US billing FAQ

RCS for Business uses two billing models: the Standard billing model for non-US traffic and the US billing model for US traffic. This document covers common questions about the US billing model. For details about standard classifications, refer to the Standard billing FAQ guide.

Billing categories

What are agent billing categories?

A billing category is a classification for your RCS for Business agent that informs the billing logic for the messages your agent sends. You choose this category when you create your agent, and it can't be changed later. If you want to change your agent's billing category, you need to go through the live agent update process.

Note: Your agent can send any message type (rich and rich media), regardless of the billing category.

How do I know which billing category to select for my agent?

There are two main billing categories: conversational and non-conversational.

• Non-conversational agents are billable for each message they deliver to the user.
  • This category is best for agents that don't expect frequent replies.
• Conversational agents are billable a flat rate for session(s), provided a session is triggered and then it will include all messages exchanged within a 24-hour period, including the messages that triggered the session. Conversational agents can still have charges for messages that aren't part of a 24-hour session.
  • This category is best for agents that engage in multi-turn conversations with users regardless of whether the user or agent initiates the conversation.

Note: To simplify the billing structure, we consolidated the legacy Basic Message and Single Message billing categories into a single Non-conversational billing category. The Developer Console has been updated and now shows this unified category for all new agents. Review the Non-conversational billing category topic for complete details on the migration of existing agents and the API integration window.

Choose the billing category that best fits your use case and expected user engagement. Your agent can send any message type, regardless of the category.

That's because the billing category determines how messages are charged, not what types of messages your agent can send or receive. For example, a Conversational agent can still send basic messages, and a Non-conversational agent can send multiple messages, including rich cards.

For more information, see Billing categories.

What is a session and how it works

Multiple types of messages can be combined into a session. In the US, for conversational agents, sessions are defined and billable based on a specific trigger and duration.

Session trigger

A session is triggered when a brand agent and a user exchange 4 Rich or Rich Media messages (including at least one mobile-terminated (MT) message and at least two mobile-originated (MO) responses within a 24-hour period).

Billing

Conversational agents are eligible for both session billing and per-message billing. When the full session trigger condition is met, a single session charge is applied, covering the entire 24-hour window from the first trigger message.

The US billing model classifies individual billable events as follows:

• Rich Message (MT/MO): Billable event based on segments (1 segment is equal to 160 bytes of UTF-8 encoded text unless part of a session).
• Rich Media Message (MT/MO): Billable as a single, flat-rate event, regardless of content size unless part of a session. This includes rich cards, carousels, and media file attachments.
• Suggested Action Click (MO only): Each tap on a suggested action generates one billable event.

Important

• Sessions don't apply to non-conversational agents.
• For conversational agents, the generation of billable event reports and activity logs can be delayed by up to two days. This delay allows RCS for Business to capture all messages within a session before calculating the billable event.

What timezone is used for RBM billing reports and transactional records?

RBM billing reports are generated daily and organized based on Pacific Time (PT). Each report file represents a 24-hour activity period from midnight to midnight PT.

However, the start_time timestamp within the report records is recorded in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) using the ISO 8601 format. This provides a consistent global reference for the exact hour an interaction occurred.

How is a session treated if it spans the last day of one month and the first day of the next?

For A2P messages, the classification and billing are determined by the time of message delivery. For P2A messages, billing is determined by the time the message was sent by the user.

For sessions, which cover a 24-hour interaction window, the following logic applies:

• Start date assignment: Even if a session spans two calendar days in different months, all messages within that 24-hour window are grouped together sharing the same billing_event_id and reported under start_time of the first message in the session's trigger sequence.
• Reporting delay: Because a session can last 24 hours and requires a 4-message trigger to be identified, the generation of billing reports for conversational agents can be delayed by up to two days. This delay ensures that all messages belonging to a session are captured and assigned the correct billing_event_id before the report is finalized.
• Delayed delivery example: If an agent sends a message at the very end of June but it is not delivered until early July (for example, because the user's phone was offline), that specific delivery triggers the billable event for the July billing report.

Billable events

What are billable events?

Billable events are interactions between an RCS for Business agent and a user that are tracked for billing purposes. Billable simply means that an event is eligible for a charge. Carriers determine whether and how billable events are charged.

Google tracks and reports these events to help carriers bill partners for messages sent by their agents.

Which billable events apply to each message type?

Note: The events in this section apply only to the US billing model (US traffic). To learn about billable events for non-US traffic, refer to the Billing FAQ page.

Seven types of billable events are recorded in the billing reports. These events include MT and MO events, which are referred to as A2P and P2A events.

• A2P (Application-to-Person) is MT (Mobile Terminated): A message sent by the business.
• P2A (Person-to-Application) is MO (Mobile Originated): A message or action initiated by the user.

