Author: Muhammed Asad Khan
The big question in messaging today is not ‘will business platforms adopt AI’, but ‘who will adopt it fastest’?
The first ones to the table in the AI race will be the ones who reap the rewards. Currently, Over-The-Top (OTT) players are making headway with AI-enabled functions, but they are still a year or more away from true agentic AI integrations.
With SMS already in decline, and RCS Business Messaging (RBM) struggling to find its feet, will this lead be enough to push A2P into the shadows? Or can providers turn the tide and build RBM into the leading business to customer platform it was meant to be?
From chatbots to agentic AI
Chatbots have been an everyday reality for years. Almost every A2P or OTT messaging platform enables businesses to plug in chatbot APIs to offer static customer support.
But, as I'm sure most people have experienced first-hand, these chatbots have their limits. Ultimately, customers get frustrated and give up, or they’re referred to a human for any query more complex than ‘what are your opening hours?’.
Agentic AI promises to remove these pains from the process – and the platform that can introduce conversational chatbots first would change the game.
The bad news for A2P providers is that OTT services are already taking their first steps.
OTT is experimenting with AI
OTT platforms are already experimenting with in-platform AI. Meta WhatsApp, Telegram, and WeChat are examples of OTT platforms integrating simple AI-enabled functions like conversation summaries, intelligent search, and automated responses.
Some of these platforms are taking it one step further and packaging these AI features up as smart assistants – essentially a Copilot for messaging platforms.
For example, users can ask WhatsApp’s 'Meta AI' to search for hotel suggestions, to edit a photo, or simply answer queries. Similarly, its Business AI (being tested in limited regions) uses the same technology to automate customer support, handle inquires and make recommendations, amongst other things.
Secondary providers like OmniChat are also jumping on the AI trend and building purpose-built solutions to enable AI-driven WhatsApp interactions.
While none of these AI-enabled features, or assistants, feel that far removed from the classic chatbot, OTT services are clearly laying the groundwork for more conversational, agentic AI development to come.
A proactive AI that can answer any question in a personalized manner, generate entire B2C messaging campaigns autonomously, or proactively communicate to fulfil customer needs, before they even ask.
Meet us at global events this year to discuss more trends in the evolution of wholesale – see what events we’re attending here.
What does this mean for A2P?
OTT plus agentic AI poses a real threat to A2P services, but the outcomes aren’t set in stone.
For SMS, the rise of agentic services may accelerate it's already declining usership. Ultimately, operators are unlikely to invest in upgrading a service that is already losing traffic. That being said, it was never designed to facilitate the kind of interactivity AI deliversanyway, and engagement rates remain high. Even if OTT services do emerge as AI leaders, SMS will likely continue to thrive in the areas it’s most resilient: simple, large-scale, transactional communications.
RBM, in contrast, has the potential to either fall behind or far outperform ‘agentic OTT’. It's just about who gets there first.
When it first emerged in the market, RCS promised to redefine business to consumer relationships. Six years on from its first Android rollout, businesses are still struggling to fully onboard it.
This is a prime opportunity for OTT providers to supersede their competition, and if they manage to release agentic AI before A2P providers do, it will be difficult for RBM to catch up. However, if A2P providers act quickly to make up lost ground, they can produce something that far exceeds agentic OTT.
RBM would be the perfect home for agentic AI. It offers a cost-effective pricing model for what will likely become longer message threads, greater security for greater personalization, and a purpose-built vessel on which AI agents can generate rich and interactive media.
Not only does it enrich RBM’s value, but it will add an extra layer of resilience to the investments providers have already made into building this service.
RBM operators just need to avoid delay and seize the agentic AI opportunity. Although it’s likely a year or more away from fruition, it’s important that A2P providers get out of the gates first. In doing so, they can establish themselves as leaders in the enterprise market and undercut their OTT competition once and for all.
Read more insights from our team on the state of voice, messaging and wholesale, here.