How to connect RCS to my hub account

Here is the information needed:

• In order to test RCS, see What information do I need to register RCS ? - Information needed to test RCS
• In order to fulfil the RCS registration, see What information do I need to register RCS ? - Information needed to register RCS

1. Go to Settings then select Numbers and click on Create RCS agent under the RCS agents section. Learn more about What is an RCS agent.

You will land on the Create RCS agent page:

 

2. Select a country - This is the country where you will be able to send RCS messages

3. Select a use case - To send RCS messages, you must specify how your business will use RCS messaging. This helps Google and Telecom operators understand the purpose of your messages and ensure they comply with guidelines. Learn more about What are the use cases for RCS messaging?

4. Click on Continue to proceed and click Confirm on the modal.

Finally on the hub click on Confirm.
 

Congratulations you just created your RCS agent! It is in a Testing state which will allow you to edit information, send and receive messages from the hub to tester devices. Learn more about Testing your Agent in the next section. 

After creating your RCS agent it's time to test it.  

Navigate to the RCS agent overview page by going to Settings then select Numbers and click on View RCS agent under the RCS agents section.

1. Click Send test message to send a test message to the first tester of your account. 

2. [OPTIONAL] If you don't have an RCS phone tester number already registered. A modal will pop up to add one. Please refer to the article How can I add my number as a tester for my RCS Agent?

3. Grab your mobile phone to see and interact with your RCS  test message received.

If you have several testers registered on your account and wish to send a message to a specific number:

1. Navigate to Test Numbers

2. Click on the three dots on the number you wish to receive a test message on. 

3. Click Send test message

4. Grab your mobile phone to see and interact with your RCS test message received.

Congratulations you now know how to test your agent messaging features. Now let's see how we can customize your agent with your related company information. 

Navigate to the RCS agent overview page by going to Settings then select Numbers and click on View RCS agent under the RCS agents section.

As you may have noticed when receiving an RCS message (see Testing your agent) you were able to see information displayed on your mobile phone. You will notice that this information is also reflected in the hub on the right of the screen.

In order to modify this information click Edit and fill out the form. The phone on the right of the screen updates data in real time and gives you a glimpse of how contacts will see your brand. 

Click Save and send yourself a test message to get a feeling of how your brand will look from your contacts point of view. 

If you want to know more about the different fields you can read more here: What information do I need to register RCS ? - Information needed to register RCS.

In order to get verified by Google and the Telecom operators of the country you wish to send messages in we need to collect information about the experience you want to provide to your contacts via RCS. 

Navigate to the RCS agent overview page by going to Settings then select Numbers and click on View RCS agent under the RCS agents section.

1. Go to Agent experience

2. Answer the questions about message triggers and user consent
For reference here are 2 articles: What are message triggers and interactions in RCS? and Do I need new consent from my contacts to send RCS messages?

In order to be live on RCS you need to be verified by Google and the Telecom operators of the country you wish to send messages in. To get verified you will need to showcase the RCS experience you want to provide to your contacts. We provide you tools to let you emulate, record and submit your experience. 

Using the steps below we will ask you to record a video of your mobile phone screen:

• Receiving and opening the sample message
• Replying 'STOP' and how the agent confirms the opt-out

Follow these steps to send a custom message:

Navigate to the RCS agent overview page by going to Settings then select Numbers and click on View RCS agent under the RCS agents section.

1. Go to Agent preview

2. Compose your test message in the Sample message field

3. Select the test number you wish to send the message to

4. Click on Send sample message

Here is an example of a recording for a Promotional Agent. It includes an example of the message that will be sent by the agent and an optout showcase. 

Some telecom operators require additional information. As the requirements are country specific we designed a specific page for you to input all the information.  

To proceed follow these steps:

1. Navigate to the RCS agent overview page by going to Settings then select Numbers and click on View RCS agent under the RCS agents section.

2. Navigate to the Country requirements tab.

3. Answer the questions, any changes will be auto-saved. 

Upon completion of all the previous steps including creating your RCS agent, testing your agent, personalizing your agent, telling us about the experience you want to provide over RCS and finally recording your experience you will reach the Ready to submit status.

To proceed to the launch follow these steps:

Navigate to the RCS Agent overview page by going to Settings then select Numbers and click on View RCS agent under the RCS Agents section.

1. Click on Submit RCS agent on the bottom right of your screen. A modal pop ups and asks you to agree to the terms & conditions of RCS (Sinch MessageMedia Terms or Sinch Engage Terms - Sinch)

2. Agree to the terms and conditions and click on Submit RCS agent.

3. Your agent will transition to the Waiting for approval status. 

Each operator we submitted your agent to will review it in order to approve it. This process can take up to 10 business days.

To check the different telecom operator status you can click on Operator status on the bottom right of the screen, to get an overview of the telecom operators and the status of your agent for each of them. 

Once your agent is approved by at least one telecom operator, it will transition to the Active status which will let you send a RCS campaign to your contacts! In order to reach a contact on RCS, the telecom operator needs to support RCS and your agent needs to be Active.