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Build an AI-powered RCS agent that answers customer questions automatically. By connecting your RCS agent to Telnyx AI Assistant, you get intelligent responses powered by your knowledge base—no custom backend code required.

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Why RCS + AI Assistant?

Combining RCS with AI Assistant solves two problems:
  1. RCS carrier onboarding is complex — Carriers require functional agents before approval. AI Assistant gives your agent real functionality instantly.
  2. Building conversational AI is hard — Instead of coding your own NLP/LLM integration, AI Assistant handles it with your knowledge sources.
Traditional approachWith Telnyx AI Assistant
Build custom webhook handlerConfigure in portal
Integrate LLM (OpenAI, etc.)Built-in LLM
Manage conversation stateHandled automatically
Build knowledge retrievalUpload docs or connect sources
Weeks of developmentMinutes to configure

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How it works

The key integration point is the Messaging Profile, which links your RCS Agent to an AI Assistant via the ai_assistant_id field.

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Prerequisites

  • A Telnyx account
  • An approved RCS Agent (or one in the approval process)
  • Content for your AI Assistant (FAQs, docs, or knowledge base)

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1. Create an AI Assistant

1

Go to AI Assistants

Navigate to AI Assistants in the portal.
2

Create a new assistant

Click Create Assistant and give it a name (e.g., “Support Bot”).
3

Configure the persona

Write instructions that define your assistant’s behavior:
You are a helpful customer support agent for [Your Company].

Guidelines:
- Be friendly and professional
- Keep responses concise (under 160 characters when possible)
- If you don't know something, offer to connect them with a human
- Always greet new customers warmly
4

Add knowledge sources

Upload documents or connect to your knowledge base:
  • Documents: Upload PDFs, text files, or markdown
  • Websites: Crawl your help center or documentation
  • Custom: Connect via API for dynamic content
5

Save and note the Assistant ID

Save your assistant and copy the Assistant ID (e.g., assistant-11deda65-f3f0-457a-9946-ec021622b061).

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2. Create a Messaging Profile with AI

1

Go to Messaging

Navigate to Messaging in the portal.
2

Create a new profile

Click Add new profile and name it (e.g., “RCS AI Profile”).
3

Link the AI Assistant

In the profile settings, find AI Assistant and select your assistant from the dropdown (or enter the Assistant ID).
4

Save and note the Profile ID

Save the profile and copy the Messaging Profile ID.
Once your RCS Agent is approved by carriers, link it to your AI-enabled messaging profile.
With a functional AI Assistant attached, your RCS agent has real capabilities to demonstrate during carrier review—making approval easier.

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4. Test your AI-powered RCS agent

Once your RCS Agent is approved (or using test numbers), send a message to trigger the AI: 
curl -X POST https://api.telnyx.com/v2/messages/rcs \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "agent_id": "your_rcs_agent_id",
    "to": "+15559876543",
    "messaging_profile_id": "your_ai_messaging_profile_id",
    "agent_message": {
      "content_message": {
        "text": "Hello! How can I help you today?"
      }
    }
  }'

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Best practices

RCS messages display on mobile devices. Configure your AI to:
  • Keep responses concise (under 160 characters when possible)
  • Use bullet points for lists
  • Avoid long paragraphs
Configure a greeting in your AI Assistant to welcome new customers:
Welcome to [Company] Support! I'm here to help with questions about 
our products and services. What can I assist you with today?
Include instructions for when the AI should hand off to a human:
If the customer:
- Asks to speak to a human
- Has a billing dispute
- Is frustrated after 3 exchanges

Respond: "I'd be happy to connect you with our support team. 
Please call 1-800-XXX-XXXX or visit support.example.com"
Before going live, test with questions your customers actually ask:
  • Check your support ticket history
  • Review FAQ page analytics
  • Test edge cases and ambiguous questions

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Monitoring and analytics

Track your AI Assistant’s performance in the portal:
  • Conversation logs: Review AI responses and customer satisfaction
  • Knowledge gaps: Identify questions the AI couldn’t answer
  • Response times: Monitor latency and throughput
Navigate to AI Assistants > Insights to access analytics.

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Pricing

ComponentPricing
RCS messagesSee RCS pricing
AI AssistantSee AI pricing
AI Assistant charges are based on tokens processed. Simple Q&A conversations typically cost fractions of a cent per exchange.

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Try it yourself

Experience RCS + AI Assistant firsthand by chatting with our demo bot.
Requirements: US phone number and RCS-enabled device (Android with Google Messages, or iOS 18+)

💬 Chat with Telnyx Support

Tap to open a conversation with our AI-powered support agent

📱 Scan QR Code

Scan to chat with Telnyx Support
This demo uses an RCS deeplink to start the conversation. The deeplink URL is generated by the Telnyx API and uses the standard Google RCS sms: scheme with an @rbm.goog address:
curl -L 'https://api.telnyx.com/v2/messages/rcs/deeplinks/telnyx_support_v9d1aaax_agent' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer <TOKEN>'
The deeplink opens your messaging app and connects you to our AI-powered support agent, which uses:
  • Telnyx AI Assistant for natural language understanding
  • Knowledge retrieval from our documentation
  • RCS rich messaging for a native chat experience

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Next steps

AI Assistant Docs

Deep dive into AI Assistant configuration

RCS Getting Started

Learn RCS fundamentals

RCS Rich Cards

Send interactive rich cards

RCS Deeplinks

Create deeplinks for your own agents