Theo on iMessage
Text Theo from your iPhone the way you would text a colleague. Ask for a deck, a document, an image or a site and it comes back in the same thread. One text connects your number to your OpenCharts account.
New to it? See what texting Theo looks like
What it is
Theo on iMessage is Theo Chat in the Messages app. Once your number is connected, a text to Theo is a message to the same assistant, on the same account: he builds presentations, documents, notes, flowcharts, whiteboards, tables, images, videos and sites, answers questions, researches, and uses what he remembers about you.
What he makes is saved to your account, exactly as if you had asked in Theo Chat, and arrives in the thread as a link you can open, a picture or a file.
You need an OpenCharts account and an iPhone with iMessage turned on. Once you are connected, the conversation is in Messages on your iPad and your Mac too.
Theo answers in the language your account is set to. Write to him in another language and he answers in that one.
Connecting your number
You connect by sending Theo one text. There is no phone number to type: the text itself is the proof that the number is yours.
1. Open the connect screen. In Settings, open Integrations, find iMessage and press Connect iMessage. The same screen opens from the Theo is on iMessage card on a new chat in Theo Chat, and on a phone from the chat menu, under Text Theo on iMessage.
2. Scan the code, or tap the button. On a computer, open the Camera on your iPhone, point it at the code on the screen and tap the Messages banner that appears. On a phone, tap Open Messages.
3. Send the text as it is written. Messages opens with a short text addressed to Theo. It carries a one-time code, so send it without changing it.
4. Theo answers. He replies in the same thread and names the account he connected, and the connect screen switches to You're connected. If the account he names is not yours, reply STOP.
Would you rather type your number? On the iMessage card in Settings, choose Use my phone number instead, enter your number and press Get my code. The connect screen then shows a six-digit code: text it to Theo from that number. Theo does not text you first, and the code is never typed into OpenCharts.
A number can be connected to one OpenCharts account at a time. To move it, disconnect it from the first account and connect it again from the second.
What you can text
Say what you need in plain words. A few things to try:
A deck
Make a 10 slide deck on our Q3 results. Theo builds it and texts you the link to open it.
A document
Write a one page brief for the spring launch. It arrives as a file you can open, and it is saved to your account.
An image
Send a photo with: turn this into a clean product shot. The new image arrives in the thread.
A site or an app
Build a landing page for the spring launch. Theo builds it in the background and texts you a live preview when it is ready.
A question
Ask anything you would ask in Theo Chat, including questions that need a look at the web.
A change
Follow up in the same thread: make it shorter, add a slide on churn, try it in blue. Theo keeps the last thing he made in mind.
Photos, files and voice notes
A photo. Send it with what you want: Theo can describe it, answer a question about it, or restyle it and send the new picture back.
A file. Send a PDF, a Word document, a slide deck or a plain text file, and Theo reads it and answers: a summary, the key points, a rewrite.
A voice note. Say it instead of typing. Theo listens to the note and treats what you said as your message.
Theo marks a photo, a file or a voice note with a thumbs up when it arrives, so you know he has it while he works.
A spoken answer. Turn on Voice memo replies on the iMessage card in Settings, or reply /voice on, and a short answer arrives as a voice memo instead of a text. Anything with a link, a list or a lot of detail still comes as text. A spoken answer uses AI credits, like listening to a reply in Theo Chat. Reply /voice off to go back to text.
Your Theo Agent workers
If you have Theo Agent workers, the same thread reaches them. Start a text with @ and a worker's name to give that worker a job, for example: @Atlas chase the invoices from last week. Its replies come back marked with its name.
Approvals. When a worker needs your say before it acts, Theo texts you exactly what it wants to do. Tapback a thumbs up or a heart to approve, or a thumbs down to reject. You can also reply approve or reject. Reply approve task to allow it for the rest of that task, or approve always to stop being asked for that kind of action.
Questions. When a worker is unsure, it texts you the question with numbered choices. Reply with the number, or answer in your own words.
A sign-in only you can do. When a worker reaches a sign-in or a verification step, Theo texts you a link to its live screen. Finish there, then reply hand back.
Check-ins. Where Always on is available, a worker you have set to it texts you its check-ins. The Proactive check-ins & alerts switch on the iMessage card in Settings turns them off, or back on. If three check-ins in a row go unanswered, Theo holds the rest until you text him. They stay in the worker's chat in OpenCharts.
Commands
You never need a command to talk to Theo. These are shortcuts, and replying /help in the thread lists them.
/helpWhat Theo can do here, and this list.
@Name taskGive a job to the worker with that name.
/os taskSend a job to your Theo Agent coordinator, which hands it to the right worker. On its own, /os sends every message there until you text /chat.
/chatGo back to Theo Chat, the default.
/teamYour workers and what each one is doing.
/bind nameSend every message to one worker until you text /chat.
/projectsYour most recent projects.
/creditsYour remaining AI credits.
/stop nameStop that worker's running task. On its own, /stop stops every running task.
/pause nameHold a worker until you text /resume with its name.
/voice onHear short answers as voice memos. /voice off goes back to text.
Pausing, stopping and disconnecting
Reply STOP to pause. Theo confirms once and then says nothing more: no replies, no worker updates, no check-ins. Your number stays connected.
Text him again to resume. Any message brings Theo back, and he answers it. START on its own brings him back without asking for anything.
Disconnect to remove the connection. In Settings, open Integrations, find iMessage and press Disconnect. Your number is removed from your account, and a text from it is treated like a text from a stranger until you connect again.
If it does not connect
Theo says the code has expired or was already used
A code works once and lasts ten minutes. Open the connect screen again, press Connect iMessage, and send the new text right away.
Theo says the message came from an email address
iMessage can send from your Apple ID email, and Theo can only connect a phone number. On your iPhone open Settings, then Messages, then Send & Receive, and start new conversations from your number. Then send a new code.
Theo says the message came as a regular text
Theo connects a number from iMessage only. On your iPhone open Settings, then Messages, turn on iMessage, and send the same text again. The code still works until it runs out.
Theo says the number is connected to a different account
A number belongs to one OpenCharts account at a time. Sign in to the other account, disconnect iMessage there, then connect again from this one.
Theo says he does not recognize this number
The text did not carry a code, or it came from a number that is not connected. Open the connect screen and send the text it writes for you, unchanged.
The connect screen says iMessage is full for now
We are opening iMessage in stages. When a month fills up, new connections wait until there is room. Anyone already connected keeps texting. Please try again soon.
I sent the text and nothing came back
Check that iMessage is turned on for your number (the bubble you sent should be blue) and that the text was sent exactly as written. If the connect screen is still waiting, close it, open it again for a new code, and send that one.
I do not have an iPhone
Theo answers on iMessage, which needs an Apple device. On any other phone, Theo Chat works in the browser.
Cost, availability and your data
Cost. Texting Theo comes with your OpenCharts plan, and what he makes draws on the same AI credits as Theo Chat. Reply /credits to see what you have left.
Availability. iMessage is opening in stages, so in a busy month new connections can wait. That never affects a number that is already connected.
Your data. Your number is kept with your account so Theo knows who is texting. Theo keeps the last seven days of the conversation, which is what lets a follow-up like make it shorter make sense, and deletes it after that. Disconnecting removes your number and deletes those conversation records at once. What Theo made stays in your account, what he remembers about you is managed in Theo Memory, and the thread in your Messages app is yours to delete.
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