What is RCS, and why should I use it?
RCS (Rich Communication Services) is a text messaging protocol (like SMS or MMS) that empowers more interactive mobile conversations. RCS has elevated the text messaging game, and can help your brand meet the growing expectations of customers with more personalized, dynamic experiences via text.
RCS can help you:
- Establish stronger brand trust with verified sender IDs.
- Reduce opt-outs with verified, trustworthy messages.
- Increase clicks and conversions with dynamic call-to-action (CTA) experiences.
- Encourage follow-up actions with suggested replies.
- Reach more audiences with rich media in areas where MMS availability is limited.
Understand RCS for Business
The way brands communicate with their customers is changing for the better. We’ve partnered with Google to provide RCS for Business messaging on the Klaviyo platform. RCS for Business is the B2C application of RCS messaging, and is specifically designed for A2P (application to person) communications.
In the video below, learn from Google Lead Product Manager, Zach Eddinger, on what RCS for Business messaging is, and how you can start using it today to drive exponential growth for your brand.
Key features of RCS messages
Let’s talk through some features of RCS and how they enable you to send more engaging and interactive messages to your subscribers.
RCS agent
RCS agents are the sender IDs that brands will use to communicate with their subscribers. With your name, logo, and other branding information, RCS agents help subscribers easily identify your brand and trust your content.
You need to enable an RCS agent on all networks you wish to send RCS. We’ll cover how to do this in the next lesson.
Rich card
Rich cards are interactive messages that combine media, text, and buttons. Rich cards are great for showcasing high-quality product images and encouraging immediate action.
Rich cards are structured as:
- Media (either a still image or video)
- Title
- Description
- Button (up to 4 per card)
Carousel
Carousels are groups of up to 10 scrollable rich cards. If you’re sending a message about multiple products, a carousel is a great way to showcase media for each one.
Quick actions
Quick actions are suggestion chips that appear below the message, encouraging recipients to complete a specific action or start an automated conversation.
You can have up to 11 quick actions per RCS.
Quick actions can be formatted as either a:
- URL: Upon clicking, recipients go to a specific URL.
- Quick Reply: Upon clicking, recipients reply with a predetermined response.
Open and click receipts
Built-in open and click receipts provide you with more detailed insights into how your recipients are interacting with messages, enabling you to make data-driven improvements.
You can see:
- When an RCS is delivered.
- When an RCS is opened by a recipient.
- Click data across links, buttons, and quick replies.
Explore a real example
Learn how Popflex, an activewear brand and Klaviyo customer, leveled up their strategy and saw real results when they adopted RCS.
Problem
Popflex was already seeing value from SMS, but was looking for ways to create more interactive and branded mobile experiences for customers.
Solution
Popflex enabled RCS in Klaviyo and started upgrading their same messages and automations with verified sender profiles, interactive media, and branded buttons.
Results
Popflex’s transition from SMS to RCS was seamless. With RCS, Popflex also saw a 23% increase in revenue compared to SMS, a 136% higher conversion rate compared to email, and a 6x click through rate compared to email.
Hear more from Klaviyo customers
“Testing RCS has been an exciting development for our team. Since Kulani Kinis is a very colorful and visual brand, translating campaigns to SMS copy or representing an entire collection with a single image has been a slight challenge and has felt like this touch-point was never fully optimised. The introduction of RCS has allowed us to tackle this pain point and continue the thoughtful storytelling that accompanies our campaign launches. We’ve seen an increased AOV/RPR through RCS so far and will continue to optimise the promising results we’ve seen so far.”
Jemma Sears, Kulani Kinis
“Since launching RCS in February 2026, we’ve seen our campaigns consistently convert at a higher rate than SMS, roughly a 2.5x improvement. What’s been especially impactful is the added layer of trust. With RCS, our brand name and logo appear directly in the message thread, so there’s no random short code or anonymous number. Subscribers immediately know the message is coming from a verified sender before they even open it. For a community-driven brand where trust and authenticity are at the core of everything we do, that visibility makes a huge difference.”
Rachel Fagan, Happy Wax