By: Inderpal Singh Mumick, EVP Telecom – Gupshup
The flash-animated emoticons of the early 2000s marked an ambitious yet ultimately flawed attempt to revolutionise mobile messaging. When MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) arrived in 2002, it promised to transform the bare-bones SMS into a rich communication channel. The reality proved disappointingly different. Inconsistent carrier support, hefty charges, and compatibility issues meant that sending a simple photo could turn into a frustrating exercise in digital gymnastics. By 2009, the messaging landscape was ripe for disruption—enter WhatsApp, a startup that recognised mobile users’ simple desire: to share media as easily as text, without worrying about carrier fees or device compatibility.
Fast forward to today, and an unexpected player has re-entered the game. Rich Communication Services (RCS), the technology once dismissed as carriers’ belated answer to WhatsApp, is witnessing a remarkable renaissance. Thanks to Google’s persistent advocacy and Apple’s recent commitment to support it by 2024, RCS is no longer just a technical specification, it is becoming the universal standard that MMS aspired to be. For businesses, this resurrection represents more than just another messaging channel; it is an opportunity to reclaim direct customer communication without relying on third-party apps.
This smarter and more engaging upgrade to SMS has led to a resurgence and reach in a way that is bigger than before, ultimately reshaping how brands communicate with their customers.
What is fueling Rich Communication Services’ revival?
RCS is not just another regular messaging protocol. It takes traditional texting or SMS marketing up a notch, with dynamic, interactive features of popular messaging apps like WhatsApp while also offering the universal reach of SMS. It includes capabilities like allowing users to share high-res images, videos, and GIFs without needing additional apps, and for businesses, it allows them to create unique and engaging customer experiences. While RCS has long been dominant on Android, Apple has now joined the conversation, with integration into the latest iOS and Apple products. With over a billion users globally and growing, RCS is changing the game for business-customer interactions.
Why businesses should pay attention to RCS?
For businesses, there is no better time than now to leverage RCS. Brands that have yet to adopt it risk falling behind in offering the rich and personalised experiences that consumers expect. Unlike traditional SMS, RCS offers immersive and personalised experiences that appeal to users, thereby making them more likely to engage with businesses. Imagine receiving a message from a clothing brand. Not just a plain text, but a dynamic, branded catalog. You can swipe through a carousel of new arrivals, watch product videos, and even make a purchase without ever leaving the chat. This kind of rich interactivity does not just capture attention; it keeps users engaged longer and fosters a stronger emotional connection, with businesses reporting higher engagement rates compared to SMS and email.
RCS is not just about flashy features, it drives results. By reducing friction in the customer journey, businesses that use RCS have seen 2.5 times higher conversion rates than SMS or email. Its ability to support integrated chatbots, FAQs, multimedia content, and real-time updates gives it a unique edge over traditional SMS. And now with several platforms integrating Google’s Vertex AI into RCS, there are immense possibilities for brands to create precise and human-like interactions with speed and scale and offer a more personalised and responsive experience.
The path to RCS dominance: Beyond features
In India, RCS is projected to reach 600–700 million users in the next few years. Globally, experts predict that by the end of 2024, over three billion users worldwide will have access to RCS-enabled services, signaling a shift in business communications. Let’s understand why.
At its core, RCS’s strength lies in its seamless integration into the world’s most used mobile operating system. With Android commanding over 70 percent of the global smartphone market, RCS arrives not as an outsider seeking adoption, but as a native capability woven into the fabric of billions of devices. This built-in advantage eliminates the primary hurdle that plagues new communication technologies – the need to convince users to download and install yet another app.
A compelling factor of RCS is its economic proposition, especially in price-sensitive emerging markets where communication costs significantly influence business decisions. At a time when brands face the challenge of rising customer acquisition costs across various digital channels, RCS proves to be a cost-effective alternative without compromising on capabilities. This added cost advantage, coupled with the rich features of RCS, makes it a viable and attractive option for businesses who are looking to enhance their customer engagement quality without breaking their communication budgets.
Possibly the biggest advantage for RCS continues to be its integration with Google’s vast digital ecosystem. With customer experience being more crucial now more than ever, a platform’s ability to transition seamlessly from a Google search to RCS conversation represents a strategic shift in customer engagement. Imagine a customer searching for a product, finding a business, and initiating a rich multimedia conversation with that business – all within seconds and without switching applications. The potential of this level of integration is unprecedented, having the ability to reshape how businesses communicate with customers going forward with the interactions not just being easier but also more contextual and meaningful.
Additionally, the timing of the arrival of this technology has helped see traction with more businesses and consumers seeking direct, transparent, and secure communication channels. Amid rising concerns about data privacy and the increasing fragmentation of messaging platforms, RCS uniquely positions itself as a carrier-based service that offers a level of legitimacy and standardisation, unlike many other messaging apps. With Apple adopting the service into its OS, the technology is poised to become the universal standard for business-customer communication, bridging the long-standing divide between iOS and Android users.