Routing daily SMS responses using Twilio and Airtable integration

Other Questions Airtable
1

Hey everyone! I’m new here and could use some help with my SMS project.

I’ve got a system set up that sends out daily text messages to a group of people. Now I want to use a Twilio function to check their responses against an Airtable database. Here’s what I’m trying to do:

  1. The function should look at my Airtable and find today’s records
  2. It needs to read the SMS response
  3. If the response matches what we expect, it should send a specific message from Airtable
  4. If it doesn’t match, it should send a different message, also from Airtable

I’ve started working on some code, but I’m not sure if it’s right. Can anyone help me figure out if I’m on the right track or if there’s a better way to do this?

Here’s a simplified version of what I’ve got so far:

function checkResponse(date, response) {
  const records = fetchAirtableRecords(date);
  
  for (let record of records) {
    if (record.expectedAnswer === response) {
      return record.congratsMessage;
    }
  }
  
  return records[0].hintMessage;
}

Any tips or advice would be super helpful! Thanks!

2

I’ve actually implemented something similar for a client recently, and I can share some insights. Your approach is on the right track, but there are a few optimizations you might want to consider.

First, fetching Airtable records for each SMS might become slow as your user base grows. Consider caching the day’s records in memory or using a more performant database for frequent lookups.

Also, your current code assumes a single correct answer per day. In reality, you might want to handle multiple correct responses or partial matches. You could use regex or a fuzzy matching algorithm for more flexible response handling.

Here’s a performance tip: instead of looping through all records, create a map with expected answers as keys. This allows for O(1) lookup time:

const answerMap = new Map(records.map(r => [r.expectedAnswer, r.congratsMessage]));
const response = answerMap.get(userResponse) || records[0].hintMessage;

Lastly, don’t forget error handling and logging. Twilio functions can time out, and Airtable API calls might fail. Robust error handling will save you headaches down the line.

3

Your approach is solid, but I’d suggest a few tweaks to make it more robust and efficient. Instead of looping through records each time, consider creating a daily cache of expected responses and messages. This can significantly speed up your function, especially as your user base grows.

Here’s a modified version of your code:

let dailyCache = null;

function checkResponse(date, response) {
  if (!dailyCache || dailyCache.date !== date) {
    const records = fetchAirtableRecords(date);
    dailyCache = {
      date: date,
      responses: new Map(records.map(r => [r.expectedAnswer.toLowerCase(), r.congratsMessage])),
      defaultHint: records[0].hintMessage
    };
  }
  
  return dailyCache.responses.get(response.toLowerCase()) || dailyCache.defaultHint;
}

This approach caches the day’s data and uses a Map for O(1) lookups. It also handles case-insensitive matching, which can reduce user frustration. Remember to implement proper error handling and logging for production use.

4

hey there! ur on the right track, but u might wanna consider caching those airtable records. it’ll speed things up big time when u got lots of users. also, think bout using a Map for quicker lookups instead of looping thru everything. something like:

const answerMap = new Map(records.map(r => [r.expectedAnswer.toLowerCase(), r.congratsMessage]));
return answerMap.get(response.toLowerCase()) || records[0].hintMessage;

hope that helps! lmk if u need anything else :slight_smile: