# How routing works

> The path every message takes: from your CRM or inbox, through channel selection and pacing, to the lead's phone and back.

## The whole system on one picture

  
    
    
    
  
  
  
  New lead
  CRM workflow webhook
  
  Your team
  Inbox reply or new message
  
  API
  POST /v1/messages
  
  
  Beam engine
  channel check · warm-up pacing
  business hours · opt-out guard
  sticky number pinning
  
  
  Blue bubble
  their phone supports it
  
  Text (SMS)
  selected before sending
  
  
  The lead's
  phone
  
  
  Replies
  inbox · assistant · CRM tags
  
  Your CRM
  tags trigger the AI call
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

## Outbound: how a channel is chosen

  - Capability check. On first contact, Beam checks whether the lead's phone supports blue bubbles, and remembers the answer.
  - Line selection. Auto chooses an appropriate assigned line before sending. For a manual message, your team can choose a specific Blue or Green line in the From menu.
  - Sticky pinning. The first number a contact hears from is theirs forever. Their entire relationship lives in one thread on their phone.
  - Pacing gate. First touches pass through warm-up caps, business hours, and human-spaced timing. Replies in active conversations skip the gate, because answering fast is human.
  - Uncertain delivery stays uncertain. Beam does not automatically re-send a blue-bubble message or switch it to SMS after an ambiguous provider update. A teammate makes any intentional follow-up from the inbox.

## Inbound: how replies come back

Replies flow into Beam on an instant event feed and a bounded reconciliation sweep. Beam stores a canonical message identity so the same physical message is shown once even if both paths observe it. An inbound reply lands in the inbox, can wake the assistant when that workspace has deliberately enabled it, and stops any approved follow-up sequence.

## Where your CRM fits

Beam is the messaging brain; your CRM stays the system of record. Tags (imessage-sent, imessage-replied, bot-booked-call, bot-handoff) fire your existing workflows, including the AI voice call the moment a lead replies. Setup: Connect your account.