Is RCS the future of business messaging? Compare SMS and RCS to find out which solution works best for your brand.

For digital marketers and brands seeking to maximize customer engagement, two messaging protocols stand at the forefront: the venerable SMS and its modern successor RCS Business Messaging. Understanding the distinction between the two isn't just technical knowledge—it's a strategic advantage. 

While you're familiar with SMS campaigns, RCS Business Messaging represents a powerful evolution that'll reshape how businesses connect with consumers through mobile messaging.

SMS has been the backbone of text messaging since the early 1990s. Its simplicity and ubiquity have made it the most widely used messaging technology in history. And was widely adopted by businesses looking to communicate on a more personal channel with their customers in the early 2000s. 

Continuing to build on this foundation, RCS, represents the next generation of messaging for the smartphone era. Though introduced in 2008, it has only recently gained significant traction. RCS brings messaging into the modern age, across operating systems, with rich media sharing, read receipts, typing indicators, enhanced group chats, and business messaging features—which will let brands engage and convert customers in new ways.

As we dive deeper into these technologies, we'll explore how they compare in functionality, user experience, business applications, and what the future holds for mobile messaging.

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Understanding the difference: SMS vs. RCS

The distinction between SMS and RCS Business Messaging directly impacts bottom-line results. While SMS offers reliable reach with basic text-only messages, RCS Business Messaging transforms mobile messaging into a rich shopping channel with product galleries, interactive buttons, and seamless checkout experiences. 

What is SMS? 

SMS, or Short Message Service, is a type of text message that doesn't include images, videos, or GIFs, and is limited to 160 characters. SMS messages are sent via the carrier network, meaning you don’t need a Wi-Fi connection to send and receive messages. 

Advantages 

Despite the evolution of digital marketing channels, SMS continues to deliver exceptional results for brands. With near-universal reach across virtually every mobile device, extraordinary open rates approaching 98%, and the ability to deliver messages instantly regardless of data connectivity, SMS provides marketers with a connection to customers on their most personal devices. 

Its simplicity eliminates technical barriers, while its cost-effectiveness makes it accessible to businesses of all sizes. For time-sensitive promotions, urgent updates, or reaching customers in areas with limited connectivity, SMS remains the most reliable channel for ensuring your message not only reaches your audience but actually gets seen—often within minutes of sending.

‍Limitations 

While SMS marketing offers unmatched reach and open rates, its fundamental limitations can constrain modern marketing strategies. 

The restrictive 160-character format forces marketers to communicate in the most basic text-only format, eliminating any possibility for visual product showcasing, brand imagery, or interactive elements that drive engagement. Without the ability to include images, videos, or clickable buttons, SMS messages struggle to create compelling shopping experiences or seamless conversion paths. 

As consumer expectations evolve toward rich, visual, and interactive mobile experiences, these technical constraints of SMS can make messages feel outdated and impersonal, potentially leading to higher opt-out rates and diminished effectiveness for brands seeking to create distinctive and engaging customer experiences.

What is RCS Business Messaging? 

Rich Communication Services (RCS) Business Messaging is a messaging protocol designed to enhance mobile messaging with features like multimedia sharing, branded sender IDs, and interactive communication. RCS operates over data networks and requires both compatible devices and carrier support.

Advantages

As retail increasingly moves online and mobile commerce continues to grow, the rich, interactive nature of RCS Business Messaging addresses many of the limitations retailers face with traditional SMS campaigns while creating new opportunities for driving revenue through the messaging channel.

This evolution translates to measurable benefits like: 

• Higher conversion rates (20-35% improvements in some cases)
• Reduced cart abandonment
• Improved post-purchase experiences that build loyalty
• Enhanced security in supported environments with end-to-end encryption
• Verified business sender IDs for building trust and security

Retailers who use RCS Business Messaging's rich capabilities can create personalized shopping journeys, showcase products visually, and provide interactive assistance directly through messaging. In our latest consumer survey, 90% of consumers are more likely to make a purchase when interacting with a brand using at least one RCS feature. 

Limitations 

While RCS Business Messaging represents a significant evolution from traditional SMS, marketers should approach with measured expectations. As with any emerging technology, RCS Business Messaging currently faces a couple of adoption hurdles that impact its effectiveness as a marketing channel.

