Apple and Google’s RCS deal: A messaging shake-up for marketers?

Apple’s proprietary platform iMessage, known for its blue or green bubbles will soon be available on Android smartphones in India, subject to a potential partnership between Apple and Google. The alliance will enable Apple to provide its rich communication features, currently available exclusively on iPhones and iPads, to Android users using Google’s rich communication services (RCS) protocol. Launched in 2016, Google’s RCS offers interactive and multimedia capabilities, and is offered to Android users as an upgrade to SMS.

While the adoption of RCS is in its nascent stages in India, two major telecom service providers, Jio and Vi, have integrated it into their networks. The third private telecom service provider, Bharti Airtel, has also announced that it would support the new technology.

Ever since the news-break of a potential partnership between Google and Apple for RCS, discussions are rife about its potential impact on India’s business communication segment.

India’s business communication space is currently dominated by traditional SMS as well as messaging apps like WhatsApp. Given that Android controls over 70% marketshare in India’s device ecosystem, Campaign finds out how advertisers and brand marketers are eyeing the partnership of the two giants on the RCS front with great interest:.

Imteyaz Ansari, founder, Azmarq Technovation

If Apple chose to implement RCS, it would lead to a more cohesive business messaging experience, minimising platform fragmentation. As India’s mobile user population surpasses 120 crore, a smooth and rich messaging standard like RCS motivates businesses to unify communication strategies, boosting efficiency. This move could also diminish fragmentation in the country's messaging ecosystem and inspire more brands to transition towards a unified omnichannel approach.

WhatsApp already excels in delivering interactive customer service and brands are aiming for promotions and notifications that can gain from RCS’ superior engagement rates. If Apple fully adopts RCS, companies might start to diversify their communication methods to optimise outreach. They can look at this channel as a viable option, especially for promotions, since it supports advanced media formats and eliminates the need for app installations. 

Automation and AI-driven tools will significantly enhance RCS. Unlike SMS, RCS enables AI-driven chatbots. In contrast to OTT platforms, RCS offers a seamless customer experience. There has been a growing trend among brands towards interactive communication, and RCS perfectly fits this evolution.

Ankur Gattani, chief growth officer, WebEngage

RCS has a lot of appeal. People are looking to experiment, shifting traffic from many SMS campaigns and a few WhatsApp campaigns. RCS enables fairly rich communication. Apple’s partnership with Google will add to its merits. I expect many brands to experiment with it.

WhatsApp has evolved as a channel. While brands began to broadcast on WhatsApp, this led to a certain degree of abuse in the past. As a result, WhatsApp introduced guidelines that controlled message deliverability. Now, the number of campaign messages that can be delivered on the WhatsApp platform is stabilising.

Broadcast ecosystem which suffered from a lot of abuse. I think RCS will be different. It will create an interim opportunity for RCS to become a channel preferred by marketers for broadcast messages. For us, as a marketing automation platform, RCS has become an additional channel. We have multiple partners that integrate and collaborate with Google to drive adoption.

Dr Ravinder Varma, senior brand manager–RiteBite, Max Protein

RCS is still in a nascent stage. While brands have explored RCS for customer engagement, its adoption is limited due to device compatibility, telecom support, and consumer awareness. Currently, SMS and WhatsApp dominate business communications.

However, the potential for RCS is significant. It offers rich media capabilities, reading receipts, interactive buttons, and verified business account features that can enhance customer engagement beyond traditional SMS.

As smartphone penetration increases and telecom operators strengthen their RCS infrastructure, adoption is likely to grow. The Apple-Google collaboration could be a game-changer as it will drastically expand the reach of RCS campaigns. For advertisers, this means higher engagement rates, as RCS allows multimedia content directly within the messaging app. It also ensures better brand authenticity through verified business profiles and improves trust compared to SMS. Finally, it offers potential cost-effectiveness compared to WhatsApp Business API.

While WhatsApp has been dominant, the Apple-Google RCS tie-up could challenge its monopoly. RCS will offer an alternative to WhatsApp for brands, enabling telcos to enter the ad space, and offer a privacy-conscious alternative. That said, WhatsApp has strong brand loyalty. This collaboration can simplify campaign execution. It allows a unified messaging strategy, interactive customer journeys, and seamless automation.

Ms Neha Bajaj, founder and managing director, Scroll Mantra

The Apple-Google collaboration on RCS is a significant move for mobile marketing, as it will enhance reach and consistency across devices. With Apple integrating RCS, marketers can expect a wider audience reach and standardised messaging experiences. For advertising, this means richer engagement opportunities with interactive elements like images, carousels, and CTA buttons now accessible to a larger user base. Brands can create immersive campaigns, leading to higher conversions and better customer experiences. With end-to-end encryption being part of the new framework, consumer trust in RCS-based communication will likely increase, making it a viable channel for personalised marketing.

