Message types
RCS supports multiple message types for inbound and outbound communication. However, message type availability and specifications may vary depending on the RCS provider and solution.
Refer to each solution's documentation to check if a specific message type is supported.
Message types using RCS
RCS supports a variety of rich messaging formats that enhance customer interactions with text, media, interactive elements, and suggested actions..
Text
Text messages can contain up to 3072 characters and may include suggested actions (available in Moments).
The supported text formats are:
- TXT, TeXT, US-ASCII – UTF-8, US-ASCII (not UTF-16)
- vCard – Limited support; some handsets do not accept vCards
Text messages are available in Answers, Conversations, Moments, Broadcast, and API (opens in a new tab).
File
By using the File option, you can send a file to your customers by entering the URL to the file. The file size is limited to 100 MB, and the File URL can have a maximum of 2048 characters.
The message can include placeholders in the form of custom attributes and suggested actions for quick replies or actions. When adding placeholders, verify that they are also in the URL format in People.
The supported file formats are:
- PDF, JPG, JPEG, GIF, H263, M4V, MP4, MPEG-4, MPEG, WEBM
File messages are available in Answers, Conversations, Moments, Broadcast, and API (opens in a new tab).
Some capabilities may not be available on all carriers. You can find out more here.
Rich card
Send a preview of your website or product in the form of an interactive card. Customers can click the link on the card to view your website or product. Rich media messages enable you to send images, buttons and suggestions for customer replies and actions.
Rich cards contain the following elements (you can always see how your message will look in the preview on the left side of your editor):
- Title
- Text
- up to 2000 characters
- Image or video
- Add an image or video by entering the URL. The file size is limited to 100 MB
- The supported file formats are:
- JPEG, JPG, GIF, PNG, H263, M4V, MP4, MPEG, MPEG4, WEBM.
- Aspect ratio:
- Horizontal rich cards: 3:4
- Vertical rich cards: 2:2, 16:9, or 7:3
- Rich card buttons
- Add up to 4 buttons to your rich card, giving customers quick replies or actions.
- Suggested actions (optional)
- Add up to 11 suggestions for quick replies or actions.
You can also set card orientation, alignment, and height. Horizontal rich cards display vertical media on the left or right side of the card. In contrast, the vertical rich cards display horizontal media at the top of the card.
Rich cards are available in Answers, Moments, Broadcast, and API (opens in a new tab).
Some capabilities may only be available on some carriers. You can find out more here.
Carousel
Carousel messages enable you to send multiple rich cards in one message - they display horizontal media at the top of the rich card. Customers can use a horizontal scroll to view these rich cards, compare the items in the cards, and take actions for individual rich cards.
Carousel messages contain the following elements:
- Title
- Description
- Image or video
- Add an image or video by entering the URL. The file size is limited to 100 MB
- The supported file formats are:
- JPEG, JPG, GIF, PNG, H263, M4V, MP4, MPEG, MPEG4, WEBM.
- Aspect ratio: 4:3
- Rich card buttons
- Add up to 4 buttons to your rich card, giving customers quick replies or actions.
- Suggested actions (optional)
- Add up to 11 suggestions for quick replies or actions.
Carousel messages are available in Moments, Broadcast, and API (opens in a new tab).
Some capabilities may not be available on all carriers. You can find out more here.
Suggested actions
Suggested actions guide users through the conversation by using features already available on their devices. You can enable the customers to send you already-composed replies, open a URL, dial a number, or share a location.
Suggested reply
The suggested replies guide users through conversations by providing replies to an agent who will then know how to respond. When a user selects a suggested reply, the agent receives an event that contains the reply text and the postback data.
The suggested reply text can contain a maximum of 25 characters.
Open URL
The Open URL action opens the user's browser to the specified URL. If an app is registered as a default handler for the URL, the app opens instead, and the icon for the action is the app's icon.
Dial phone
The Dial phone action guides users to dial a phone number an agent specifies. Phone numbers must include a leading +, the country code, and an area code. Do not include separators. For example, +14155552671 .
Show and request location
The Show location and Request location actions let you share a location with the users. You can either show a location by entering the latitude and longitude or request that a user share their location.
Create a calendar event
The Create calendar event action opens the user's calendar app and creates a new event with the specified information.
Additional options
Failover to SMS
Enabling the Failover to SMS option is highly recommended to ensure messages reach recipients even if the RCS channel fails, enhancing reliability and user engagement.
Message scheduling
Schedule the communications start and delivery time window for your campaign.
Tracking and reporting
Monitor customer activities and generate reports to gain deeper insights into your customers. You can enable delivery reports over API pull or push delivery reports to webhook.
Advanced settings
Limit the number of messages sent out over time and set the period during which the platform will try to deliver the message.
Available solutions
RCS over Moments
Use RCS over Flow in Moments to send communication based on customer information such as interests and activities. Add a fallback option to make sure that your messages are delivered.
RCS over Conversations
Use RCS over the Infobip cloud contact center solution (CCaaS) Conversations. Provide customers with real-time support through one-on-one conversations with an agent.
In addition, you can offer customers the option to move their chat from a chatbot to a live agent. Live agents can manage requests that a chatbot may not be able to manage.
RCS over Answers
Use RCS over the Infobip chatbot building platform, Answers, to build artificial intelligence and keyword-based custom chatbots with automated responses. Use these chatbots as the first point of contact for customers to get answers to a predefined set of queries at any time.
RCS over Broadcast
Use RCS over Broadcast to create and send predefined one-time communications to your customers. Add a fallback option to ensure that your broadcast is delivered.
RCS over API
Use RCS over API (opens in a new tab) to send rich communication messages and integrate these capabilities into your existing systems to enhance customer interactions. Set up a failover option for devices not supporting RCS to ensure message delivery.