Business Messaging in 2026. What Will Customers Tolerate?

The arrival of iOS 18 with RCS support has raised the bar. Cross-platform texting now feels modern for the average mobile user. That change brings new expectations for how brands and service providers communicate.

As RCS becomes the default for rich messaging between businesses and customers, usefulness becomes more important than volume. Analysts project steady growth in RCS business messaging through 2029. This should be seen as a signal to improve quality, not an excuse to send more promotions.

Customers still tolerate messages that save time. Shipping updates, travel changes, appointment reminders, and fraud alerts all deliver immediate value. These messages should come from a verified sender, include a working opt-out, and be short enough to complete a task. When RCS is not supported, the message should fall back cleanly to SMS without breaking the experience.

Message frequency should match purpose. Service messages are triggered by actual events. Promotions need to respect limits and timing. The best indicators of customer tolerance are solved tasks, opt-outs, and blocks. If blocks increase, it is time to pause and reassess. Trust builds slowly and disappears quickly.

Business messaging success is not about volume. It depends on whether the message was useful, timely, and easy to act on. Customers expect consistency across channels, and they want to know who is messaging them and why. Verified identity, reliable delivery, and fast-loading templates are no longer optional. These are now part of the user experience.

Strategically, it is time to focus on outcomes instead of output. Messaging teams should align on results customers can feel. That means looking at successful interactions, not just delivery rates. Independent benchmarks are better than vendor claims when evaluating effectiveness. Templates should be designed for clarity, speed, and network conditions.

Reliability in Messaging

As business messaging evolves, telecom operators and service providers face growing pressure to deliver communication that is timely, trusted, and consistent. Messaging is no longer just about reach or delivery. It is about creating a reliable experience across every touchpoint, where the content is clear, the sender is trusted, and the message aligns with what the customer actually needs.

At Enghouse Networks, we support providers in building the infrastructure behind that experience. From verified sender workflows to channel fallback strategies, we help ensure that critical messages reach customers as expected, with reliability, clarity, and control.