Understanding RCS Message Pricing: Basic, Rich, and Conversation

Question

In RCS, there are three types of messages with different pricing: Basic, Rich, and Conversation. How does a customer know if they will be charged for Basic, Rich, or Conversation messages? Does the absence or existence of a reply from the user affect the pricing?

Applies To

• Rich Communication Services
• Messaging

Answer

The pricing for RCS messages depends on how the agent is configured:

a) Basic/Single Agent Configuration: If the agent is set up as a Basic/Single agent (defined by the "billing category" field during setup), the pricing will always follow the Basic/Single rate based on the type of message sent. Basic messages contain only text (Upto 160 characters), while Rich messages include images, carousels, and other interactive elements (Upto 3072 characters).

b) Conversational Agent Configuration: If the agent is configured as a Conversational agent, the first message sent by the business to a user is charged as either Basic or Rich, depending on the content of the message. Basic messages are text-only, and Rich messages include multimedia elements. If the user responds, the subsequent messages within the 24-hour window will be billed at the Conversational rate.

So, the type of message sent and the agent’s configuration determine whether Basic, Rich, or Conversation pricing applies. The existence of a user reply shifts the pricing to the Conversational rate after the initial message.