Business messaging is evolving fast, and Infobip is at the centre of it. According to Infobip’s new report, Rich Communication Services (RCS) messaging is seeing explosive growth, redefining how brands connect with their customers. Based on over 530 billion interactions analysed on its platform in 2024, Infobip reveals that the rise of RCS, omnichannel strategies, and AI-powered chat is collectively transforming the global customer experience.
What is a major factor in the RCS boom? Apple. Its iOS 18 update in late 2024, which finally included support for RCS, helped drive a 65% surge in UK RCS traffic. This opened the floodgates for UK businesses, who have since embraced RCS to power rich, two-way customer conversations—enhancing traditional channels like SMS, voice, video, and WhatsApp. RCS’s multimedia capabilities offer brands a way to deliver not just messages, but experiences.
James Stokes, Head of Enterprise, UK & Nordics at Infobip, commented: “RCS is taking off because it works. The branded and verified experience reduces hesitation, while rich visuals capture attention and drive engagement. In A/B tests, RCS-rich cards delivered up to 70% higher conversion rates than MMS. More significantly, RCS has driven conversion rates two to three times higher, and sometimes even ten times higher, than standard marketing channels.”
As a result, the UK has become Infobip’s largest European market, growing 31.7% year-over-year from 2023 to 2024. Wholesale communication services lead the charge, followed by telecoms and technology/software sectors. These industries are leveraging Infobip’s omnichannel capabilities to build more fluid, seamless customer journeys.
The UK is Going Conversational
Infobip recorded a 392% increase in marketing messages sent via WhatsApp, driven by new features that support full-funnel customer interactions within a single chat. That means consumers can discover, explore, and purchase—all without leaving the app. Conversational marketing on WhatsApp saw a 12x increase compared to last year, surpassing both SMS and email. Other chat apps like Telegram, Viber, and Line also posted strong growth.
Globally, conversational marketing is having a moment. Infobip saw a 30% rise in brands using its platform to orchestrate interactive, real-time marketing experiences with their audiences, building engagement, loyalty, and conversion through ongoing dialogue instead of one-off pushes.
AI Is The New MVP in Customer Communication
The Messaging Trends Report also highlights a significant uptick in AI adoption, especially in finance and insurance, where trust, speed, and security are critical. Through Infobip’s AI Hub, businesses are deploying smart chatbots and AI-powered automation to deliver personalised service, detect fraud, and provide instant support. These tools aren’t just saving time—they’re shaping better, safer, and more consistent customer experiences at scale.
U.S. Takes the Lead
Infobip made headlines as the first global cloud communications platform to launch RCS messaging with all four major U.S. telecom carriers. This means U.S. brands can now tap into RCS to deliver interactive, branded content directly to their customers’ messaging apps—no downloads required.
Unlike SMS, RCS runs on mobile data and Wi-Fi, supporting high-resolution images and videos, read receipts, carousels, and even tappable buttons for appointment scheduling or product browsing. These capabilities are supercharging omnichannel marketing by keeping users actively engaged and driving higher interaction rates.