Infobip's 20-Year Data Shows Omnichannel Communication Is Now Standard
Infobip released its 2026 Messaging Trends Report on March 24, analyzing 628 billion mobile interactions from 2025 and 3.8 trillion messages across two decades. The data shows a fundamental shift: single-channel messaging is nearly extinct for global brands, replaced by orchestrated conversations across multiple platforms.
Ten years ago, 73% of platform traffic moved through a single channel. By 2025, that dropped to 2.3%. Nearly 98% of interactions now span multiple channels, according to the report.
SMS Remains Dominant, But Rich Channels Are Growing Fast
SMS still accounts for 62% of traffic, but growth is concentrated elsewhere. RCS (Rich Communication Services) traffic tripled globally last year, with North America seeing a 70x increase. Latin America grew sevenfold, and Asia-Pacific more than quintupled.
WhatsApp dominates conversational channels, handling 91% of all conversational AI interactions on the platform-a 25% year-over-year increase.
Agentic AI Is Moving Beyond Chatbots
The report identifies agentic AI as the next phase of business messaging. Unlike rule-based chatbots, AI agents handle autonomous, goal-driven interactions and coordinate customer journeys across channels without human intervention for each step.
Ante Pamuković, Infobip's Chief Revenue Officer, said the data reveals a clear direction: "The era of the simple notification is over. We are shifting towards a diverse ecosystem where brands orchestrate conversations across WhatsApp, RCS, Email and Voice."
What This Means for Communications Teams
For PR and communications professionals, the trend signals a need to coordinate messaging across platforms rather than treating each channel separately. AI for PR & Communications skills are becoming essential for managing these complex customer journeys.
Marketing teams should also note the omnichannel shift. AI for Marketing now requires understanding how to deploy campaigns across SMS, RCS, WhatsApp, email, and voice simultaneously.
Infobip marked its 20th anniversary by announcing AgentOS, a platform designed to automate customer interactions through agentic AI. The full report is available on Infobip's website.
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