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8x8 Zapier integrationAutomate 8x8 with Zapier.

The 8x8 Zapier integration gives you 3 triggers, 3 actions and 0 searches, all about SMS and chat apps. All three triggers are instant, it runs on the free plan, and the detail that makes a send fail is often the phone number format.

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Overview

What the 8x8 Zapier integration does for you

8x8 is a communications platform you plug into other tools: SMS, voice, chat apps and video. On Zapier, it does two things. It tells a Zap when a text or a chat app message comes in, or when a sent SMS is delivered or rejected, and it sends SMS and chat app messages for you.

Three results you can build. An instant reply desk: New SMS Received catches a text to your virtual number and Send Single SMS answers it before the customer puts the phone down. A delivery watch: New Delivery Receipt reports each SMS that was delivered or rejected, so a failed reminder can be flagged to someone. A broadcast: Send Bulk SMS sends one message to a list of numbers in a single step.

What Zapier does not do for 8x8: there is no search step, so a Zap cannot look up a past message or a contact in 8x8. There is nothing for voice calls or video among the visible operations, only text and chat apps. And a Zap never replays what arrived before it was switched on.

The good news is speed. All three triggers are instant, so the free plan's polling delay does not apply to any of them. If you are weighing other tools, there is an 8x8 Make integration page, and our Zapier review is worth a read too.

Read on 2026-10-01, implementation WavecellCLIAPI@3.1.0.

Vocabulary

The Zapier words you will meet

Eight terms carry the rest of this page. Each one in a single line.

Zap
The automation you build on Zapier: one trigger, then one or more actions that run each time the trigger event happens.
Trigger
The event in an app that starts the Zap, such as a text arriving. Once the Zap is on, Zapier waits for it.
Action
What the Zap does once started: the step that sends, writes or moves something for you, here mostly a message.
Task
What Zapier bills: one action your Zap completes successfully. The allowance on your plan is a count of those.
Instant vs polling
An instant trigger is reported by the app the moment it happens. A polling one is checked by Zapier on a timer.
Filter
A step that lets the Zap continue only when what arrived meets your condition, and stops it there otherwise.
Search step
A step that looks up something already stored in an app so later steps can use it. 8x8 has none on Zapier.
Connection
Your 8x8 account linked to Zapier once, then reused by every step of every Zap that sends or listens through 8x8.
Cost

What an 8x8 Zap costs

8x8 is not a premium app, so it works from the free plan. Zapier counts tasks, and only actions create them.

  • Free plan100 tasks a month, unlimited Zaps
  • Incoming message or receiptNever costs a task
  • Each successful sendOne task
  • Filter or second actionPaid plan needed

An incoming text or receipt never costs a task. Each send that goes through counts once, so an auto-reply Zap uses one task per incoming SMS. A send that fails is not counted. The free plan limits the shape of the Zap: two steps, one trigger and one action. Add a filter or a second action and it becomes a multi-step Zap, which needs a paid plan. The interval grid below only concerns polling triggers; the three 8x8 triggers are instant, so it does not apply to them.

Connect

Connect your 8x8 account

  1. 01

    Start from the Apps page

    In Zapier, open the Apps page and click + Add connection. A dialog opens: search for 8x8 by name and pick it from the list of results to continue with the sign-in.

  2. 02

    Sign in to 8x8

    Click Add connection. A new tab opens where you sign in to 8x8 with the account that owns the virtual number and the sender you plan to use in your Zaps.

  3. 03

    Grant access

    Allow Zapier to use the account. The connection is then reused by every 8x8 step in every Zap, so you only do this once and pick it from a list later.

First Zap

Your first Zap: alert the team when an SMS bounces

GoalWhen 8x8 reports that an SMS was rejected, a chat app message warns a colleague so the customer can be reached another way.

  1. 01

    Build: set the trigger

    Start a Zap with Build, pick 8x8 and the New Delivery Receipt event, then your connection. Send one SMS from 8x8 beforehand so there is a receipt to test with.

  2. 02

    Test the trigger

    Click Test. Zapier brings back the three most recent receipts of the account. Pick a real one so the next steps can be set on actual data.

  3. 03

    Add the filter

    From the plus icon, add Filter. In the test receipt, find the value that tells a rejected SMS from a delivered one, then pick that field, a text rule and that value. With a filter, the Zap needs a paid plan.

  4. 04

    Add the action

    Add 8x8 with Send Single Chat App Message, aimed at the colleague who follows up, and map into the message text what the test receipt shows about the failed SMS.

  5. 05

    Test and publish

    Test each step once and read what came back. Then click Publish. Since the trigger is instant, a rejected SMS reaches your colleague straight away.

Triggers

8x8 triggers on Zapier

3 events start a Zap when something happens in 8x8, and 3 of them are instant: the app calls Zapier straight away, whatever your plan.

1

New Chat Apps Message Received

Instant trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a new chat app message is received.”

Each message a customer writes to you through a chat app connected to 8x8 starts the Zap. Your chat inbox becomes the front door of a workflow, not just a place to read.

How it fires
the app tells Zapier the moment it happens, so the Zap starts right away, whatever your plan
When to use it
a dental clinic receives booking requests over a chat app and wants each one logged as a new request for the front desk.
Watch out
only messages received after the Zap is published start it; the earlier conversation stays where it is.
2

New Delivery Receipt

Instant trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when an SMS message has been delivered or rejected.”

After every SMS you send, 8x8 reports whether it was delivered or rejected, and this trigger passes that report to your Zap. It is how you find out a reminder never arrived.

