6 things to know about RCS business messaging

6 things to know about RCS business messaging

If you haven’t already heard it yet, RCS business messaging is here and it’s fundamentally changing how brands and consumers connect. RCS is an advanced messaging protocol that allows businesses and consumers to exchange rich, interactive content, like high-quality photos, videos, buttons, and carousels. If you’re considering an upgrade from SMS or MMS, or if you’re exploring ways to scale messaging for your enterprise, grasping RCS’s capabilities and complexities is key.

Let’s take a look at the six most important aspects you should know when evaluating how to use RCS for your business.

1. How RCS features compare to SMS and MMS

RCS is best thought of as the next evolution of traditional SMS and MMS. At its heart, RCS delivers the rich, interactive experiences typically reserved for third-party messaging apps like WhatsApp. While SMS is limited to 160 characters of text and MMS adds picture and video support, RCS opens the door to more:

• High-resolution images

• Media attachments

• Carousels and suggested replies

• Typing indicators and read receipts

• Branded, verified sender profiles

Unlike SMS and MMS, which have limited formatting and no support for interactivity, RCS enables a two-way, app-like experience right inside the native text app. Imagine sending promotions, appointment reminders, or customer service updates in an interactive and visually exciting way, all without needing customers to download a brand new app.

2. The best RCS business messaging providers

Several major messaging providers support RCS for businesses at scale, but not all providers are created equal. When looking for a reliable RCS provider, assess global scale, developer experience, and enterprise requirements.

Twilio stands out as a leading provider of RCS, offering flexibility, scale, and integration through a unified messaging API. With Twilio, you can send RCS messages to supported users and automatically reach everyone else with SMS or MMS fallback—so your communication always gets delivered, whether or not your recipient’s device or carrier supports RCS. 

This is a big deal for global brands trying to maximize reach without managing multiple messaging workflows.

Twilio also simplifies the sending process, with:

• Built-in message fallback to SMS or MMS, guaranteeing maximum deliverability.

• Rich analytics that help you optimize campaigns and measure channel engagement. 

• Sender authentication and brand verification, so your messages are trusted by users.

• Dedicated onboarding support, which is especially valuable given the added complexity of RCS sender approval and regulatory requirements.

When choosing a provider, look for global reach, API flexibility, reliable fallback, analytics, and experience handling compliance and onboarding across different markets.

3. Enterprise considerations for RCS scalability 

Scaling RCS for enterprise campaigns brings unique considerations compared to traditional text messaging. RCS allows you to send more interactive content, which also means you’re dealing with larger message payloads. You’ll need a provider with infrastructure robust enough to handle high volumes reliably without delays or downtime. 

Seamless integration is important, too. Enterprise-grade RCS solutions should work hand-in-hand with your existing CRM and customer engagement platforms and offer strong campaign management and analytics tools. Security and brand protection get a boost, thanks to verified sender IDs built into RCS; however, the sender verification process may add some extra onboarding time compared to SMS. And since RCS availability depends on carriers and devices, it’s essential to have a reliable fallback to SMS or MMS to ensure every customer receives your message, every time.

4. Where RCS messaging works today

One of the top considerations for RCS business messaging is knowing where it's live and accessible. RCS support has rapidly grown, propelled by Google and a unified standard (GSMA Universal Profile), but the current state of deployment still varies.

• Carriers and devices: the majority of Android devices now support RCS out-of-the-box, and Apple began supporting it with the release of iOS18 in 2024. Mobile carriers in North America, Europe, Latin America, and many Asia-Pacific countries have rolled out RCS support, though coverage isn't always universal. Within the US, the major four carriers (T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon, and US Cellular) have varying support for RCS business messaging at scale. While today some are accepting all new brands, others are still in beta and accepting limited brands.

• Global reach: adoption rates are highest where carriers and device manufacturers have collaborated on RCS enablement. In some markets, gaps remain, so double-check coverage maps with your provider.

• Interoperability: Google’s Messages app is a major driver for RCS adoption on Android. Apple rolled out RCS support on iPhones in September 2024, which further expanded the global reach. SMS fallback is still required for recipients without RCS support.

If you’re deploying globally, it’s crucial to assess carrier and device compatibility in your target markets. Global availability varies with some countries, like Germany and Spain, offering full RCS coverage and other countries growing in availability in 2025. See our docs for the latest on Twilio RCS coverage. 

5. RCS challenges and limitations to keep in mind

While RCS-based marketing opens up exciting new ways to engage with your customers, it’s important to go in with a clear idea of potential limitations. Like any evolving technology, RCS messaging comes with its own set of challenges that savvy businesses should plan for from the start. Some of the hurdles include:

• Coverage gaps: not all customers will be reachable via RCS yet, especially those who haven’t updated their Apple devices to iOS18 and older Android devices.

• Onboarding time: RCS requires brand verification from messaging providers, carriers, and Google, which can add lead time.

• Cost: With the engaging capabilities of RCS, it is a premium messaging channel. While RCS pricing is competitive with MMS, rich content can drive up data costs for customers, and messaging rates may vary by provider and geography.

• Spam protections: enhanced security is a plus, but it means strict policies. Campaigns that don’t follow guidelines risk being blocked.

As RCS matures and carrier support expands, many of these pain points will improve. For now, a little extra planning will ensure your RCS campaigns deliver on their full promise and that you’re prepared to reach your customers reliably wherever they are.

6. RCS is the future–but you can start today

RCS may not be available for every single carrier and country (yet), but that shouldn’t prevent you from using and exploring this new texting method. In fact, now is the perfect time to test RCS messaging and see what works well for your brand.

To use RCS with Twilio, you can get started today by logging into the Twilio Console. Then, you can go through the RCS onboarding process and add a branded sender to your existing account. You can then select that you prefer to send via RCS and choose a fallback option for those who are unable to receive RCS messages. If sending via RCS is unavailable for certain users, Twilio will automatically fall back to SMS. In your logs, you can see what was sent as RCS vs. SMS. 

Reliable RCS business messaging with Twilio

RCS messaging opens up exciting new methods of engaging customers. This supercharged communication method will transform the way businesses engage their customers via text.

To set yourself up for success when implementing RCS, consider the following tips:

• Review your existing workflows: start with what you currently have set up and evaluate where you can replace standard SMS with RCS.

• Leverage content templates: learn to build rich content with Twilio’s easy-to-use Content Template Build.

• Test your RCS messaging: use data from read receipts and other engagement metrics to build out a comprehensive RCS strategy for your brand. 

Learn more about using Twilio’s RCS business messaging to deliver branded text messages at scale.