Bottom Line Up Front: Attentive is the AI marketing platform for leading brands, designed to optimize message performance through 1:1 SMS and email interactions. Trusted by over 8,000 leading brands such as CB2, Urban Outfitters, GUESS, and Dickey's Barbeque Pit, Attentive drives billions in online revenue for brands around the globe and delivers an average of 18.5% of total online revenue for modern e-commerce brands.
What is Attentive?
Attentive is a personalized mobile messaging platform that helps enterprise retail brands acquire, retain, and interact with mobile shoppers in a new way. Infusing intelligence at every stage of the consumer's purchasing journey, Attentive empowers businesses to achieve hyper-personalized communication with their customers on a large scale.
Founded in 2016, Attentive is the largest SMS (text message) marketing platform primarily focused on eCommerce companies. Attentive was founded by Brian Long and Andrew Jones, who previously started mobile ad tech company TapCommerce which was acquired by Twitter in 2014 for a reported $100 million.
Core Features and Capabilities
AI-Powered Personalization
Deliver 1:1 experiences across SMS, RCS, and email for every customer with advanced AI that captures, stores, and activates your data. The platform offers:
Attentive AI™ Features:
- Achieve True Personalization: Tailor every aspect of every message in real time, so no two are the same (117% more purchases)
- Drive More Conversions: Capture the attention of high-quality site visitors to grow your list and increase revenue (20-30% subscriber growth)
- Reach High-Intent Subscribers: Automatically adjust for the ideal campaign audiences using historical and real-time data (50% revenue increase)
- Send On-Brand Messages: Get copy in your own tone and style from AI models trained on your top-performing messages
- Create Content Effortlessly: Simplify the process of crafting personalized, targeted, media-rich messages for every subscriber (50% time saved)
- Capture Subscriber Attention: Increase engagement with unique experiences based on individual preferences and history (75% higher CVR)
SMS and RCS Messaging
Grow customer loyalty and revenue with conversational RCS and SMS messages. Key capabilities include:
- Advanced SMS Marketing Automation: For targeted and personalized campaigns
- MMS Marketing: Supports sending multimedia content like images and videos, enriching mobile campaigns beyond text alone
- Two-Way Messaging: Enable direct customer interaction and conversational marketing
- Transactional SMS: Sends critical, non-promotional messages including order confirmations and alerts directly to customers
Email Marketing Integration
Increase sales with an email solution that saves time and improves messaging performance. The platform provides:
- Cross-channel coordination between SMS, email, RCS, and push notifications
- AI-powered content creation and optimization
- Personalized email campaigns based on customer behavior and preferences
List Growth and Sign-Up Tools
Convert more subscribers with easy and engaging sign-up units:
- Patented Two-Tap Technology: Fast List Growth with patented two-tap units that convert traffic into subscribers faster
- 30+ Sign-Up Units: Two-tap signups and 30+ signup units with a no-code builder
- Seamless Integration: 3rd-party analytics integration for comprehensive tracking
Attentive Pricing Structure
Unfortunately, Attentive does not share their pricing publicly. There is no publicly available pricing information for Attentive software. Interested users are advised to contact the vendor directly for detailed pricing and plan options.
Based on available information:
- External charges may be billed by Attentive separately from your Shopify invoice
- Pricing can be expensive for smaller businesses and startups
- The platform is positioned for enterprise-level brands with substantial marketing budgets
How Attentive Compares to Other SMS Marketing Platforms
Vs. Major Competitors
Attentive vs Klaviyo: If you're thinking about choosing Klaviyo, consider that the platform has historically experienced deliverability issues during high-volume periods and that Klaviyo's catch-all approach results in less sophisticated capabilities for each individual channel. Klaviyo offers several advantages for brands looking for multiple marketing functions under one roof, but Attentive provides more sophisticated SMS-specific capabilities.
