> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.tied.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Google RCS

> Rich, branded, verified messaging built into every Android phone — no app download required.

RCS is the successor to SMS, built into Google Messages on every modern Android device. For a business it means the things SMS never could: a verified sender badge, your logo and brand colour, rich cards and carousels, tappable action buttons, read receipts and typing indicators.

Customers do not install anything. It is the messaging app already on their phone.

<Warning>
  **Google RCS is not available yet.** Everything on this page describes the channel Tied is
  building, and the rates in [RCS channel fees](/pricing/channel-fees/rcs) are the published
  pricing for it — but there is no RCS inbox to create today. Choosing **Google RCS** in the
  channel list opens the **SMS** setup form and asks for SMS carrier credentials, because RCS and
  its SMS fallback share that number.

  If you need Android reach now, connect [SMS](/channels/sms-mms) — that is the fallback path RCS
  will use anyway, so the number and the registration carry over rather than being wasted work.
</Warning>

<Info>
  **3.9 billion active Android devices**, with over 1.5 billion monthly RCS users. RCS also reaches
  iPhone on iOS 18 and later, though [Apple Messages for Business](/channels/apple-messages) remains the
  richer option there.
</Info>

## What it takes

| Requirement | |
| - | - |
| **Plan** | Business, Advanced or Enterprise |
| **Brand verification** | Google reviews your identity and brand assets |
| **Carrier approval** | Each carrier approves your agent |
| **An RCS agent** | One verified business sender, typically per brand |
| **Time** | 4–6 weeks, typically |

<Warning>
  **Verification takes 4–6 weeks.** Brand verification and carrier approval are external processes run
  by Google and the carriers, not by Tied. Start the application immediately and launch on another
  channel in the meantime.
</Warning>

Each agent carries a one-time **\$800** setup (**\$700** RCS agent setup + **\$100** SMS fallback number) and **\$75/month** ongoing (**\$50** RCS agent + **\$25** SMS fallback number). The RCS agent fees cover Google RBM Partner registration, brand verification, identity maintenance and monitoring. Every agent also gets its own SMS fallback number, used for phones that can't receive RCS, and the number is charged at cost with no markup. See [RCS channel fees](/pricing/channel-fees/rcs).

## What you can send

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Rich cards" icon="square">
    An image, title, description and buttons in a single tappable card.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Carousels" icon="gallery-horizontal">
    A horizontally scrollable set of rich cards — a product list inside the thread.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Suggested replies" icon="message-circle-reply">
    Tappable canned responses that keep the customer moving without typing.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Suggested actions" icon="mouse-pointer-click">
    Open a URL, dial a number, share or view a location, or create a calendar event.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Webviews" icon="panel-top">
    A browser-like surface inside the conversation — checkout or configuration without leaving Messages.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Verified sender" icon="badge-check">
    Your logo, brand colour and a verification badge, so the customer knows it is genuinely you.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

### Suggested action types

| Action | What it does |
| - | - |
| **Open URL** | Launches a link, or a webview in-thread |
| **Dial number** | Starts a call to a number you specify |
| **Share location** | Asks the customer to share theirs |
| **View location** | Opens a map pin you send |
| **Create calendar event** | Adds an event to their calendar |

## Automatic SMS fallback

If a recipient's device or carrier does not support RCS, Tied falls back to SMS automatically, from the agent's own SMS fallback number. Until that number is active, a message to a phone that can't get RCS is not sent and is marked failed. A contact who has opted out is never sent anything.

<Check>
  **You only pay for the message that actually delivers.** There is no double-billing for the fallback
  decision — see [RCS channel fees](/pricing/channel-fees/rcs).
</Check>

This matters for how you write. A message that depends entirely on a carousel degrades badly to SMS, so put the essential information in text and let the rich surfaces enhance rather than carry it.

## Pairing it with Apple Messages

RCS will cover Android; [Apple Messages for Business](/channels/apple-messages) covers iPhone today. Pairing the two behind a single entry point is the intended end state, and is described on [Channels](/channels#reaching-both-platforms).

Between them they cover essentially every smartphone, in an app the customer already uses, with nothing to install.

## Metering

RCS meters two different ways, which is unusual and shows up on your bill:

* **Text** is billed **per 160-character segment**
* **Rich media** — images, carousels, video, interactive content — is billed **per message**

Both inbound and outbound are chargeable, though inbound is only billed for a freeform reply, a quick-reply tap or a shared location. Full rates: [RCS channel fees](/pricing/channel-fees/rcs).

## Next

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="RCS channel fees" icon="receipt" href="/pricing/channel-fees/rcs">
    Per-carrier rates with surcharge and platform fee shown separately.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Apple Messages for Business" icon="apple" href="/channels/apple-messages">
    The iPhone half of full coverage.
  </Card>

  <Card title="SMS and MMS" icon="message-square" href="/channels/sms-mms">
    What RCS falls back to, and how it is registered.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Channel-native flow nodes" icon="workflow" href="/chatbot/channel-nodes">
    Emitting rich cards from inside a chatbot flow.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>


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