Settings: System Messages

System messages are automated messages that Arist sends to learners in specific situations, such as when they request help, respond to an already-answered question, or receive response reminders. You can customize these messages to match your organization's tone and change default support links.

Available System Messages

You can customize the following system messages:

  • Support - Sent when learners message a support keyword

  • Response already accepted - Sent when learners try to answer a question they've already answered

  • Up next enrollment pre-activation - Sent when a learner is enrolled in content that gets queued behind a currently active enrollment

  • Response reminders (5 reminders) - Sent at different intervals when learners haven't responded to course questions. To edit the timing of response reminders, see this article: Settings: Response Reminders

  • Support for SMS code - Sent to SMS learners with multiple active enrollments

  • Teams help message - Sent when learners message "help" in Microsoft Teams (only available for Teams-enabled organizations)

  • Instant course activation suffix (with scheduled delivery time) - Lets a learner know when their first message will be arriving

  • Instant course activation suffix (immediate delivery) - Lets a learner know that there first message will arrive shortly

  • Scheduled course activation suffix - Sent when a scheduled course activates

  • Support message for SMS code enrollment - Sent to SMS learners who reply with "Support" to Arist's 20202 short-code number.

Creating a Custom System Message

  1. Navigate to the System Messages tab in your admin dashboard

  2. Click Create New Message

  3. Select the message type from the dropdown

  4. Select the language for the message

  5. The text field will automatically pre-fill with the default message text

  6. Edit the message text as needed

  7. Click Save

Note: You can only create one custom message per message type and language combination. If you try to create a duplicate, you'll receive a warning.

Available Variables

Some system messages include variables (shown as %{variable_name}) that automatically populate with relevant information. Only variables included in the default text will work in your custom messages.

Variable

Description

Example

%{course_name}

The name of the learner's course

Welcome to Learning with Arist

%{topic_name}

The channel name (if one exists), otherwise the course name

Sales Channel

%{question}

The message content for the current step

Question prompt

%{expected_delivery_time}

The time the next lesson is expected

5:16PM EDT

%{expected_delivery_date}

The date the next lesson is expected

today

%{expected_delivery_time_and_date}

Full timestamp for next lesson

2025-10-15 17:35:34 -0400

%{day_of_week}

The day of week the next lesson arrives

Wednesday

%{local_time}

The local time for next lesson delivery

5:40 PM

%{system_address_value}

The SMS or WhatsApp phone number

18448407520

%{links}

List of course names with enrollment links

Course Name - enrollment URL

%{support_resend_suffix}

Adds resend instruction text

Adds "If you are expecting a lesson you haven't gotten, please respond Y and we will resend it" text

%{magic_link}

Link to manage enrollment

enrollment URL

Usage notes:

  • %{question} - Best used only in response reminders, as it shows the current step content

  • %{system_address_value} - Only available for SMS and WhatsApp messages

  • Timing variables (day_of_week, local_time, expected_delivery_*) - Reference the next lesson's delivery time, not the current time. Not recommended for instant delivery schedules

  • %{topic_name} - Uses the channel name if available, otherwise defaults to course name

Filtering System Messages

Use the filter options to find specific messages by message type, language, or both.

How Language is Determined

System messages use the language from the learner's active enrollment. If there's no active enrollment, the language from their most recently created enrollment is used. Custom messages are prioritized over default messages.

Formatting Notes

  • Line breaks: Use standard line breaks in the editor. For Teams messages, line breaks are automatically converted to <br> tags

  • HTML markup: For Teams help card messages, HTML markup is stripped for security. Reach out to your Customer Success Manager or [email protected] to get URLs added to a the Teams help card.

  • WhatsApp response reminders: Currently always use default text, even if a custom message exists

Best Practices

  • Remove unnecessary links: Replace default support links with instructions to contact your training coordinator

  • Keep it concise: System messages should be brief and actionable

  • Test in multiple languages: Create custom messages for each language your organization uses

  • Preserve important variables: Keep variables like %{course_name} so learners receive contextualized information

  • Avoid timing variables with instant delivery: Variables like %{local_time} work best with scheduled courses

If you have any questions or want to turn on custom System Messages for your organization, reach out to your Customer Success Manager or [email protected].

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