• Limited carrier and device support: Despite growing adoption, major carriers are still coming on board. This creates "dead zones" where campaigns may default to standard SMS for some subscribers for the time being.
• Internet dependency limitations: Unlike traditional SMS, which operates over cellular networks regardless of data connectivity, RCS Business Messaging requires an active internet connection. This dependency can create blindspots in campaign delivery, particularly for users in rural areas, during travel, in buildings with poor connectivity, or in regions with unstable internet infrastructure.

These limitations, though likely temporary as the ecosystem matures, necessitate thoughtful consideration when integrating RCS Business Messaging into a brand's communication strategy.

How businesses use RCS and SMS 

The question is, is one messaging format ‌better than the other. Both will continue to be incredibly effective methods for communicating with your customers. Here are some best practices and examples of when to use each.

RCS use cases

RCS Business Messaging is still under development. But there are a couple of places we’d recommend using this new technology over SMS. RCS Business Messaging is perfect for when you want to level up your personalization capabilities and make a great impression with your shoppers. 

Suggested replies 

RCS Business Messaging takes conversational commerce to a whole new level. Integrated action buttons within rich media cards or as standalone elements streamline user interaction, allowing for effortless responses to visual content or seamless navigation to web pages and applications with a single tap.

Branded messages

Companies can keep brand consistency by embedding brand elements such as name, logo, and colors on screen without needing a contact card. In addition, every brand using RCS Business Messaging is verified by Google. This level of verification gives subscribers trust in the messages they receive, which may increase CVRs.

‍Two-factor authentication

When authentication is the primary purpose—two-factor authentication codes and one-time passwords work perfectly well with SMS and don't require RCS features.

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Will RCS replace SMS?

In short, no. 

Here’s what we know, Google has been at the forefront of driving RCS adoption globally, transforming what began as a carrier-led initiative into a significant ecosystem push. Recent statistics show that Google's efforts have helped RCS reach over 1 billion monthly active users globally as of late 2024, demonstrating substantial growth from just 444 million users in 2022. But there is still a lot of work to be done. 

Carrier challenges need to be addressed

Despite progress, RCS faces hurdles in achieving universal adoption. 

Carrier implementation is still largely being developed and activated. Features available to users on one network may not function when messaging contacts on different networks, creating confusion and diminishing the perceived value of RCS for both brands and consumers.

With the carrier landscape still fairly fragmented, marketers must maintain dual-communication approaches.

SMS will remain relevant despite RCS advancements

Rather than a complete replacement, evidence suggests SMS and RCS Business Messaging will coexist for the foreseeable future. 

SMS offers universal compatibility that RCS cannot match. Every mobile phone—from the most basic feature phone to the latest smartphone—can receive SMS messages, making it invaluable for critical communications that must reach all users regardless of device or connectivity status.

Business use cases will likely split along functional lines. SMS will remain dominant for simple transactional messaging, two-factor authentication, and alerts, while RCS will become the preferred channel for richer marketing communications, interactive customer service, and conversational commerce.

The Attentive POV 

Looking ahead, the messaging landscape will likely evolve in several key directions:

• RCS Business Messaging will increasingly integrate with AI tools, creating more sophisticated automated customer interactions. The rich media capabilities of RCS Business Messaging provide visual information, interactive forms, and guided processes that will significantly enhance the customer experience compared to text-only SMS interactions.

• Marketing automation platforms will evolve to orchestrate campaigns across both SMS and RCS Business Messaging channels, intelligently routing messages based on user device compatibility, message content requirements, and engagement history. This hybrid approach will maximize reach while leveraging RCS Business Messaging capabilities where available.

• Omnichannel strategies will incorporate RCS Business Messaging as a premium messaging channel within broader communication ecosystems. It will function as a bridge between traditional text messaging and full-featured apps, particularly for brands that struggle with app adoption or retention.

• Analytics and measurement capabilities will advance to provide unified insights across SMS and RCS Business Messaging channels, helping marketers understand performance differences and optimize their messaging strategy accordingly.

• Vertical-specific RCS Business Messaging solutions will emerge for industries like healthcare (appointment management), retail (conversational commerce), travel (interactive itineraries), and financial services (secure transaction authorizations), driving adoption in these sectors ahead of others.

As these trends develop, we'll likely see RCS gradually increase its share of business messaging while SMS maintains a fundamental role in the communications ecosystem—the two technologies complementing rather than replacing one another for the foreseeable future.

As consumers increasingly expect seamless mobile experiences, businesses that master the strategic deployment of both SMS and RCS Business Messaging position themselves to capture attention, drive conversions, and differentiate their brand.