The communications landscape is tilting toward something quieter. Customer journeys are beginning to unfold inside channels that feel as familiar as SMS but behave like full‑featured apps; authentication is dissolving into friction‑free moments of trust paved by carrier networks; and artificial intelligence is slipping backstage to choreograph timing and channel choices so subtly that most people never notice its presence. Those intertwined shifts – richer messaging, network‑level identity, and behind‑the‑scenes AI orchestration – are redefining what a “good experience” means before many brands have even realised the bar has moved.
During MWC25 we stepped onto the Sinch stand for a brief chat with Jonathan Bean to see how one of the industry’s most prominent CPaaSAA members is translating these shifts into practice. Bean wasted no time putting Rich Communication Services at the heart of the story. RCS, he said, doesn’t simply enhance SMS; it “turns a text into an experience,” slipping carousels, video previews, and verified sender badges straight into the native inbox, where they feel both novel and completely natural. In markets where RCS is just gaining traction, that added richness can feel like discovering new functionality that’s been waiting inside the handset all along.
Yet Bean was quick to point out that richness without trust is fragile. Sinch’s answer is to anchor every conversation in carrier‑verified identity exposed through straightforward network APIs. A single call replaces password walls with what amounts to a silent handshake – instant recognition that feels effortless to customers, unlocks revenue for operators, and, perhaps most importantly, sets a tone of confidence for the brand on the other end of the screen.
We inevitably drifted to the two pervasive letters of the moment – A I. Bean acknowledged the hype, even joked that “every booth has the letters AI on it,” but then focused on where the technology actually helps: the orchestration layer. Life is still “super‑complex” for enterprises juggling multiple channels, he said, and AI’s real gift is to listen for intent and context, then deliver the right touchpoint at the perfect moment without drawing attention to itself. When it works, complexity evaporates for the person holding the phone; what remains is a conversation that feels personal and almost prescient.
Taken together, the insights from that brief MWC exchange form a deceptively simple roadmap. Start by designing journeys people genuinely want to take. Allow RCS to supply the expressive canvas, let carrier‑grade APIs supply instantaneous trust, and let AI keep the rhythm in time with each customer’s needs. Get that alignment right and the technology fades, leaving behind an experience that feels human, immediate, and effortlessly repeatable – exactly the kind of communications that will endure long after today’s acronyms have melted into tomorrow’s footnote
