Every RBM agent needs a predefined use case. This helps categorize your agent and apply the right business rules for a good user experience.
RBM supports four use cases:
- One-time passwords (OTP)
- Transactional
- Promotional
- Multi-use
Each use case has rules about what you can send, which may vary by country. To learn more about each use case and find the best fit for your agent, review the detailed descriptions.
Choose the right use case for your agent
One-time passwords (OTP)
The OTP agent sends a one-time password required to securely authenticate an account or confirm a transaction. You can use this agent for:
- OTP / 2FA for account login
- Password resets
- Completing online commercial transactions
This use case can't include:
- Product information or notifications
- Offers, promotions, discounts, upgrades, or information related to goods and services
Transactional
The Transactional agent sends notifications, updates, or alerts to share information directly relevant to a customer's existing services or products. For example:
- Fraud and suspicious activity notifications
- Purchase confirmations for goods and services (appointment and ticket confirmations)
- Updates to a customer's existing products or services (boarding pass, airport gate, shipping information, and appointment updates)
- Product or account information and updates (account statement, customer status, terms of use, warranty, or product safety)
- Requesting feedback about a purchased product or ongoing service
- Editorial and media content (newsfeeds and news alerts)
This use case can't include:
- Offers, promotions, discounts, or upgrades for new or existing products and services
Promotional
The Promotional agent sends sales, marketing, and promotional messages to new or existing customers, with the goal of increasing awareness, engagement, and sales. For example:
- Offers, promotions, discounts, upgrades for new or existing products and services
- Follow-ups to complete commercial transactions that the user has started with the business, such as a reminder about an abandoned shopping cart
This use case can't include:
- OTP and 2FA for account login
- Time-sensitive product and service information or transactions
Multi-use
The Multi-use agent sends a combination of transactional and promotional messages, such as sending an account notification followed by a discount offer or upgrade for a new product or service. You can only use this agent for conversations that include both transactions and promotions. For example:
- A transaction that's followed by related promotions or sales, such as when an airline sends a boarding pass, then offers a seat upgrade.
- A promotion that leads to a purchase, followed by payment confirmation, shipping notifications, and customer satisfaction survey.
- A promotion that leads to account creation, followed by regular account updates and notifications, such as appointment reminders.
- Sending pins, passwords, and passcodes for completing transactions that are part of the conversation flow.
This use case can't include:
- OTP and 2FA for account login
- Password resets and any other information for secure account access
- Transactional-only use cases
- Promotional-only use cases
You can request to launch a multi-use agent with only one active use case defined (either promotional or transactional). This applies to agents launched in the following countries:
- Croatia
- France
- Germany
- Italy
- Portugal
- Romania
- Spain
- United Kingdom
- United States
However, you are still required to implement the second use case and provide proof to the RBM Support team within six months of the agent's launch. For more information, see Submit a launch request.
Use cases and business rules
RBM agents need to follow specific requirements depending on the country of subscribers they are reaching. Use case availability and business rules vary by country and may be updated over time.
| Use cases | Available countries |
|---|---|
| OTP | Globally |
| Transactional | Globally |
| Promotional | Globally |
| Multi-use | Not available in India |
The following table outlines the business rules that specifically apply to RBM agents operating in India.
| Use cases | Business rules - Applicable in India only |
|---|---|
| Promotional | Time of day: Businesses can only initiate conversations between 7 AM and
10 PM (7 days a week). Message limits: Initial monthly (28-day) limit is four A2P messages per brand per user. Google may adjust this based on agent performance. Messaging beyond this limit results in an error. Note: This limit excludes P2A messages. Each user response allows two additional brand messages. |