rcs-agent-onboarding

RCS agent onboarding

Overview

Use this skill to prepare a Sent customer for RCS launch without inventing a self-service provisioning flow. Sent’s public channel setup guidance says RCS setup is initiated through Sent, requires one-time carrier approval, and is not self-service. The agent’s job is to collect clean launch evidence, design fallback behavior, confirm profile/channel readiness, and create a verification plan for the first production sends.

RCS onboarding touches three separate layers. Sent owns the unified messaging API and fallback behavior. Google RBM and carriers own brand/agent review and launch approval. The customer owns brand assets, use-case clarity, consent, and support readiness. Keep those boundaries explicit.

When to use

Use this skill when the request mentions RCS, RBM, RCS agent, carrier launch, branded messaging, rich card, carousel, SMS fallback from RCS, or RCS approval. Use it for launch preparation, evidence gathering, fallback decisions, and post-launch smoke tests.

Do not use this skill for live delivery-rate analysis after launch; use messaging-performance-analyzer. Do not use it to register US SMS compliance; use sms-10dlc-registration. Do not promise direct Graph/RBM API provisioning unless the user confirms they operate the external RBM account outside Sent.

Source-of-truth boundaries

Topic	Treat as	Action
Sent API sending	Sent API fact	Use POST /v3/messages with templates and channel arrays.
RCS setup path	Sent documentation fact	Tell the user RCS setup is initiated by contacting Sent and requires approval.
SMS fallback	Sent documentation fact	Use Sent’s fallback behavior and explicit channel: ["rcs", "sms"] where appropriate.
Google RBM agent fields	External platform context	Collect assets and evidence, but do not claim Sent exposes those fields.
Per-carrier launch states	External platform context	Track approval evidence from Sent/Google/carriers; do not invent Sent status fields.
Rich-card rendering	Runtime evidence	Verify with test sends and message activities after setup is active.

Process

1. Classify the requested launch

Start by asking what the RCS agent will do, who receives the messages, and whether SMS fallback is required. The use case should be concrete enough for carrier review and template design.

A good launch statement names the brand, audience, consent source, message types, support contact, and fallback behavior. A weak launch statement says only “we want RCS for marketing” or “we need branded SMS.”

Example. “Acme Logistics wants RCS order updates for US consumers who opted in at checkout. Messages include shipment confirmation, delivery window changes, and support links. If RCS is unavailable, send the SMS version through the same Sent profile.”

2. Build the RCS evidence packet

Collect review-ready evidence before involving Sent. This reduces approval loops and prevents the agent from submitting vague brand claims.

Evidence	What to collect	Why it matters
Brand identity	Legal name, public brand name, website, logo, brand color, description	Reviewers compare the agent identity to the live business.
Contact and support	Support email, support phone, help URL, privacy policy	RCS users need visible ways to identify and contact the sender.
Use case	Transactional, OTP, marketing, customer care, or mixed use	Approval and fallback design depend on intent and consent.
Consent	Opt-in path, screenshot/URL, privacy policy, opt-out wording	Carriers need proof that recipients expect the messages.
Message examples	Representative plain-text and rich examples	Rich content must match the declared use case and brand.
SMS fallback	Equivalent SMS copy and approved SMS sender/compliance status	Fallback fails if SMS compliance is not ready.

3. Check Sent profile and SMS fallback readiness

Confirm that the customer has a Sender Profile in the Sent dashboard or through /v3/profiles. The dashboard walkthrough shows Sender Profiles with a display name, brand description, x-sender-id, and SMS/WhatsApp configuration status. The OpenAPI confirms profile creation, retrieval, update, and completion endpoints.

If the launch requires US SMS fallback, verify that the SMS side is compliant before RCS goes live. Sent’s channel setup guide recommends using the same phone number across SMS, WhatsApp, and RCS where possible, but fallback must still have a valid SMS route and compliance posture.

Example fallback request. After Sent confirms RCS is configured, a customer can request an RCS-first send with SMS fallback/broadcast semantics using a channel array such as:

{
  "to": ["+15551234567"],
  "channel": ["rcs", "sms"],
  "template": { "id": "template_uuid" }
}

Explain that Sent may create separate messages for each recipient/channel pair when multiple channels are specified. Analyze RCS and SMS attempts separately after sending.

4. Route the launch through Sent

Because Sent states that production RCS setup is not self-service, prepare a handoff note for Sent rather than pretending to click through an RBM console. Include the evidence packet, the Sender Profile identifier, the target countries/carriers if known, fallback requirements, and the requested go-live timeline.

