On this page: Get started with mobile messaging in Adobe Journey Optimizer to create, personalize, and send SMS, MMS, and RCS messages in journeys and campaigns, including provider support, configuration requirements, and RCS prerequisites.
Use Journey Optimizer to send mobile messages to your customers across three channels, SMS, MMS, and RCS, from a single SMS/MMS/RCS editor where you can create, personalize, and preview your content.
- SMS (Short Message Service): Send text-only messages of up to 160 characters, supported across all mobile devices.
- MMS (Multimedia Message Service): Enrich your messages with images, videos, audio clips, and GIFs, plus up to 1,600 characters of text. Learn more about MMS limitations
- RCS (Rich Communication Services):Deliver branded, interactive content directly in your customers’ native messaging app, with no additional app download required.
Mobile messages can be created and sent in a journey or in a campaign using the Mobile message action:
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In a Journey: Add a Mobile message action to your journey, define basic settings, then compose your content in the Mobile message Actions pane on the right. Learn how to create a journey
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In a Campaign:Create a campaign, select Mobile message as your action, define basic settings, then edit the message content. Learn how to create an action campaign | an API-triggered campaign | an orchestrated campaign
Use cases use-cases
SMS, MMS, and RCS work best when you need to reach users reliably, regardless of whether they have your app installed or an internet connection available.
When not to use when-not-to-use
SMS, MMS, and RCS are not always the most efficient or appropriate choice. Consider another channel in the following situations:
- Cost is a concern at high sending volumes, since SMS and MMS are billed per message and per-message costs add up quickly at scale
- The content is long-form or complex and better suited to email, which supports richer formatting and longer text
- Recipients have not explicitly opted in, which carries legal and compliance risk in most regions and messaging regulations
Key features key-features
Configuration requirements configuration-requirements
Before sending Mobile messages, you must:
- Choose an SMS provider: Select from Sinch, Twilio, Infobip, or configure a custom provider
- Set up API credentials: Integrate your provider’s API tokens and service IDs with Journey Optimizer
- Create channel configurations: Set up SMS configurations for marketing and transactional messages
- Configure subdomains (optional): Required only if you plan to use URL shortening in your messages
These configuration steps are typically performed by a System Administrator. Get started with SMS configuration
Requirements for RCS requirement-rcs
The following prerequisites are required to use RCS in Journey Optimizer:
- Sinch RCS API credentials: An administrator must configure API credentials for the Sinch RCS vendor (Project ID, App ID, and API Token). Learn more
- Mobile Message channel configuration: An administrator must create a channel configuration with an RCS-enabled credential selected, so messages are delivered as RCS rather than SMS. Learn more
- Fallback SMS: Strongly recommended. Recipients whose devices do not support RCS will not receive the message unless SMS fallback is available. Customers without existing SMS volume should purchase SMS and a short code. Learn more
- Supported vendor: Native RCS authoring requires Sinch RCS (Adobe resell or direct). Twilio, Infobip, and other providers must use a custom provider integration.
- Device support: RCS delivery is supported on Android and iOS devices. Carrier and regional availability varies, RCS is not universally available globally.
Additional resources additional-resources
Browse the topics below to learn more about Mobile messaging in Journey Optimizer. See also the SMS/MMS/RCS overview in the Mobile Learning Hub for more use cases and best practices.
Learn how to set up and configure your SMS environment:
Step-by-step configuration for each SMS service provider:
Create, personalize, and manage your Mobile message content:
Ensure your Mobile messaging complies with regulations and privacy standards:
Monitor and analyze your SMS campaigns and journey performance:
Learn how to incorporate SMS into your customer journeys and campaigns:
Is native RCS messaging available with Twilio or Infobip?
No. The native RCS designer in Journey Optimizer is not available when using third-party SMS providers such as Twilio or Infobip. RCS messages can, however, be sent via a custom provider integration.
Why purchase SMS alongside RCS?
SMS volume and a short code should be purchased to enable SMS fallback, which is the recommended path. If SMS is not configured, profiles whose device or carrier does not support RCS will not receive the message at all.
Is native RCS messaging available for Sinch direct customers?
Yes. Customers using Sinch’s Conversational API have access to native RCS authoring, including both Adobe resell and Sinch direct customers.
Is RCS available everywhere?
No. Carrier adoption continues to grow globally, but RCS is not universally supported across all carriers and regions. Regional availability and carrier support should be researched when planning RCS campaigns.
Where do RCS messages appear on the device?
RCS messages appear in the same place as standard SMS messages — in the device’s native messaging application. They arrive from a branded, verified sender, giving recipients the trust signals to know the message is legitimate.
What are the character limits for an RCS message?
Rich Media (Single) message types support up to 3,072 characters, significantly more than the 160-character limit for standard SMS. Basic RCS message types are limited to 160 characters, matching the standard SMS limit.
How-to videos videos
Configure and send SMS messages
Learn how to configure, author, and include SMS messaging into your customer journeys.
Explore mobile messaging capabilities
Discover the comprehensive mobile messaging capabilities that Adobe Journey Optimizer offers to marketers.
Send branded RCS messages
Learn how to configure and send branded, interactive RCS messages in Adobe Journey Optimizer using a custom SMS provider.