Google RCS vs. Apple Messages for Business

Today’s customers are looking for mobile-friendly, conversational experiences with brands in which they can conveniently engage, search, and purchase all from the same channel. Thanks to this trend, RCS Business Messaging (RBM) and Apple Messages for Business (AMB) are two channels growing in popularity. Both provide rich, conversational experiences from the comfort of your customers’ mobile screens. 

There are differences in how communication on these platforms is initiated and different entry points, but each has significant potential benefits for improving customer experiences and engagement.  

In this post, we’ll explore the similarities and differences between RBM and AMB and examine the best ways brands can use them for marketing strategies, support, and nurturing.  

P2P messaging: RCS vs iMessage   

First, it’s important for brands to understand how their customers communicate in their daily lives before they start strategizing how to interact with them. Depending on what smartphone a customer uses, they are likely to be comfortable using either iMessage for iPhone or RCS for Android users. 

What is iMessage? 

iMessage is a messaging service created by Apple that lets you send messages, photos, and videos between Apple devices like iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Apple Watches. It uses the internet to send messages which means you can use Wi-Fi or your cell phone data plan to send and receive messages. iMessages appear in blue bubbles in the Messages app, while regular SMS texts are green.   

Some features of iMessage include: 

• Exchange images, videos, stickers, GIFs 
• Read receipts 
• Edit sent messages 
• React to messages 
• Message replies and threads 
• Voice notes and speech to text 

What is Rich Communication Services (RCS)? 

RCS on the other hand, is a rich messaging channel from Google that also uses an internet connection to send and receive messages between Android devices. RCS is considered the evolved version of SMS and MMS, allowing for users to experience rich messaging features without having to download an OTT channel like WhatsApp or Viber.  

Some of those features include: 

• Image and video exchange 
• Typing indicators and read receipts 
• Location sharing 
• Share files 

Differences between RCS and iMessage 

RCS and iMessage are both native messaging technologies that enable rich conversations, but they differ in platform support, features, business use cases, and the impact they have on your customer engagement strategy. 

Which is better? 

Choosing between RCS and iMessage isn’t about picking a single winner. Each has strengths that align with specific audiences and business goals. The table below compares RCS and iMessages’ key differences and similarities to help you determine which platform is best for your messaging strategy: 

There’s no universal “best”. The right choice depends on your audience and your business goals. 

• If your customers use a mix of Android and Apple devices (or you want outbound, proactive business messaging), RCS gives broader reach and more flexible campaign tools. 
• If your customers are loyal to Apple and you prioritize secure, customer-initiated conversations within the Apple ecosystem, iMessage is ideal. 

For most modern brands, blending both channels in an omnichannel strategy helps you connect with every customer, everywhere, maximizing engagement, support, and conversions. 

Apple supports RCS messaging 

Something important to note is that Apple has adopted RCS messaging on iOS. Previously, RCS was not available on Apple devices, meaning Apple users and Android users could not use a rich messaging channel to interact without downloading a non-native channel like WhatsApp or Viber.   

This is set to change the way users communicate with each other, allowing for better messaging experiences for all users of any device. iMessage will remain the main messaging channel between iPhone users, but now rich messaging capabilities are being expanded to interactions with Android users.  

This also pushed many carriers to adopt RCS as a messaging channel so that this P2P messaging capability will be available to many more users globally. 

The adoption of RCS by Apple also accelerated business messaging growth, with RCS for Business messages on Infobip’s platform growing fivefold in 2024, especially after Apple announced support for the channel.

What is RCS Business Messaging? 

RCS Business Messaging is a messaging channel for business messaging that includes rich features, such as carousels, rich cards, quick-reply buttons and call-to-action buttons – aka RCS for A2P messaging. It’s the evolved version of SMS, which only supports text message exchange.  

The benefits of RCS Business Messaging: 

• Verified sender: Strict verification processes and anti-spam rules makes RBM a secure channel to chat with customers.
• Branded sender: Keep your brand at the forefront of your messages with your logo, images, website, and more. 
• Reporting: Advanced analytics allows you to track your campaigns and engagement levels of your interactions.
• Failover: If your RBM message doesn’t go through, the message will still reach customers thanks to SMS as a fallback channel.

A few other points about RBM: 

• IP-based messaging service 
• Supported on Android 5.0 and potentially iOS 18+ 
• Multimedia messaging capability available without the need to download an app 

The fact that RCS is an upgrade on SMS means it provides a more interactive and engaging customer experience when used for business communications.  

What is Apple Messages for Business? 

Apple Messages for Business gives consumers the ability to message your business directly from their iPhone, Mac, or Apple Watch, aka iMessage for A2P messaging. Customers can connect with you via multiple entry points, namely, Apple Maps or Spotlight search.   

