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Connect Your GoHighLevel Account for SMS

Send SMS messages to your leads directly through MCA Pilot using your existing GoHighLevel (GHL) or MCA Simplified phone number. This guide walks you through connecting your GHL account to MCA Pilot.

V
Written by Victor Fteha
Updated over 3 weeks ago

MCA Pilot supports multiple SMS providers including GoHighLevel, Twilio, TextUs, and OpenPhone. This guide covers GoHighLevel specifically. If you use a different provider, select it when adding a new SMS account in Settings > Senders.

Already using GoHighLevel for your sales process? You can use your existing GHL phone number to send SMS messages from MCA Pilot—no need for a separate SMS service.

What You'll Need

Before you begin, make sure you have:

  • An active GoHighLevel sub-account with SMS enabled

  • Admin access to your GHL sub-account settings

You'll be collecting two pieces of information from GoHighLevel:

  1. Private Integration Token - This authenticates MCA Pilot to send messages on your behalf

  2. Location ID - This identifies which GHL sub-account to use

Step 1: Find Your Location ID

Your Location ID is the unique identifier for your GHL sub-account.

  1. Log into your GoHighLevel account

  2. Navigate to your sub-account (not the agency view)

  3. Look at the URL in your browser's address bar. It will look something like:

    https://app.gohighlevel.com/location/abc123xyz/dashboard

  4. The string after /location/ is your Location ID (in this example: abc123xyz)

  5. Copy this ID and save it somewhere - you'll need it in Step 3

Step 2: Create a Private Integration Token

The Private Integration Token allows MCA Pilot to send SMS messages through your GHL account.

About GoHighLevel tokens: GoHighLevel now uses Private Integration Tokens that start with ey... (not the older pit-... format). If you see references to "pit-" tokens elsewhere, those are outdated—follow the steps below to create the current token type.

  1. In your GHL sub-account, go to Settings (gear icon in the bottom left)

  2. Scroll down to Other Settings in the left sidebar

  3. Click on Private Integrations

    Note: If you don't see Private Integrations, you may need to enable it in Labs first. Go to Settings > Labs and enable Private Integrations.

  4. Click Create New Integration

  5. Enter the following details:

    • Name: MCA Pilot SMS

    • Description: Allows MCA Pilot to send SMS messages

  6. Click Next

  7. Select these scopes (permissions) for SMS:

    • ✅ contacts.readonly

    • ✅ conversations/message.write

    • ✅ conversations.write

  8. Click Create

  9. IMPORTANT: Copy your token immediately! You will only see it once.

    • The token starts with ey followed by a very long string (250+ characters)

    • Save it somewhere secure - you'll need it in Step 3

Step 3: Add Your GHL Account to MCA Pilot

Now let's connect everything in MCA Pilot.

  1. In MCA Pilot, go to Settings

  2. Click on the Senders tab

  3. In the SMS Accounts table, click + New SMS Account

  4. Fill in the form:

Field

What to Enter

SMS Provider

Select GoHighLevel

API Key

Paste your Private Integration Token (the ey... token from Step 2)

User ID

Paste your Location ID (from Step 1)

Then click Save

You're All Set! 🎉

MCA Pilot can now send SMS messages through your GoHighLevel account.

Which Phone Number Will Messages Send From?

The GoHighLevel API automatically determines which phone number to use - MCA Pilot cannot specify a particular number. Here's how GHL selects the "from" number:

  1. Existing conversation - If there's already an SMS conversation with the contact, GHL sends from the same number that was used previously (to maintain conversation continuity)

  2. New contact - If there's no prior conversation, GHL sends from your account's default outbound number

  3. Staff assignment - If a staff member is assigned to the contact and has a dedicated phone number, that number may be used

Tip: If you want messages to consistently come from a specific number, make sure that number is set as your default outbound number in your GHL Phone Numbers settings.

Viewing Replies and Conversations

When a contact replies to your SMS, you'll find their response in GoHighLevel's Conversations tab - this is a unified inbox that shows all inbound and outbound messages organized by contact.

To view replies:

  1. In your GHL sub-account, click Conversations in the left sidebar

  2. Unread messages appear in the "Unread" tab

  3. Click on a contact to see the full conversation thread

Additional features:

  • Mobile app - You can also view and respond to messages via the GoHighLevel mobile app

  • Message details - Hover over any message, click the 3-dot menu → "Details" to see from/to info, timestamps, and which automation triggered it

  • Notifications - To get alerted when someone replies, set up a GHL workflow with the "Customer Replied" trigger and a "Send Internal Notification" action

All replies and conversations are handled entirely within GoHighLevel - no additional MCA Pilot setup is required to receive responses.

Using the Private Integration Token for Custom Workflows

The same Private Integration Token you create for SMS can also be used for custom integrations with tools like n8n, Make, Zapier, or custom webhooks—but you'll need different scopes depending on what you want to do.

Using n8n or custom webhooks? You can create a separate Private Integration Token specifically for those workflows. Just follow the same steps in Step 2, but select different scopes based on what actions your integration needs to perform.

Common scopes for custom integrations:

  • contacts.readonly — Search and read contact information

  • contacts.write — Create or update contacts (e.g., adding tags, updating custom fields)

  • opportunities.readonly / opportunities.write — Work with deals/opportunities

  • calendars.readonly / calendars.write — Access calendar and appointments

Example: If you're building an n8n workflow that searches for a contact in GoHighLevel and then updates a custom field, you'd need both contacts.readonly and contacts.write scopes.

Create separate tokens for different integrations (one for SMS, one for n8n, etc.). This makes it easier to track which integration is using which token and lets you rotate tokens without breaking multiple connections.

Troubleshooting

"Invalid token" or authentication errors

  • Make sure you copied the entire Private Integration Token (it's very long)

  • Verify the token starts with ey

  • Check that you selected the correct scopes when creating the token

"Contact not found" errors

  • The phone number must match a contact in your GHL account

  • Phone numbers should include country code (e.g., +15551234567)

Messages not sending

  • Verify your GHL sub-account has SMS enabled and a phone number assigned

  • Check that your GHL account has sufficient SMS credits

  • Ensure the contact hasn't opted out of SMS (DND)

Need to regenerate your token?

  1. Go to Settings > Private Integrations in GHL

  2. Find your MCA Pilot integration

  3. Click the three-dot menu and select Rotate and expire this token now

  4. Copy the new token and update it in MCA Pilot Settings

Other SMS Provider Options

GoHighLevel is one of several SMS providers MCA Pilot supports. If you prefer a different provider, you can connect:

  • Twilio - Popular SMS API service with pay-as-you-go pricing

  • TextUs - Performance SMS for GTM Teams

  • OpenPhone - Business phone system with built-in SMS

To add any of these providers, go to Settings > Senders > New SMS Account and select your provider from the dropdown. You'll need your provider's API credentials handy.

Questions?

If you run into any issues connecting your GoHighLevel account, reach out to our support team.

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