State of Messaging 2026: The Future is Conversational

Bandwidth’s 2026 State of Messaging Report calls this the “biggest messaging transformation in a decade.” I’ve been on both sides of the RCS ecosystem — DevRel at Google building the Business Messages program, a stint as CTO at a GenAI startup, and now back at Google focused on RCS — and I think they’re underselling it. A decade? Try generational.

Here’s why, and where the real opportunity sits.

The RCS Gap #

One number matters more than all the others: 96% device coverage. Apple shipped RCS support in iOS 18; Android had it for years. That single move from Apple closed the last meaningful gap. Projections put active RCS users at 3.8 billion by end of 2026.

Replacing GBM Entry Points: Managing the July Deadline

Three days. That’s what you’ve got before Google yanks GBM entry points from Maps and Search on July 15.

If you haven’t started migrating, this post is your triage plan. If you started but aren’t done, keep reading anyway — there are gotchas I ran into that Google’s docs don’t mention.

I’ve been through this migration at DreamFlare. We relied on GBM for customer intake flows. The timeline is tighter than it looks.

Apple Announces RCS Support in iOS 18

Five days ago, about ninety minutes into the WWDC 2024 keynote, Craig Federighi mentioned — almost in passing — that iOS 18 would support RCS messaging. He spent roughly thirty seconds on it, giving it no demo, no deep dive, no explanation of why it mattered. Just a brief note that Apple would adopt the GSMA Universal Profile for rich messaging with Android users.

I waited for this announcement for years. Literally years. I worked on the RCS ecosystem at Google, where I saw firsthand how the protocol developed and why adoption mattered. I’ve written about the protocol, built tools for it, argued with skeptics about it. And when the moment finally came, Apple treated it like a footnote.

GBM Deprecation: Planning the Migration to RCS

Google’s finally pulling the plug on Business Messages. The timeline is tight: no new partner registrations after May 22, entry points vanish from Maps and Search by July 15, and the API starts throwing errors July 31.

I worked on the GBM ecosystem at Google before moving to DreamFlare, so this isn’t abstract for me. GBM served its purpose — it brought conversational messaging into Search and Maps where users were already hunting for businesses. But it was always an overlay on Google’s properties, not a native messaging channel. RCS Business Messaging is the bet Google’s consolidating around, and honestly? It’s the right call.

RCS Useful in Emergencies (911)

Imagine you’re hiding in a closet during a break-in. You can’t speak. You need help. You pull out your phone and text 911.

Except you can’t — because your local 911 center doesn’t support text messaging. As of early 2024, only 53% of US Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) can receive texts at all. Nearly half the country has no text-to-911 capability. And the half that does? They’re stuck with SMS, a protocol designed in the 1990s that can’t send photos, confirm delivery, or share your precise location.

MetriRank CPaaS Report: Ranking the Messaging Leaders

Metrigy published their inaugural CPaaS MetriRank report this month. The top spot went to Infobip.

Not Twilio. Not Sinch. Infobip.

If you’re not deep in the communications platform space, that result might surprise you. If you are, it probably doesn’t. I spent years working on the platform side at Google’s RCS Business Messaging team, and the CPaaS layer—the bit that sits on top of messaging protocols—was always the part of the ecosystem I found most fascinating. And the most misunderstood.

Expanding RCS Reach: Carrier Connectivity Milestones

The RCS landscape in late 2021 looks nothing like it did a year ago. Not because of some flashy feature drop, but because the connectivity fabric — the actual plumbing that lets RCS messages flow between carriers — has hit a density that changes the math for operators still sitting on the fence.

I’ve been watching this space pretty closely, and honestly? The infrastructure story is more compelling than whatever new emoji reactions just shipped.

US Carrier Pivot: The End of CCMI and Google's RCS

Back in October 2019, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon made a big joint announcement. They were forming the Cross Carrier Messaging Initiative — CCMI — to bring RCS messaging to every Android user in the US. A unified front. The carriers would handle it together.

It sounded great on paper. Four carriers, one initiative, interoperable RCS for everyone. The pitch was straightforward: replace SMS with something modern, and do it as a consortium so no single carrier has to go it alone.

Why the "New Normal" Demands Branded Messaging

Six months in, and “digital-first” isn’t a trend anymore. It’s just how things work now.

The businesses that built their customer relationships around in-person interactions—retail, banking, healthcare, hospitality—are scrambling to rebuild that trust through screens. Most of them, even the ones with decent digital teams, are getting it wrong.

The core problem isn’t technology. It’s identity.

When a brand texts you today, you get a gray bubble from a 10-digit number or some short code. No logo. No verification. No way to know if that “BANK ALERT” is actually from your bank or from someone who just bought a spoofed short code on the cheap. The FTC started tracking a surge in COVID-related scam texts back in March, and it hasn’t slowed down. In a world where phishing texts impersonate health agencies and delivery services, anonymous SMS isn’t just a branding limitation—it’s a liability signal.

Interoperability Milestones in the RCS Ecosystem

RCS has a credibility problem. For years, the pitch was “SMS but better” — rich media, read receipts, typing indicators, group chat. The features were real, but deployment was a mess. Carriers built RCS in silos, which meant your “upgraded” messages only worked if both people happened to be on the same carrier.

That’s finally changing. The first half of 2020 has produced genuine interoperability milestones, and honestly? They’re worth paying attention to.