A recent study by global tech strategists Juniper Research has found that growth in the conversational AI market is being driven by rich media channels, such as Rich Communication Services (RCS), and Over-The-Top (OTT) channels, such as WhatsApp.
The number of users accessing messaging chatbots via these channels will grow 88% over the next five years; from under 1 billion in 2026 to almost 1.9 billion by 2030. This growth is being driven by the rich media capabilities of both RCS and OTT, which are ideally suited to AI use. The support for RCS on iOS devices, announced in 2024, is helping drive strong channel growth. This is expected to increase over the next five years, although the associated uplift in revenue is likely to be delayed until traffic becomes billable at scale.
Principal Analyst Peter Boyland commented: “While the development of RCS has been historically slow, its role has strengthened following Apple’s support for the protocol. This has significantly expanded its addressable base – especially in the US.”
RCS Growing Rapidly, but OTT Driving User Volume
Juniper Research expects that the number of users accessing messaging chatbots via RCS will grow more than eightfold over the next five years; from 64 million in 2026 to 519 million in 2030. OTT channels, such as WhatsApp, will show more modest growth of 45%. OTT growth is expected to accelerate, as operators connect to Google’s RCS service, and enterprises begin exploring rich media campaign management tools.
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An extract from the report, Conversational AI Market 2026-2030, is available as a free download.
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