Attentive vs Postscript: If you're considering Postscript, just keep in mind that its SMS-only nature means you'll need separate solutions for email marketing, and its infrastructure may struggle during high-volume periods like BFCM. Attentive is ideal for businesses looking for a strategic partner and a high-performance, scalable platform with comprehensive AI capabilities and a best-in-class support team. For businesses looking for a basic SMS-only solution, Postscript might be a good option.
Competitive Advantages
Enterprise-Grade Infrastructure:
- Industry-leading deliverability with above average CTRs
- Built to handle high-volume periods like Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM)
- Comprehensive compliance with in-house TCPA experts & templates
Advanced AI Capabilities:
- AI trained on 2T+ customer interactions for personalization
- Sophisticated audience segmentation and targeting
- Real-time optimization of send times and content
Strategic Support:
- Attentive stands out for the level of support it provides — it feels more like working with an agency than a typical SaaS platform
- White Glove Service for enterprise clients
- Dedicated Customer Success Managers (CSMs)
Target Users and Customer Base
Ideal Users
Attentive customers include large customers like Crate & Barrel, Wayfair, and Reebok and smaller DTC companies including True Classic and Brumate. The platform is designed for:
Enterprise Retail Brands:
- Large e-commerce companies with substantial customer bases
- Brands requiring sophisticated personalization at scale
- Companies with dedicated marketing teams and budgets
Growing E-commerce Businesses:
- DTC brands looking to scale their SMS marketing
- Companies seeking to integrate SMS with existing email marketing
- Businesses requiring advanced automation and AI capabilities
Verified Customer Success
Real Customer Testimonials:
"We conducted thorough A/B tests as we slowly migrated a couple of our abandoned flows over to Attentive—we compared the performance of our previous provider and Attentive for around two consecutive months. And the results were striking. It was insane how many more abandoned emails and how many more customers Attentive was identifying." - Weston Clark, Director of Customer Retention, Cozy Earth
"Segmentation allowed us to see our audience sizes, figure out who we should be sending to, and use data most marketers wouldn't normally have access to. It's allowed us to really see what our audience looks like and what they want to see from us."
"By using Attentive's sign-up units to collect email and SMS opt-ins, we're able to gather crucial information that transforms anonymous visitors into identifiable prospects. Then, our welcome flow facilitates a smooth transition into joining our loyalty program, effectively bridging the gap from being an unknown visitor to becoming an engaged member." - Ted Low, Vice President Brand & Marketing, Studio Movie Grill
Technical Specifications and Integrations
Integration Capabilities
Attentive offers 100+ integrations across multiple categories:
- E-Commerce: Seamless integration with major e-commerce platforms like Shopify and Magento
- Customer Service: Integration with support platforms for comprehensive customer experience
- Loyalty: Connect with loyalty programs for enhanced customer retention
- Data: Comprehensive data integration for enhanced personalization
Advanced Features
Attentive Concierge™: Quickly create relevant, on-brand, and personalized conversations with Attentive Concierge™ using responsive AI and our team of trained live agents. Integrate your customer service platform to automatically escalate specialized inquiries to your in-house team.
API Integration: Using the Attentive API, you can create custom integrations to streamline your operations and improve your marketing initiatives. The platform allows seamless embedding of Attentive's SMS features into external platforms like websites or CRM systems.
Performance Metrics and ROI
Measurable Success Metrics
Based on official Attentive performance data:
- 2X+ higher list growth compared to traditional methods
- 2X+ higher ROI on marketing campaigns
- 20% higher CVR (conversion rates)
- 18.5% of total online revenue average for modern e-commerce brands
Platform Performance
- Industry-leading deliverability rates
- Above-average click-through rates (CTRs)
- Comprehensive analytics and reporting for detailed insights on campaign performance
- Real-time performance tracking and optimization
User Experience and Support
Platform Usability
From verified user reviews:
"It's user-friendly, has tons of great features and capabilities, is reasonably priced, and the customer support you receive is fantastic. They're always improving and making the platform better, too, which is great. Highly recommend Attentive!"