A clean handoff reads like this:

“Please initiate RCS setup for Sender Profile support-us / x-sender-id .... Brand is Acme Logistics, website https://acme.example, use case shipment notifications and customer-care replies. Opt-in occurs at checkout. SMS fallback is required through the existing US SMS route. Attached are logo, brand color, support contacts, privacy policy, and five message examples.”

5. Define the test plan before launch

Write the first-send test plan before approval arrives. Include a small set of internal numbers, target devices/carriers when available, template IDs, expected channel behavior, and rollback criteria.

Test	Expected result	Evidence to collect
RCS-capable internal device	RCS message reaches DELIVERED; READ may appear if opened.	Sent message status and activities.
Non-RCS-capable recipient	SMS fallback path succeeds where fallback is requested.	Separate RCS and SMS message IDs/statuses.
Rich content render	Cards/buttons render as designed on target devices.	Screenshots and message activities.
Webhook callback	Customer endpoint receives delivery/read events.	Sent webhook event history and customer logs.

6. Verify launch with Sent message evidence

After Sent confirms the RCS setup is active, send a controlled batch using POST /v3/messages. For every Sent message_id, retrieve GET /v3/messages/{id} and GET /v3/messages/{id}/activities. Confirm that RCS messages progress through the documented lifecycle and that SMS fallback behaves as expected.

If the first batch fails, do not guess. Separate setup failures from fallback failures, template/payload failures, and webhook ingestion failures. Use messaging-performance-analyzer for deeper funnel analysis once the launch is producing enough evidence.

Common rationalizations to avoid

Do not tell the user RCS is self-service in Sent. Sent’s channel setup guide says to contact Sent and wait for carrier approval.

Do not create a fake fallback_policy field in Sent requests. Use documented channel arrays and account-level fallback behavior unless a verified account-specific API field exists.

Do not assume SMS fallback is safe because RCS is approved. SMS fallback needs a compliant sender, especially for US A2P traffic.

Do not conflate brand approval with template quality. An approved RCS agent can still fail if the message payload, media, or fallback copy is wrong.

Verification checklist

• The user’s RCS use case is specific enough for review and not just “send rich messages.”
• Brand identity, support contact, privacy policy, opt-in evidence, and sample messages are collected.
• The Sent Sender Profile or x-sender-id is identified.
• SMS fallback requirements are documented and routed to SMS compliance checks where needed.
• The handoff explicitly says Sent must initiate RCS setup and carrier approval.
• The first-send test plan includes RCS-capable, non-RCS-capable, rich-rendering, and webhook checks.
• Post-launch verification uses Sent message_id, status, and activities.
• External RBM facts are labeled as external context, not Sent API guarantees.

Related skills

Use sent-skills:sms-10dlc-registration before launch when SMS fallback touches US A2P traffic, opt-in evidence, 10DLC campaigns, or brand vetting.

Use sent-skills:sender-profile-architect when the customer has multiple brands, tenants, departments, or profiles and needs a durable sender architecture.

Use sent-skills:template-builder-ui when the RCS launch needs reusable templates, rich component validation, or a template-creation workflow.

Use sent-skills:messaging-performance-analyzer after launch when the user has message IDs, webhook events, failed sends, or delivery-rate symptoms.

See the top-level references/sent-glossary.md for shared Sent terminology.

Suggested bundled references and scripts

File	Type	Purpose
references/rbm-agent-spec.md	Payload/schema reference	Keep Google RBM identity fields, asset requirements, and review vocabulary outside the skill body.
references/rcs-launch-evidence-packet.md	Worked example	Provide a complete filled-in launch packet for a realistic transactional RCS launch.
references/rcs-fallback-patterns.md	Decision matrix	Compare RCS-only, RCS-first with SMS fallback, and multi-channel broadcast patterns.
scripts/rcs_preflight_check.py	Validation script	Check that required evidence fields, URLs, media assets, and fallback settings are present before Sent handoff.

Unverified claims to confirm or remove

• Google RBM lifecycle states such as pending_verification, launch_review, or per-carrier launched states were not verified in Sent docs (these are Google-side, not exposed by Sent v3).
• Sent does not expose RCS rollout-status or capability-check endpoints in v3; use Activities + webhook events to observe behavior.
• Exact rich-card capability differences by carrier/device require external RBM evidence or live testing, not Sent docs alone.