Google Pilots RCS-Search Integration For AI-Powered Business Messaging In India

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SUMMARY

RCS, an advanced version of traditional SMS, supports two-way communication with rich media such as images, voice messages, location sharing, and PDF documents

Google's RCS integration will allow users searching for a company's customer service contact to directly chat with a live agent or AI bot through their smartphone's SMS inbox

This development comes at a time when Google has been expanding its base in India by working to establish its base in Tamil Nadu

Tech giant Google has reportedly started a pilot to integrate its rich communication services (RCS) with Google Search app to allow users contact businesses directly via AI-powered customer services in India.

RCS, an advanced version of traditional SMS, supports two-way communication with rich media such as images, voice messages, location sharing, and PDF documents. Union Bank of India is said to be among the first to test this functionality.

As per ET, Google’s RCS integration will allow users searching for a company’s customer service contact to directly chat with a live agent or AI bot through their smartphone’s SMS inbox. This feature could significantly reduce long wait times on customer service calls, which often leave users with unresolved queries.

Google aims to position its RCS integration as a competitor to WhatsApp’s growing ‘wa.me’ links, which Meta has embedded into Facebook and Instagram. These call-to-action links enable users to perform actions within a WhatsApp chat, such as purchasing products, making payments, or browsing catalogues.

“We are constantly looking for ways to make search more helpful to people in India and are often trying out new features so people can get access to high quality information online,” a Google spokesperson told ET.

Google and Meta are leveraging their ad ecosystems to expand enterprise messaging services, a major revenue driver in India. Businesses send 1.5 Bn SMSs daily, making up 85% of total volumes. Gartner projects India’s enterprise messaging market to grow from $1.3 Bn in 2023 to $3.2 Bn by 2028, with WhatsApp and RCS expected to capture 50% of the market, shifting enterprise spending from traditional SMS to advanced messaging platforms.

This development comes at a time when Google has been expanding its base in India by working to establish its base in Tamil Nadu.

In May last year, Sundar Pichai-led Google was reportedly working on manufacturing drones in Tamil Nadu through its subsidiary Wing LLC, leveraging India’s liberalised drone policies.

Later, the Tamil Nadu government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with tech giant Google to set up ‘Tamil Nadu AI Labs’ in Chennai.