Customer communication is entering a new phase. Rich messaging, omnichannel engagement, and AI-powered interactions are converging to create new expectations for how businesses connect with customers.
Data from Infobip’s 2026 Messaging Trends Report provides a useful lens into these changes. The report analyzed 628 billion interactions in 2025 and 3.8 trillion interactions over a 20-year period, offering a unique view into how customer communication continues to evolve.
Several trends stand out for organizations looking to modernize customer engagement strategies.
Trend #1: RCS Has Moved Into the Mainstream
While SMS remains the dominant business messaging channel in the United States, Rich Communication Services (RCS) experienced one of the fastest growth rates of any communication channel in 2025.
According to the Infobip report:
- SMS represented 65% of total U.S. messaging traffic
- RCS traffic in the U.S. grew 70x year-over-year
- Global RCS traffic increased 311%
The acceleration comes at an important moment. Following Apple’s support for RCS in late 2024 and continued alignment across major U.S. carriers, businesses can now reach significantly more consumers with rich, interactive messaging experiences.
Unlike SMS, RCS supports branded messaging, images, videos, carousels, suggested replies, and other interactive elements that help transform messaging from a notification channel into a customer engagement channel.
For businesses, the question is no longer whether RCS is viable. The question is where RCS can create the most value within the broader customer journey.
Trend #2: The U.S. Messaging Landscape Is Unique
One reason RCS is gaining traction in the United States is that the market differs significantly from many other regions.
In countries such as Brazil, Japan, South Korea, and Malaysia, a single messaging application often dominates customer communication. Businesses have little choice but to engage customers through that channel.
Infobip’s research suggests the U.S. remains far more fragmented:
| Channel | U.S. Penetration |
| RCS | 80% |
| Facebook Messenger | 45% |
| 30% |
While businesses should always meet customers on their preferred channels, the lack of a single dominant messaging application creates opportunities for organizations to build more flexible engagement strategies.
Rather than relying on one platform, businesses can orchestrate interactions across SMS, RCS, email, voice, mobile applications, and messaging apps based on customer preferences and business objectives.
Trend #3: Omnichannel Is Becoming the Default
The report also highlights how dramatically customer communication strategies have changed over the last decade.
In 2016, 73% of messaging traffic on Infobip’s platform came from organizations using only one communication channel.
By 2025, the picture had completely reversed.
According to the report, 97.7% of messaging traffic originated from businesses using multiple channels. The largest group of organizations used four channels simultaneously, followed closely by those using three and five channels.
The implication is clear: customers increasingly expect continuity across touchpoints.
Whether a conversation starts through email, SMS, RCS, a messaging app, or a chatbot, customers expect organizations to recognize context and maintain a consistent experience.
The future of customer engagement is not about selecting a single channel. It is about orchestrating multiple channels around a shared understanding of the customer.
Trend #4: AI Raises the Stakes for Messaging Strategy
The rapid adoption of generative and agentic AI is amplifying these trends.
As organizations deploy AI-powered assistants across customer journeys, messaging channels are becoming the primary interface between customers and intelligent systems.
Customers increasingly expect AI to do more than answer questions. They want to complete actions, resolve issues, make purchases, schedule appointments, and receive personalized recommendations within the same interaction.
This is where rich messaging channels become particularly valuable.
Interactive capabilities such as buttons, quick replies, rich cards, and branded experiences help translate AI-generated responses into actionable customer experiences.
However, delivering these experiences requires more than adding a chatbot to a messaging channel. Organizations must connect AI systems to business processes, customer data, and operational workflows while maintaining governance, compliance, and consistency across channels.
Looking Ahead
The messaging landscape is evolving rapidly.
RCS is gaining momentum. Omnichannel engagement is becoming standard practice. AI is transforming customer interactions from transactional exchanges into intelligent conversations.
The organizations that succeed will be those that view messaging as a strategic business capability rather than simply a delivery channel.
The goal is not to send more messages.
It is to create more meaningful, contextual, and actionable customer interactions—wherever the customer chooses to engage.
About Infobip
Infobip is a global cloud communications and customer experience platform and part of the Oracle Partner Network. They help businesses connect with their customers on 30+ channels including messaging apps, voice, email, and chatbots.