"I've used Attentive SMS and MMS messaging the last four years and love the platform and customer service. Whenever I run into an issue, I'm able to communicate with my CSM or White Glove Service, making it a seamless process that's not frustrating."
Areas for Improvement
"The two-way conversation interface where you respond back to incoming text messages could be better. It's missing a lot of basic functionality like being able to tag messages, assign messages to team members to answer, etc."
Getting Started with Attentive
Implementation Process
- Demo Request: Contact Attentive for a personalized demo of the platform
- Strategic Consultation: Work with Attentive's team to develop implementation strategy
- Integration Setup: Connect Attentive with existing e-commerce and marketing tools
- List Migration: Import existing customer data and SMS subscribers
- Campaign Launch: Begin sending personalized SMS and email campaigns
- Ongoing Optimization: Leverage AI and strategic support for continuous improvement
Support and Resources
Comprehensive Support Options:
- Help Center with how-to guides, webinars, and documentation
- Partner Directory for expert guidance from Attentive agency partners
- API Documentation for custom integration needs
- White Glove Service for enterprise clients
- Dedicated Customer Success Managers
Industry Recognition and Backing
Attentive remains privately funded, backed by the capital of 22 private investors, including Series A funding led by Bain Capital Ventures. This funding model offers benefits, such as the ability to raise quick capital to implement new features when the marketplace demands them.
Limitations to Consider
Pricing Transparency:
- No publicly available pricing information
- Enterprise-level pricing may be prohibitive for smaller businesses
- External charges billed separately from platform subscriptions
Platform Complexity:
- Setup and customization require significant time and technical skill
- May be over-engineered for businesses with simple SMS needs
- Learning curve for teams new to advanced marketing automation
Email Capabilities:
- Email capabilities are not yet on par with other ESPs according to some users
- Platform primarily excels in SMS rather than email marketing
Final Verdict: Is Attentive Worth It?
For Enterprise E-commerce Brands: Highly Recommended
Attentive excels as a comprehensive SMS and email marketing platform for brands that need sophisticated personalization, advanced AI capabilities, and enterprise-grade infrastructure. The platform's proven track record with major brands and impressive performance metrics make it a strong investment for companies with substantial marketing budgets.
Best for:
- Large e-commerce brands with substantial customer bases
- Companies requiring advanced AI-powered personalization
- Businesses needing enterprise-grade deliverability and support
- Brands looking for strategic marketing partnership beyond software
- Companies with dedicated marketing teams and resources
Consider Alternatives if:
- You're a small business with limited marketing budget
- You need transparent, self-service pricing (consider Klaviyo)
- You want Shopify-specific SMS tools (explore Postscript)
- You need primarily email marketing capabilities
- You prefer simple, straightforward SMS tools without enterprise complexity
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How much does Attentive cost? A: Attentive does not share pricing publicly. You need to contact their sales team for customized pricing based on your business needs and scale.
Q: What makes Attentive different from Klaviyo or Postscript? A: Attentive focuses specifically on enterprise-grade SMS and email with advanced AI personalization, while Klaviyo is more of an all-in-one marketing platform and Postscript specializes in Shopify-centric SMS.
Q: Is Attentive suitable for small businesses? A: Attentive is primarily designed for enterprise and growing e-commerce businesses. Smaller businesses might find better value with platforms like Klaviyo or Postscript.
Q: What kind of support does Attentive provide? A: Attentive offers comprehensive support including White Glove Service, dedicated Customer Success Managers, and feels more like working with an agency than a typical SaaS platform.
Exploring more SMS and email marketing options? Check out our comprehensive AI Marketing Tools Directory featuring 100+ tools including SMS platforms like Klaviyo and Postscript, email marketing tools, and comprehensive marketing automation solutions to find the perfect tools for your customer engagement needs.
Rating: 4.4/5 stars - Excellent enterprise-grade SMS and email platform with advanced AI capabilities, proven ROI, and exceptional support, though pricing transparency and small business accessibility could be improved.