For how each billable event applies to non-conversational and conversational agents, see Billable events documentation.

Which user responses contribute to billable events?

In the US, specific user responses contribute to billable events. The following table clarifies which user responses contribute to billable events and their corresponding event types in the US:

User response	Contributes to billable events	Billable event type (US)	Notes
Sends a file	Yes	p2a_rich_media_message	Classified as a Rich Media Message (P2A/MO).
Sends a text message	Yes	p2a_rich_message	Classified as a Rich Message (P2A/MO).
Taps a suggested reply	Yes	p2a_rich_message	The resulting text message is classified as a Rich Message (P2A/MO).
Taps a suggested action	Yes	p2a_suggested_action	The postback data from the tap itself does not contribute to a billable event.
Shares a location	Yes	p2a_suggested_action (click) + p2a_rich_message (location)	Generates two billable events: a p2a_suggested_action for tapping "Share location" and a p2a_rich_message for sending the location data.
Taps Unsubscribe or Subscribe	Yes	p2a_rich_message (STOP/START message)	The automated STOP or START message triggered by the tap is treated as a Rich Message (P2A/MO). The webhook event itself is not billable.

When a user response generates a billable event, the event classification is automatic based on content, while the billing logic is determined by the agent's billing category.

For non-conversational agents:

Every user response is billable as an individual event (such as p2a_rich_message or p2a_suggested_action).

For conversational agents:

The billing logic follows the session trigger model. Individual events are recorded until the 4-message session trigger (at least 1 MT and 2 MO within 24 hours) is met. Once a session is active, all messages exchanged within the 24-hour window are covered by a single session fee, including the four messages that make up the session trigger.

Billing reports

What is a billing report?

It's a record of billable events, which are calculated based on the agent's billing category and the types of messages it sends. Billing reports are available to all carriers who are actively operating RCS for Business.

For more information about billing reports, see US billing reports.

Can I receive a billing report?

Only carriers who are actively operating RCS for Business receive billing reports. Partners don't receive billing reports from Google but carriers can provide billing reports to Partners.

Why do I see charges in a month when I didn't send any messages?

For agent-initiated messages (A2P), billable events are recorded based on the time of message delivery, not when the message was sent.

Example:

You send messages at the end of June, but they are delivered to the user's device in early July (for example, if the user's phone was offline), those charges will appear on your July billing reports. RCS for Business will attempt to deliver a message for up to 30 days before it expires.

Billing models

What are the key differences between the standard and US billing models?

Both the standard and US models use the agent's pre-selected billing category (conversational or non-conversational) to determine the overall rate structure. The primary difference is the set of classifications used for billable events.

Standard billing model (Non-US traffic)

This model applies to all traffic outside the US.

• Classification is based on the agent's billing category and the message content.
  • Non-conversational agents: Billable per message. The message content determines the event: basic message or single message.
  • Conversational agents: Billable per conversation. A conversation is a 24-hour window of unlimited message exchange between a user and an agent, billable at a fixed rate. If a user doesn't reply within 24 hours, the agent's message is billable individually as a basic message or single message.
• Billable events:
  • basic_message
  • single_message
  • a2p_conversation
  • p2a_conversation
  • p2a_message
• Billing logic: The final charge is determined by the agent's billing category, resulting in either a fixed rate per message (non-conversational) or a fixed rate per 24-hour conversation window (conversational).

US billing model

This model applies to all traffic to and from US phone numbers. For more information, refer to usrbm.org.

• Classification of individual message types is automatic and based on content. Regardless of the agent's billing category, every billable event is classified as one of the following:
  • a2p_rich_message
  • a2p_rich_media_message
  • p2a_rich_message
  • p2a_rich_media_message
  • p2a_suggested_action
  • a2p_session
  • p2a_session

Session billing logic summary

Under the US RBM Framework, US agents in the Conversational category can trigger a single session charge instead of per-message fees.

A session is triggered by a sequence of 4 rich or rich media messages (including at least 2 MO and at least 1 MT messages) exchanged within a 24-hour window from the first message being sent. Once this threshold is met, all messages within that 24-hour window are billable as a single session. Any messages that fall outside or fail to trigger a session are billable at the standard per-message rate.

The final charge is determined by the agent's billing category, using the billable event classifications to apply the correct rate structure, according to carriers' rate card.

Technical and reporting differences

• RBM API: The AgentMessageand [UserMessage](/business-communications/rcs-business-messaging/reference/rest/v1/UserMessage) API resources include a richMessageClassification object to define the message type for US traffic only. This is provided in real time upon API call and is separate from a later billing report.
• Billing reports: Billing reports are tailored to each model and include a type column that lists the billable events specific to that model. The US billing report also includes a column for segment_count, which applies only to Rich Messages and a column for session_type which only applies to messages that are in a session.