Contact centers have been sleeping on RCS. 8x8 is not.

In its latest move, 8x8 has rolled out native RCS (Rich Communication Services) support for its Contact Center platform—making it one of the first major CCaaS players to bake RCS into the core experience. Paired with its CPaaS APIs, this isn't just another channel checkbox. It's a real attempt to rewire how businesses talk to customers.

And it might actually work.

 

What's the News?

8x8 is now offering full RCS Business Messaging (RBM) support for both inbound and outbound communication. If you're unfamiliar, RCS is the next-gen version of SMS—think images, videos, carousels, buttons, and verified branding, all sent through your default messaging app. No installs. No gimmicks.

And while RCS has technically been around for a while, what’s been missing is solid infrastructure to operationalize it. That’s what 8x8 is plugging in.

 

Why It’s a Big Deal (And Not Just Another Channel Launch)

 

RCS Isn’t New, But It’s Finally Getting Useful

RCS has been hyped for years—but mostly in theory. The problem wasn’t demand, it was execution. Brands couldn’t easily integrate it into their contact center stack, much less use it for two-way messaging with agents or bots.

Now, with 8x8’s integration into both its Contact Center and CPaaS layer, that barrier’s gone. Customers can reply. Agents can respond. Bots can take over. It’s a full loop.

 

2.5 Billion Users by End of 2024

That’s the projected size of RCS's monthly active user base. That puts it well ahead of many newer messaging platforms. Especially in LATAM and APAC, it’s exploding. If you're a global brand, this channel isn't optional—it's where your customers already are.

 

What You Can Actually Do With It

  • Two-way branded convos – No more one-off SMS blasts. Now you can chat, confirm, upsell, reschedule, follow up… all inside RCS.
  • Interactive content – Share videos, product carousels, CTAs, and forms. Imagine messaging a customer a video demo with a “buy now” button right in the chat.
  • Live updates – Replace “where’s my order?” with a live tracking map, reschedule button, or even a “call an agent” link.
  • Embedded feedback – Send surveys, ratings, or appointment changes without making your customer open an app.
  • All tracked – With delivery, open, and click-through rates tracked in real time, plus full context passed to agents.

 

One API to Rule Them All

Another standout feature here: RCS is now fully integrated into the 8x8 CPaaS messaging API, alongside SMS, WhatsApp, Viber, and voice.

For businesses juggling multiple channels (aka everyone), this simplifies dev and ops work dramatically. One system. One data stream. One control point.

 

Our Take: What This Signals

We think this is less about RCS itself, and more about where 8x8 wants to position its platform—as a serious player in the new age of customer messaging.

While other CCaaS vendors talk omnichannel, 8x8 just hardwired one of the fastest-growing channels into both their contact center and CPaaS stack. And they didn’t just offer it for outbound marketing—they made it conversational, trackable, agent-ready, and AI-compatible.

It also sets them up nicely for B2C industries like retail, logistics, and financial services, where messaging is the customer journey.

 

The Bottom Line

8x8 is playing the long game here. By giving RCS a real use case inside the contact center—and pairing it with a unified messaging API—they’ve created something that’s both technically elegant and operationally useful.

And let’s be real: if more brands start sending rich, real-time, personalized updates instead of bland SMS links, we all win.