Table of Contents:
RCS for Business comes with a wide variety of new terms of acronyms, and they matter. This glossary is your reference for the language of RCS, organized so you can skim by category, whether you're prepping for a vendor conversation, briefing a team, or just trying to tell RBM from MaaP.
The Fundamentals
RCS (Rich Communication Services) — The messaging protocol built to replace SMS and MMS. It brings rich media, read receipts, typing indicators, verified branding, and interactivity to the native messaging app on a phone, all without a separate download. RCS has existed since 2007 and is governed by the GSMA.
SMS (Short Message Service) — The legacy text protocol, limited to plain text (160 characters per message) with no branding, interactivity, or read receipts. It works on virtually every phone on earth, which is exactly why it remains the universal fallback when RCS isn't available.
MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) — The older standard for sending images and media over cellular networks. It supports media but lacks the interactivity, branding, and analytics of RCS.
GSMA — The global standards body that governs RCS and publishes the Universal Profile specification. It's the organization that defines how RCS is supposed to work consistently across devices and carriers worldwide.
Universal Profile — The GSMA's standardized set of RCS features and behaviors, designed so RCS works the same way across different carriers and handsets. Universal Profile 3.0, finalized in 2025, is the version that introduced standardized end-to-end encryption for consumer chats.
The Business Layer
RCS for Business — The commercial, application-to-person layer of RCS that lets brands send verified, branded, interactive messages to customers at scale. This is the implementation marketers almost always mean when they talk about "RCS messaging."
RBM (RCS Business Messaging) — The former name for RCS for Business. Google rebranded it to "RCS for Business" in 2025, so if you see "RBM" in older documentation, it refers to the same technology.
A2P (Application-to-Person) — Messaging sent from a business application to a person, such as an order confirmation, appointment reminder, or marketing campaign. This is the category RCS for Business falls into.
P2P (Person-to-Person) — Messaging between two individuals, like a normal text conversation between friends. Features like carousels and suggested replies are A2P-only and don't appear in P2P chats.
P2A (Person-to-Application) — An interaction initiated by the user toward a business application, such as a customer starting a conversation with a brand's agent.
Agent (or Brand Agent / RBM Agent) — The branded business identity that sends and receives RCS messages on a company's behalf. The agent carries your logo, name, and verification badge, and is what customers actually interact with in the thread.
Verified sender / Brand verification — The approval process a business completes to send RCS for Business messages. It involves submitting brand assets (logo, colors, business description), verifying business identity, and passing compliance checks. Once approved, the brand earns a verified profile and badge.
Trust badge (verification checkmark) — The visual indicator in the messaging app confirming a sender is a verified business rather than an anonymous number. It's a core trust signal and the primary defense against impersonation in RCS for Business.
Aggregator — A platform or intermediary that connects businesses to carriers and Google's RCS infrastructure, handling routing, registration, and message delivery so a brand doesn't have to integrate with every carrier individually.
MaaP (Messaging as a Platform) — The GSMA-defined framework that lets businesses build interactive, branded experiences over RCS. It encompasses the APIs, agents, and backend systems that power rich business messaging.
Conversational messaging — A two-way messaging approach where customers and brands exchange messages in real time, rather than a one-directional broadcast. RCS is purpose-built for this.
Message Components and Features
Rich card — A visual message unit that can hold an image or video thumbnail, text, and tappable buttons. It can stand alone or appear in a carousel.
Carousel — A swipe-able, horizontal gallery of rich cards, ideal for showcasing multiple products, options, or offers in a single message.
Suggested replies (chips) — Tappable buttons that let a customer respond with a single tap instead of typing, guiding the conversation forward.
Suggested actions — Tappable buttons that trigger an action outside the chat, such as calling a number, opening a website, or sharing a location.
Read receipts — Confirmation that a recipient has opened and read a message — a real-time signal SMS can't provide.
Delivery receipts — Confirmation that a message reached the recipient's device.
Typing indicators — The "…" signal showing that the other party is composing a message, supporting a more natural, real-time exchange.
Deeplink — A link that opens a specific destination, such as a particular screen in an app or, in an inbound context, an RCS conversation. Deeplinks and QR codes are common ways to route traffic directly into a branded RCS thread.
SMS fallback — The mechanism that automatically delivers a message via SMS when the recipient's device or carrier doesn't support RCS, ensuring the message still gets through.
Capability check — A check to determine whether a given phone number can receive RCS messages, used to decide whether to send via RCS or fall back to SMS.
Infrastructure and Technical Terms
MSISDN — Mobile Station International Subscriber Directory Number. In plain terms, a phone number used to identify a device internationally.
MNO (Mobile Network Operator) — A carrier, such as a national mobile provider, that operates the network RCS traffic travels across.
API (Application Programming Interface) — The technical interface businesses (or their platforms) use to send and receive RCS messages programmatically.
Webhook — An automated message that an RCS platform sends to a business's system when an event occurs, such as a customer replying, so the business can respond or log the interaction.
Jibe — Google's RCS platform and infrastructure that powers much of the global RCS ecosystem and connects carriers, brands, and devices.
Reputation score — A rating of an agent's performance based on user feedback and signals such as spam reports. A poor score can affect message deliverability.
Security and Compliance Terms
TLS (Transport Layer Security) — The encryption that protects RCS for Business messages while they're in transit between the sender, platform, carrier, and recipient's device. This is the standard security layer for A2P messaging today.
E2EE (End-to-End Encryption) — Encryption where only the sender and recipient can read a message's contents. E2EE was standardized for consumer (P2P) RCS in Universal Profile 3.0 and is rolling out across Google Messages and Apple Messages. It is not currently available for A2P business messaging, where the verified Brand Agent serves as the primary trust mechanism instead.
OTP (One-Time Passcode) — A temporary verification code sent to confirm a user's identity. RCS's verified, secured delivery makes it a strong channel for OTPs and other sensitive account messages.
Smishing — SMS phishing: fraudulent text messages that impersonate a legitimate sender to steal information. Verified branding in RCS for Business is designed to neutralize this by confirming who a message actually comes from.
10DLC — A registration framework for sending A2P messages over standard SMS in the US. It's separate from RCS brand verification but involves similar steps: brand review, use-case approval, and ongoing compliance.
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Knowing the vocabulary is one thing, seeing RCS for Business in action is another. Explore our interactive guide to experience what these features look like for a real customer — no signup required — or book a demo to see RCS customized to your brand.