How Twilio is Innovating for Omnichannel Messaging

There is a lot of choice in the world of business messaging, and supporting all the different messaging channels consumers want to use, with their different features and policies, can be challenging for businesses. However, with an omnichannel messaging API, you can make it easy to add in new channels and features without creating a lot of extra development work for your teams.

That’s why we’re committed to bringing new channels to the same APIs you know and love. As we announced at SIGNAL 2023 in São Paulo, Twilio is bringing support for RCS (Rich Communications Services) to our Programmable Messaging and Verify APIs. Our omnichannel APIs enable you to support new channels like RCS without significant development work, and with intelligent channel selection capabilities built on top of the messaging channels we offer, you can enable greater trust and engagement in the way you reach your customers.

What is RCS?

RCS is a messaging standard defined by GSMA, and RBM, or RCS Business Messaging, is Google’s RCS service, which provides a branded and enhanced messaging experience. If you use an Android device, you’ve likely already used RCS when texting with your personal contacts (person-to-person or P2P messaging). Google also offers an application-to-person (A2P) or business messaging option with RBM.

RCS offers brands the ability to:

• Send messages over WiFi and cellular connections with higher security, which can result in lower latency.
• Utilize branded, verified profiles to drive greater trust with recipients.
• Get more insights into the deliverability of each message with features like delivery receipts to confirm the receipt of messages.
• Include rich messaging features such as cards and carousels to create a more engaging messaging experience.
• Provide suggested replies and actions for the recipient to take.

Twilio enables you to choose the best channel for your customers

With our support for RCS, Twilio will automatically upgrade your SMS messages to RCS, when available, at the same rate. This ensures your messages will be sent over the channel that ensures the highest deliverability for that recipient, whether that’s via SMS or RCS, and also enables you to personalize the channel for each recipient. You won’t need to manually select the channel – Twilio will leverage our messaging data to intelligently identify which channel is best for each of your messages.

Getting Started

We’re progressively rolling RCS out in the Verify API and it will be available in the Programmable Messaging API soon.