Twilio RCS for Branded B2C Conversations in Your Customers' Default Messaging App

Send and receive RCS messages with a verified sender profile and rich media, in the same inbox as WhatsApp, SMS and your other channels.

Respond.io Twilio RCS Capabilities

Connect an approved Twilio RCS Sender with your Account SID and Auth Token, then manage RCS chats in one inbox with WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, SMS and other apps
Set up AI Agents to answer FAQs, qualify leads and route enquiries over RCS, with your team able to step into any conversation
Message RCS contacts at any time, with no messaging window to track
Send and receive text, images, videos, audio and PDFs from a verified sender profile that shows your brand name and logo
Send RCS broadcasts that combine text, multiple choice questions, files and media
Send messages and ask questions via Workflows automation, with multiple-choice answers sent as quick reply buttons and a failure branch for undelivered messages
Capture leads with an RCS widget, QR code or multichannel widget, and see which widget each contact came from
Connect RCS chat to existing business systems like your CRM through the Developer API, Webhooks, Zapier, Make and n8n

Why use respond.io for Twilio RCS

Respond.io is a customer conversation platform built for mid-market B2C businesses that reach customers by text and social channels. If you manage fewer than 500 conversations a month, a single-channel texting tool is enough.

RCS messages arrive in the same inbox as WhatsApp, TikTok, Messenger and Instagram chats, where your team and AI Agents work the same conversations
Twilio bills RCS usage to your own account, with no respond.io markup or per-message fee
A verified sender profile shows customers your brand name and logo instead of an unknown number
Enterprise-grade with 99.999% uptime, ISO 27001, GDPR compliance and role-based access controls

FAQs about Twilio RCS integration

What is RCS, and how is it different from SMS?

RCS (Rich Communication Services) is the next generation of SMS. It's built into the default messaging app on supported phones, so customers see a verified sender profile and can receive images, videos and files without installing another app. Unlike SMS, RCS only delivers when the customer's country, carrier and device support it. On respond.io, RCS and SMS are separate channels in the same inbox, so you can use each one where it reaches customers best.

What do I need to connect Twilio RCS to respond.io?

You need an active, paid Twilio account and an RCS Sender that's approved and launched with at least one carrier. Every Sender needs Google registration, and Senders that message US numbers also need US registration. Twilio estimates four to six weeks for carrier approval. Once a carrier approves your Sender, you connect it to respond.io with your Twilio Account SID and Auth Token, and respond.io sets up the webhook automatically.

How much does RCS cost on respond.io?

Twilio bills RCS messages directly to your Twilio account, and respond.io adds no charges on top. As of November 2026, Twilio's US rates are $0.0083 per text segment and $0.022 per outbound media message. Carrier fees apply on top, and US carriers also charge onboarding fees when you launch a Sender. Check Twilio's pricing page for current rates in your destination country.

What happens if a customer can't receive RCS?

The message fails, and the Inbox shows the reason Twilio returns. Respond.io doesn't fall back to SMS automatically. To send undelivered messages as SMS or MMS, add an SMS-capable number to the same Twilio Messaging Service as your RCS Sender. RCS chat links and QR codes also only work on devices that support RCS.