Complete RCS onboarding

6 min

Prerequisites

Before starting the RCS onboarding process, ensure that:

Your Exotel account is fully active (not in trial mode).

KYC verification is completed for your account.

Overview

To begin using RCS, you must first create an RCS bot/agent. This bot will serve as the messaging agent through which A2P (Application-to-Person) messages are sent to end users.

Note:

Similar to how SMS uses Sender IDs and WhatsApp uses Business Names/Numbers, RCS messages will be sent via your RCS bot name.

You can choose a bot name that represents your brand.

Steps to Onboard an RCS Bot

Step 1: Access the RCS Section

Click on the "RCS" tab in the left navigation menu.

3. You will be redirected to Exotel’s Messaging Console.

4. In the left navigation menu, you will see two options:

WhatsApp

RCS

Step 2: Create an RCS Bot

Under the RCS section, select "Bot Management".

If no bots have been created, the page will appear blank.

Click on "Create New Bot" in the top-right corner.

Complete the two-step bot creation process as follows:

Step 2.1: Configure Bot Type & Message Type

Bot Type: Select either Domestic or International. Currently, only Domestic (India) is available.

Message Type: Choose the type of messages the bot will send:

Promotional: Sales, marketing, or promotional messages for customer engagement (similar to SMS promotional messages).

Transactional: Notifications and informational messages for existing customers (similar to service messages in SMS).

OTP: One-time password (OTP) messages or time-sensitive transactions.

Note: If you plan to send messages from multiple categories, you must create a separate RCS bot for each.

Step 2.2: Enter Bot Details

The details provided here define how your bot appears to end users. When a user receives an RCS message, they can click on your bot name to view business-related information.

Fill in the following details:

Bot Name:

This is the name that will appear when sending RCS messages.

It should reflect your business, service, or campaign identity.

Example: If you are XYZ Bank, your bot name could be XYZ Alerts for transactional messages or XYZ Offers for promotions.

Brand Name:

Your official business name as recognized by customers.

It helps users identify your brand when managing multiple bots.

Example: If you are XYZ Technologies Pvt. Ltd., your brand name should be XYZ Technologies.

Short Description:

A brief tagline or summary of your bot’s purpose.

It will be displayed beneath the bot’s name in user interactions.

Maximum 100 characters.

Example: "Get real-time updates and exclusive offers from XYZ Bank."

Color:

Choose a brand-appropriate color that aligns with your identity.

The color must have a minimum contrast ratio of 4.5:1 for readability.

Avoid light colors, as they may blend into a white background.

You can preview the selected color before finalizing it.

Bot Logo:

This image will appear as your bot’s profile picture.

Maximum size: 90 KB

Supported formats: JPEG, JPG, PNG

Preferred dimensions: 224 x 224 px

Banner Image:

This will be displayed at the top of the bot’s profile.

Maximum size: 360 KB

Supported formats: JPEG, JPG, PNG

Preferred dimensions: 1440 x 448 px

Primary Phone Number & Label:

The phone number you want users to see in your business details.

This could be a customer support number, sales hotline, or a general contact.

Example: +91 98765 43210 (Support), +91 98765 67890 (Sales).

You can add up to 3 phone numbers.

Primary Email & Label:

The email address you want to display for customer queries.

Example: [email protected] (Support), [email protected] (Business Inquiries).

You can add up to 3 email addresses.

Primary Website & Label:

A website link that users can visit for more details.

Example: www.xyz.com (Official Website), www.xyz.com/offers (Latest Deals).

You can add up to 3 website URLs.

Terms of Use URL: Link to your terms of service.

Privacy Policy URL: Link to your privacy policy.

Languages: Select the languages in which you will send RCS messages.

Please find the reference to where the above details will be displayed in the Bot Preview:

After filling in these details, click "Submit" to create your bot.

Bot Approval & Activation

Once submitted, your bot will enter the "Submitted" state. You can track its status on the RCS Bot Management page.

Submitted → Created: Once approved by our partner vendor, the bot status will change from "Submitted" to "Created".

Next Steps After Bot Creation:

Add Test Devices – Test RCS functionalities via APIs.

Create RCS Templates – Design and test RCS message templates.

Complete RCS Verification – Submit a verification form to move from staging to production, enabling messaging to a broader audience.