For years it seems, Rich Communication Services (RCS) was the US mobile industry’s favorite rumor— the “iMessage 3.0” that never seemed to arrive.
But in 2025, the rumors are now true. Between the long-awaited Apple support, the ongoing trust brands have built with their customers through 1:1 messaging channels like SMS, and the ever-increasing question about if a brand needs a mobile app or not, RCS is set to quickly become the backbone of modern-day business messaging.
Here are just a few key reasons why RCS is set up to be such a success in the US, and what it means for marketers like you looking to modernize your customer engagement strategy.
Apple's buy-in is a game changer.
Apple's decision to support RCS in the US as part of their iOS 18 release marked a turning point for cross-platform messaging (if you're an iPhone user, think of RCS as iMessage but no longer limited to the Apple ecosystem). Now conversations between Android and iPhone users include desirable features like high-quality photo and video sharing, as well as typing indicators. Even though messages sent outside of iMessage will still appear with the familiar "green bubble", RCS makes communication between Android and iOS users far smoother and more consistent than before.
Given Apple's ecosystem covers 50-60% of the US smartphone market, adding RCS support on Apple is helping to accelerate its reach from around 40% to nearly 100% of US smartphone users.
The adoption speaks for itself: according to MEF, recent data indicates a notable increase in RCS usage within the U.S. Google reported that over 1B P2P RCS messages are now sent daily in the US, based on a 28-day average.
For marketers, seeing how SMS is currently one of the most effective ways for businesses to reach customers, this rapid adoption indicates RCS will become as popular and effective a channel for marketers - perhaps even more popular and preferred, given the user experience consumers expect in 2025.
Aligned infrastructure across devices and wireless carriers.
With Apple on board, it effectively created the first carrier-driven, cross-platform messaging channel in the US. In other words, brands can now reach virtually any mobile customer - Android or iPhone - with a rich, interactive message that doesn't rely on over-the-top (or OTT) apps like Messenger or WhatsApp. This means that marketers can finally treat messaging as an owned, standardized channel instead of a Frankenstein of apps and other workarounds.
Agility and trustworthiness through economic uncertainty.
Inflation and the on-again-off-again threats of tariffs are certainly intensifying financial pressures and spending concerns for brands and consumers alike - but this is not a time to pull back. Now's the time to remain agile and scalable with efficient, innovative messaging channels like RCS, which can streamline the shopper journey and reduce costs compared to, for instance, building or maintaining a separate mobile app.
The aforementioned economic uncertainty obviously applies to consumers too, causing their confidence to plummet and increase their spending anxieties. But if we learned anything in Marketing 101 it's that price is just one element that influences customer loyalty.
RCS is a powerful marketing tool that can build a trusting relationship with your customers in an innovative, relevant way.
Showing up with sharp, behavior-driven marketing in a channel like RCS will help you retain your current customers and win those you haven't won over yet, and will also keep you top of mind over your competitors who responded during this time by pulling back instead of staying present and continuing to take action. RCS is a way for you to succeed in connecting with and committing to your customers.
Serving the US consumer's needs.
Trust, convenience, relevance are core elements that define value for brands and consumers alike, and could be reasons enough for consumers to depend on RCS as their preferred way to interact with the brands they love.
And the groundwork has already been done: US consumers are already very familiar with the act of texting with brands. From promotional marketing to shipping notifications, appointment reminders and one-time password requests, SMS has been the relied-upon channel for years.
But what consumers have yet to be used to is interactivity - and that's the power of RCS. It transforms alerts into conversations and turns messaging into an authentically experiential channel. Between richer image and video visuals, suggested one-tap actions and replies, enhanced customer service & support delivered through real-time updates, and more frictionless purchasing capabilities will drive higher customer satisfaction and loyalty.
There's an app for that - your native app.
Statista reports that an average smartphone user has 40 apps installed on their mobile devices. Do you think consumers want another app they have to download? Of course they don't. But do they want a hyper-personalized, seamless, interactive experience offered directly in their native messaging app unlike anything they've encountered before? They most certainly do.
RCS doesn't require another download because it lives inside the default Messages app - the same one already trusted and used to communicate with family, friends and the brands consumers already trust. In other words, RCS isn't necessarily another new channel; rather, it's a smarter layer on one consumers already use daily.
RCS gives US consumers something that global markets have enjoyed for years: a seamless, app-like experience without the app download. And the wireless carriers help guarantee the reach and reliability in ways no mobile app is capable of.
The interactive content RCS supports - from product browsing to appointment booking and customer service escalation - feels intuitive to users rather than irritating. Plus, the verified sender branding RCS offers means that when your customers see your brand's name and logo in their default messaging app, they perceive it as legitimate communication - not spam.
For users, this all translates to fewer redirects and more confidence. For brands, this means fewer drop-offs and more complete transactions.
RCS has finally found its moment, ready to hop on board?
The question shouldn't be whether RCS will matter or not - it should be how quickly can you prioritize it.
Early adopters including dozens of Vibes' enterprise customers are already seeing RCS drive measurable increases in revenue for their business.
RCS can be implemented without the need to rebuild existing tech stacks, which makes it frictionless - and frictionless is what drives adoption at scale.
The bottom line: RCS is helping brands solve age-old problems such as reach and trust with modern simplicity. And, it offers something all companies want: a universal, measurable, trusted messaging channel that your customers will actually use.
If you think it sounds too good to be true, we can have you up and testing RCS within 24 hours! Get in touch with us today.