How it fires
the app tells Zapier the moment it happens, so the Zap starts right away, whatever your plan
When to use it
a delivery company wants a dispatcher warned whenever a driver's arrival text fails, so the customer gets a call instead.
Watch out
it fires on good and bad receipts alike, so add a filter if only rejections matter, and never let it send an SMS that creates its own receipt.
3

New SMS Received

Instant trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when an SMS is sent to your virtual number.”

A text sent to your 8x8 virtual number starts the Zap. Customers keep texting the number they know, and the Zap decides where the message goes next.

How it fires
the app tells Zapier the moment it happens, so the Zap starts right away, whatever your plan
When to use it
a property manager publishes one number for tenants and wants each incoming text to open a maintenance request and get a confirmation back.
Watch out
it only listens to a virtual number on your 8x8 account, so that number has to exist before the Zap can work.
Actions

8x8 actions on Zapier

8x8 gives you 3 actions. For each one: what it does for you, when to reach for it, and what to watch out for.

1

Send Bulk SMS

Action

In Zapier“Send bulk messages”

Pushes the same message to several destination numbers in one step, instead of one Zap run per person.

When to use it
warn every member of a sports club that tonight's session is cancelled.
Watch out
every number in the list follows the same international format rule, and the Sender ID you pick is not supported in every country.
2

Send Single Chat App Message

Action

In Zapier“Sends a single chatapp message”

Writes one message to one person through a chat app linked to your 8x8 account, rather than by SMS.

When to use it
reply in the channel where a customer wrote to you, so the conversation stays in one thread.
Watch out
it sends one message per run, so a list of recipients needs one run each.
3

Send Single SMS

Action

In Zapier“Sends an SMS to a given phone number”

Sends one text to one phone number, with the sender and the message you set in the step.

When to use it
confirm an appointment as soon as it is booked in your calendar tool.
Watch out
the destination must be in international format with the country code first, at most 15 digits; a local number without the prefix fails.
When it breaks

When an 8x8 Zap breaks

Zapier attaches no help article and no app-specific limit to 8x8. The failures below come from the required fields and from Zapier's general behavior.

Breakages here come from the number, the sender, or a Zap that triggers itself. Six cases to check before you publish.

  • Number without country code

    Destination numbers must be in international format, starting with the country code, and no longer than 15 digits. A number typed the local way makes the send fail.

  • Sender ID refused in a country

    The Sender ID is what the recipient sees as the sender. Not every country supports every type, so a sender that works at home may not work abroad.

  • The receipt loop

    A Zap that starts on New Delivery Receipt and sends an SMS creates a new receipt, which starts the Zap again and burns through your tasks.

  • Texting your own number

    Sending an SMS to your own virtual number from a Zap that listens to New SMS Received sets that Zap off again and again.

  • Messages before the Zap

    A Zap only reacts to what happens after it is switched on. Texts and chat messages received before that are never sent through it.

  • A sudden flood held back

    When a trigger returns a huge batch at once, after a migration for instance, Zapier's flood protection can hold it back instead of running it.
Need help

Need help automating 8x8 with Zapier?

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FAQ

8x8 and Zapier: common questions

01Is the 8x8 Zapier integration free?
Yes: 8x8 is not a premium app, so it works on the free plan. That plan gives 100 tasks a month and unlimited Zaps. The catch is the shape of the Zap: on the free plan, a Zap has two steps, one trigger and one action. A filter or a second action makes it multi-step, which needs a paid plan. Instant triggers also mean the free plan gets no polling delay here.
02How many tasks does an 8x8 Zap use?
One task for each action that succeeds, and nothing for the trigger. An incoming SMS, chat message or delivery receipt never costs a task. An auto-reply Zap uses one task per incoming text. A Zap that answers and then alerts a colleague uses two. A send that fails is not counted against your plan, which matters when numbers are badly formatted. To estimate a month, multiply the messages you expect by the number of actions in the Zap.
03Is 8x8 on Zapier real time?
Yes. All three 8x8 triggers are instant: 8x8 tells Zapier as soon as a text arrives, a chat app message comes in or a delivery receipt is ready. The polling interval of the plan, 15 minutes on the free one, does not apply to them. In the editor, a Zap built on an instant trigger shows a lightning bolt. The actions then run straight after, so the whole chain happens without waiting for a check.
04What does it take to connect 8x8 to Zapier?
An 8x8 account, plus access to anything you want the Zap to use that you do not own yourself. You connect from the Apps page of Zapier with + Add connection, sign in to 8x8 in the tab that opens and grant access. For the SMS trigger to work, the account needs a virtual number, and for sends it needs a Sender ID that your destination countries accept. Use the account that owns that number, since the triggers only listen to it.
05Why does an 8x8 SMS fail to send?
Often because of the destination number. 8x8 expects international format, which means the number starts with the country code, with a maximum length of 15 digits. A number written the local way fails. The second cause is the Sender ID: not all countries support every type of sender, so a name that works in one country can be refused in another. Check both before blaming the Zap. A test run in the editor is the quickest way to see which of the two is wrong.
06What if the 8x8 operation you need is not there?
Then the built-in steps cannot do it. On Zapier, 8x8 offers three triggers and three actions, all about SMS and chat apps, with no search step and nothing for calls or video. You cannot look up an old conversation from a Zap, for example. Check whether your goal can start from one of the three triggers, and compare what other automation tools expose for 8x8 before working around the gap.
07Zapier, Make or n8n for 8x8?
It depends on what you value, not on a winner. Zapier is quick when the three instant triggers and three send actions cover the job, and instant triggers mean no polling delay even on the free plan. If your team already works in Make or n8n, the test is the same there: check that the 8x8 operations it offers cover the messages you send and receive before moving anything, and keep the tool you already run when both do the job.
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