials
from googleapiclient.discovery import build
from twilio.rest import Client
from clickruntime import on_event, credentials, http, ai

SHEET_ID = "your-spreadsheet-id"
FROM = "+15005550006"

def sms(to, body):
    return Client(credentials.secret("TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID"), credentials.secret("TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN")).messages.create(to=to, from_=FROM, body=body)
sheets = lambda: build("sheets", "v4", credentials=Credentials(credentials.connection("google", "work")), cache_discovery=False).spreadsheets().values()

@on_event
def handle(event):
    f = event.json or {}
    question = (f.get("Body") or "").strip()
    if not question:
        return {"skipped": "empty"}
    rows = sheets().get(spreadsheetId=SHEET_ID, range="Catalogue!A:D").execute().get("values", [])
    catalogue = "\n".join(" | ".join(r) for r in rows)[:12000]
    answer = ai.generate(question[:500], max_output_tokens=120,
                         system=f"Answer in under 300 characters using only this catalogue. If not listed, say we'll check and reply.\n{catalogue}").text
    Client(credentials.secret("TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID"), credentials.secret("TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN")).messages.create(
        to=f["From"], from_=f["To"], body=answer.strip())
    return {"answered": True}

FAQ

Common questions

Does it work on WhatsApp too?
Yes, if your Twilio number is enabled for WhatsApp. Replies go back on the same channel.
What should the catalogue sheet have?
Product name, price, stock and any notes, one product per row.
How big can the catalogue be?
A few hundred products works well. For larger catalogues, split it by category.
What permissions does it need?
Twilio send; Sheets read. Nothing else in your accounts is used.
Does it need AI?
Yes. It uses ClickRuntime's built-in AI, so you don't need an OpenAI or Anthropic key. Every plan includes a monthly AI allowance.
How many runs does it use?
One run for each event the app sends.
Can I change how it works?
Yes. Describe the change to your AI assistant, for example a different schedule, channel or filter. It updates the automation, tests it and tells you what changed.

Set up “Answer product questions by text from a sheet catalogue” from your assistant

Copy the prompt above, or connect your assistant first. Free plan, no credit card.