What is RCS Business Messaging?

A short definition

RCS (Rich Communication Services) is a messaging standard that upgrades the phone's built-in text messaging with features people know from chat apps: images, typing indicators, read receipts and tappable buttons. RCS Business Messaging applies those features to communication from businesses to customers. Google operates the platform most RBM traffic runs through, which it now calls “RCS for Business”.

How it works

Google describes the flow as a conversation between your agent and a customer:

1. Something in your business triggers a message — a shipment, a reminder date, a campaign.
2. Your system (or your messaging provider) sends the message to the RCS Business Messaging API.
3. The customer receives it in their messaging app, such as Google Messages.
4. When the customer replies or taps a button, the event is sent back to your webhook so your system can respond.

Customers can't start a conversation with an agent out of the blue, but once the agent has messaged them they can reply at any time. If the customer's device doesn't support RCS, the platform reports this and the business can fall back to another channel such as SMS.

What a business message can contain

• Text of up to 3,072 characters, with link previews where the app supports them.
• Images, GIFs, video, audio and PDF files.
• Rich cards that combine media, a title, a description and up to four buttons.
• Carousels of two to ten rich cards.
• Suggested replies and actions: call, open a website, view or share a location, add a calendar event.

See RCS features and message formats for the details and limits of each.

Verified sender identity

Every RBM sender is an agent with a display name, logo, colours and contact details. Before its first launch, the agent goes through brand verification: an authorised person at the brand confirms the agent's information and that the messaging partner may manage it. After verification and launch, Google Messages shows a verification mark next to the agent name. This helps customers tell genuine brand messages from impersonation.

Where RBM reaches customers

A message is delivered over RCS only when all of these are true:

• The customer's messaging app supports RCS and RCS is enabled on the device.
• The customer's mobile network carries RCS business traffic.
• Your agent has been approved and launched on that carrier.

Google Messages is the default messaging app on many Android phones. Support in other apps, including on iPhone, depends on the app, operating-system version, carrier and country, and changes over time. Ask for current coverage figures for your audience rather than relying on general estimates.

Security and privacy

Google states that RCS for Business messages are encrypted in transit between the agent and Google and between Google and the user's device, and that messages are scanned for malicious content. The business remains responsible for collecting consent, honouring opt-outs and keeping message content appropriate for its declared use case.

What RBM is not

• Not a separate app. It uses the phone's messaging app, unlike over-the-top chat apps that require their own installation and account.
• Not guaranteed delivery. No channel reaches every number. Use delivery events and fallback for important messages.
• Not instant to launch. Verification and carrier approval are required before production sending. See the onboarding guide.

What a business needs to start

• A clear use case and an audience that has agreed to receive messages.
• Brand assets, a public website, privacy policy and terms of service.
• An authorised brand contact for verification.
• A messaging partner to host the agent, plus either a campaign tool or an API integration.

Comparing channels? Read RCS vs SMS for businesses.