Apple Messages for Business is built around ensuring the customer has the best possible experience on the channel. The goal is to encourage more “tap” and less typing. So, the design and strategy behind the messages that brands send over AMB is extremely important.   

AMB messages enable end-to-end journeys for customers. It allows users to choose products, including seeing products showcased with a 3D feature, and purchase options, book appointments, and reach out to a business without the need to download a separate app. Rich-text capabilities mean business agents can send text, in-channel slideshows, videos, and other media to help customers get the information they need to help them convert.  

The differences between RBM vs AMB 

So, what are the main differences between RCS Business Messaging and Apple Messages for Business? And which channel might be best for your business? Let’s focus on the first question first and look at the main features of each messaging option. We’ve laid them out in a table so that you can see their similarities and differences clearly:  

While both channels have their strong points, when used together or in conjunction with SMS or email, that’s when you can maximize their potential. RCS is great for conversational marketing, and encouraging people to move down the funnel. On the other hand, ABM helps cover the iOS market from search to (Apple) Pay. This was certainly true for our client, CIAK Auto, which saw great results from Apple Messages for Business. 

Results from our clients

Still wondering if investing in rich business messaging pays off? Here are data-driven results brands achieved by adding RCS and Apple Messages for Business to their customer communication mix: 

• Papa John’s: Achieved 23% higher sales using RCS for time-limited promotions versus standard SMS. 
• Club Comex: Lifted revenue by 115% and raised click-through rates from 2% to 20.6% after switching to RCS campaigns. 
• EaseMyTrip: Replaced email campaigns with RCS, leading to a 7% higher open rate and 4x higher click-through rate. 
• Digitaleo: Recorded 72% higher open rate, 40% increase in turnover, using RCS compared to SMS. 
• CIAK Auto: Leveraged Apple Messages for Business to increase digital support efficiency, improve NPS, and offer seamless booking direct from Apple Maps. 

When should brands use RBM vs AMB? 

The best time to use one of these channels of course depends on what you want to achieve, but we’ll give a quick overview of which should work best for different uses.  

RCS Business Messaging 

As mentioned, RBM is business-initiated. In other words, outbound, though once the conversation is initiated a user can reach out via this conversation. This means that it can be a great option when your organization wants to launch a marketing campaign or begin a new process of lead generation.   

Though once a business has initiated the first conversation, the user can reach out for support on the same chat, so support use cases are also valuable via RBM. 

Apple Messages for Business

AMB conversations are customer-initiated. Meaning your brand cannot reach out to customers until they have started the conversation. So, it’s critical to provide multiple entry points to encourage them to reach out. AMB messages are built to give customers the best possible experience over the channel and are ideal for customer support use cases.  

How to integrate RBM and AMB into your systems 

Both channels can be easily integrated into your existing systems via API.  

If API integration isn’t ideal for your business, you can always access these channels through a conversational experience platform, like Infobip’s CXOP (Conversational Experience Orchestration Platform). With CXOP, you can connect, orchestrate, and optimize every conversation, whether marketing, support, or sales, across RBM, AMB, and all your preferred channels.

CXOp offers a single, intuitive interface that enables you to design end-to-end messaging journeys, ensure channel consistency, and deeply personalize every customer interaction. Here’s how you can make the most of it:

Chatbot building platform 

Building a chatbot can help off-load tasks from busy agents over AMB or engage customers during campaigns using RBM. With Infobip’s drag-and-drop interface, you can build chatbots that do more than follow a script, you can customize messages with agentic retrieval-augmented generation (RAG). By integrating agentic RAG, your chatbot is empowered to go beyond static automation, dynamically retrieving and surfacing the most current data to your customers. This reduces the workload for your support team and ensures every response reflects the very latest business information.

It’s important to note that Apple requires brands to use a chatbot to send messages to end-users, so that they can ensure they are getting the best possible experience over AMB. 

Contact center solution  

Both channels can be connected to a cloud contact center, Conversations, so that live agents can pick up the conversation and provide support. Conversations provides agents with contextualized information, ensuring that they have a full view of chat history and who they are speaking to.  

Once again, Apple requires brands to use a cloud contact center like Conversations in order to send messages on AMB, as the end-user experience is of the upmost importance for them. 

Customer engagement solution  

A customer engagement platform is ideal for building marketing campaigns and message flows for strategic customer communication. You can use Broadcast messages to send personalized and targeted campaigns on RBM, or engagement messages on AMB.  

Customer data platform 

Finally, a customer data platform is a must-have tool for the best experiences. Collect all your customer data in one place and use segmentation and attributes to help build messages that will make the greatest impact on customers on either channel. 

Make it easier to connect with your customers

RBM and AMB clearly have their differences, but each has something valuable to offer your business, whether now or in the future.  

Each channel supports rich media sharing and offers an interactive way to support customers towards making a purchase. And each can be easily integrated into your existing systems to help optimize your customer communications, both outbound and inbound.