While WhatsApp's dominance in messaging and advertising is significant, the Apple-Google collaboration on RCS introduces a strong alternative, reshaping advertising revenues across messaging. However, the partnership could potentially diversify revenue streams for all, rather than cannibalising WhatsApp’s revenues.

The biggest challenge in mobile marketing has been fragmentation—WhatsApp, SMS, and other apps require different formats and strategies. With RCS becoming standardised, brands can create rich, interactive campaigns that work seamlessly across devices without needing platform-specific adaptations.

By eliminating inconsistencies in formats and ensuring a broader reach, this collaboration will streamline execution, reduces costs, and enhances engagement—making mobile marketing efficient for brands in India.

Hemal Majithia, founder and chief oktomind, Oktobuzz

RCS is in its early adoption phase in India, but momentum is building. According to MEF’s 10th Annual Global Trust Study (2024), India led global RCS adoption with 7% increase in commercial messaging usage, and 27% of smartphone users now receiving RCS messages from brands. This indicates strong growth potential.

With Apple supporting RCS, the green versus ‘blue bubble’ divide will end, creating a seamless messaging experience across iOS and Android. This could boost RCS adoption among users and businesses alike. For brands, RCS presents an alternative to WhatsApp Business, offering lower costs (30-40% cheaper), built-in accessibility, and better branding features. With a smoother experience and lower cost, businesses might start shifting a portion of their ad budgets toward RCS.

Competition is coming, and this move will create a dent. While WhatsApp won’t disappear, RCS is becoming a viable alternative for brand communication and customer engagement. If Apple and Google play it right, RCS could become a global competitor, forcing WhatsApp to innovate. Right now, brands rely on third-party platforms for WhatsApp marketing, but RCS is built directly into the messaging app. For example, a retail brand could send a high-resolution product catalogue directly in an RCS message, making the customer journey seamless.

Nagessh Pannaswami, founder, Curry Nation

RCS is steadily gaining traction in India. The recent Google and Apple partnership for RCS is expected to be a game changer for India, driving accessibility and awareness among marketers. RCS has immense potential considering the interactive tools it introduces to traditional SMS marketing. Features like high-resolution multimedia, location-based suggestions, real-time feedback and solving of queries push the envelope of customer experience.

The advertising industry is ever-changing and RCS adoption will elevate it further. This collaboration will instil faith in businesses about the convenience of this tool and how integrating it will result in strengthening customer journeys. We foresee an increase in adoption for RCS and a drop in active users for WhatsApp. The feature-rich and easy-to-use framework of RCS is a crucial factor which works in its favour. E-commerce, hospitality and the travel & tourism sector can be expected to be huge adopters.

The partnership will be a win-win for both—businesses and customers. On the integration end, its simple framework, eliminating the need for an external application, is an advantage. For customers, suggesting replies, providing personalised responses, combined with striking visual elements alongside ensuring security, will simplify the process further, making it more convenient.

Anindya Ghosh, founding partner, Sam & Andy

RCS has over 1.4 billion active users on Android in the country, proving phenomenal potential for further adoption. With businesses strategising to uplift customer experience, it can be a crucial ally. Capabilities such as clickable buttons, reply suggestions, sharing audio-video files, images, and automation integration will contribute to a far more immersive customer experience. Additionally, businesses gain valuable insights from customer interactions through superior analytics.

This collaboration can drive a notable upswing in RCS adoption by businesses. The collaboration expands Apple’s ‘Blue Bubble’ messaging to Android devices, addressing a gap and allowing seamless communication. With India heavily relying on SMS and WhatsApp for text marketing, this collaboration is expected to capture market share. RCS can unlock new potential in Application-to-Person (A2P) messaging through its advanced interactive capabilities.

This collaboration has disruptive potential. While WhatsApp’s user base may be affected, the impact’s gravity is uncertain. Integrating RCS would be fairly straightforward; since it doesn’t demand an external app, it’s a familiar landscape to merge with existing texting services, offering more powerful features.

Achyuta Nand Chand, co-founder, Mashrise

RCS messaging in India is still in its developing stages, with merely 5% of mobile users leveraging it for communication. That highlights the huge scope for growth since RCS has the potential to increase customer engagement by 80% compared to SMS.

RCS will experience rapid expansion as a result of collaboration between Apple and Google. Over the next two years, penetration could grow up to 30%. I anticipate that RCS adoption will increase engagement levels by up to 50% and improve conversion rates by 10-15%.

The addition of AI-powered analytics will enable real-time campaign optimisation resulting in a greater ROI for brands than standard SMS campaigns, which generally have conversion rates of just two to three percent. WhatsApp currently controls the messaging apps ad space, taking up around 70% of the market in India. However, the equations will change with RCS growth.

We expect that brands can invest up to 20% of their messaging budgets in RCS potentially leading to a 15% drop in WhatsApp’s revenues. As the best of both worlds converge, the Apple-Google partnership will make it extremely easy for Indian marketers to create and publish campaigns.