When your AI receptionist sends an SMS to a caller, the link in the message may appear as a TinyURL shortened link rather than the full URL. This article explains why.

What is TinyURL?

TinyURL is a URL shortening service. It takes a long URL and converts it into a shorter version — for example:

https://tinyurl.com/abc123def instead of https://book.speako.com/your-business/booking?id=123456789012&...

SMS messages have a character limit. If your URL is long (especially booking confirmation links or links with many parameters), using the full URL could:

  • Push the message over the character limit, splitting it into multiple SMS messages.
  • Make the message look cluttered and hard to read.

By shortening URLs through TinyURL, Speako keeps SMS messages concise and ensures they are delivered as a single message.

Is it safe?

TinyURL is a widely used, well-established URL shortening service. The shortened link still points to the correct destination — it's just a redirect.

However, some customers may be cautious about clicking shortened links from unfamiliar sources, particularly if they're not expecting an SMS. If this concerns your customers:

  • Make sure your greeting or post-booking conversation clearly tells the caller that they'll receive an SMS with a link.
  • Setting expectations verbally ("I'll text you a confirmation link now") reduces suspicion.

Not all SMS links are shortened — only those where the URL is long enough to warrant shortening. Shorter URLs may be sent as-is.

💡 Tip: Tell callers what to expect during the call: "I'll send you a text message with a confirmation link shortly." This makes them more likely to trust and click the link they receive.

⚠️ Important: You cannot configure which shortening service is used — this is handled automatically by Speako. If a customer reports that the SMS link doesn't work, check whether the original URL it should be pointing to is still active.