Conversation API
The Sinch India Conversation API allows you to send and receive messages globally over SMS, RCS, and WhatsApp. A single callback contains all aspects of the conversation for easy integration into the Sinch portfolio of services or any third-party platform. The Conversation API is hosted in India, and additional channels will be supported as they become popular.
Goal of this Document
This document serves as the primary reference for everything a user needs to know to use the Conversation API. It is addressed to a technical audience with some experience in the domain, providing sufficient specifications and guidelines for a suitably skilled engineer to construct conforming solutions.
Scope of Document
This document covers every aspect of sending messages through the API. It also covers how to control, manage, and configure messaging for any enterprise sending messages to end users. It does not cover billing.
Why Conversation API?
The goal of the Sinch India Conversation API is to enable the industry-wide use of standardized messaging middleware technology that lowers the cost of enterprise and systems integration, and provides industrial-grade integration services to a broad audience. Through the pervasive availability of messaging middleware, different ways of sending and monitoring messages can be developed.
Technical Terminology
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| RCS | Rich Communication Service |
| RBM | Rich Communication Service Business Messaging. RCS and RBM are used interchangeably unless otherwise indicated. |
| Enterprise | Entity which wants to communicate with its customers |
| RBM Agent | A Google agent — a conversational entity that interacts with customers by sending messages and reacting to users' responses |
| App ID | A unique identification for any RBM Agent. An enterprise can have multiple agents and hence the same number of App IDs |
| Rich Card | Lets you send a chunk of related information, media, or suggestions as a single unit |
| DLR | Delivery Report — the status of a message. For example, if a message is read by the user the DLR will be READ |
RBM Business Messaging (RBM)
RBM Agents
RBM Agents are also referred to as Bot, Sender, and App IDs. These are individual chats in the Messages by Google application in the user's Android handset. There are three types of RBM Agents:
Promotional Agents — Used to push campaigns related to offers, new products, and discounts. To avoid spamming, messages can only be sent between 10 AM and 9 PM, and an enterprise can send only 4 messages per month to a user from all of their promotional agents combined.
Transactional Agents — Used to update customers on activities including a purchase, service request, feedback, surveys, and new service information. There are no restrictions on timings or number of messages.
OTP Agents — Used to send One Time Passwords (OTP) for login, making a purchase, or placing a service request. Like Transactional Agents, there are no restrictions.
Templates
The first message from an enterprise to a customer must be whitelisted at the RCS platform by submitting the details as a template. There are three types:
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Text | Maximum 2,500 characters with 10 interactive buttons (Quick Reply, Dial a Number, Open a URL) |
| Rich Card | An image or video, a title, a description with up to 4 buttons |
| Rich Card Carousel | Up to 10 Rich Cards |