![\"Profile](\"https:\/\/blog.tmcnet.com\/blog\/rich-tehrani\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-19.jpeg\")
At an industry event, I met in person with Scott Navratil, Chief Revenue Officer, to walk through how the company is positioning its platform around RCS and AI driven messaging, and why that may matter for enterprises and channel partners alike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The starting point is simple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Traditional SMS has limitations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s constrained. You\u2019re sending text, maybe a link, and hoping the customer clicks through to a website,\u201d Navratil said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That model works, but it creates friction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Customers have to leave the messaging environment, load a page, navigate, and then take action. Each step introduces drop off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Commio\u2019s approach is to keep the interaction inside the message itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWith RCS, instead of sending someone to a website, you can do a lot of what they would normally do on that site directly inside the messaging app,\u201d Navratil said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That includes browsing products, viewing images, interacting with menus, and even engaging with AI driven responses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The experience is closer to what users see in platforms like WeChat, where messaging, commerce, and interaction are blended together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But adoption in the US has been slower.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That appears to be changing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAll the major carriers are starting to deploy this now,\u201d Navratil said, pointing to broader support across Verizon, AT&T, and T Mobile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That rollout is important because RCS relies on carrier support to function consistently across devices.<\/p>\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blog.tmcnet.com\/blog\/rich-tehrani\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Commio.png\")
<\/a>Another difference is branding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unlike SMS, which typically comes from a phone number, RCS messages can be tied directly to a verified business identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen the message shows up, it comes from your brand,\u201d Navratil said. \u201cYou\u2019ll see the logo, and in some cases a verified check mark from the carrier.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That may help address a long standing issue in messaging. Trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Consumers are often hesitant to engage with unknown numbers. A verified sender model could improve engagement rates, though that will depend on how widely it is adopted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
AI is layered on top of this messaging framework.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Commio\u2019s platform includes tools that can ingest content from a company\u2019s website and generate interactive messaging experiences quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAI can take a website and within minutes understand what that business does, what products it offers, and how to present that in a messaging format,\u201d Navratil said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That reduces the effort required to create campaigns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead of building everything manually, businesses can generate templates and refine them as needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Those templates can then be reused, scheduled, and targeted to specific audiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The use cases span multiple industries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Navratil pointed to sectors like automotive, retail, hospitality, nonprofit, and higher education as early adopters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThese are businesses that communicate directly with consumers all the time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, a dealership could send an interactive message that allows a customer to browse inventory, check availability, and ask questions without leaving their messaging app.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That type of interaction could shorten the path from interest to action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It also changes how conversations are structured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rather than sending one off messages, companies can maintain ongoing sessions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe idea is that you\u2019re not just sending a message. You\u2019re opening a session with the customer,\u201d Navratil said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Future iterations of the platform may support session based pricing models, where businesses pay for a period of interaction rather than individual messages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That could align better with conversational use cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are still requirements to consider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Consent remains a key component. Businesses must have permission to message users, regardless of the technology being used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That has not changed.<\/p>\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nWhat is changing is what happens after that first message is sent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The shift from static to interactive messaging introduces new possibilities, but also new expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Customers may begin to expect faster responses, richer interactions, and more personalized experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For channel partners, this creates both opportunity and complexity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On one hand, it opens a new category of services around messaging strategy, campaign design, and AI integration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the other, it requires an understanding of how messaging fits into broader customer experience workflows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Commio is positioning itself as an enabler of that transition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The platform provides APIs for integration, along with a user interface that allows businesses to build and manage messaging campaigns directly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s about giving companies the ability to create these experiences without needing to build everything from scratch,\u201d Navratil said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That accessibility could be important, particularly for mid market organizations that may not have large development teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Step back, and the broader trend becomes clearer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Step back, and the broader trend becomes clearer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Messaging is evolving from a simple notification channel into a more dynamic interface for customer engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whether RCS becomes the dominant standard in the US is still an open question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the direction is clear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More interaction. More context. Less friction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And for companies that rely on direct communication with customers, that shift may be worth paying attention to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you liked this post, you\u2019ll love one of the the leading global business communications and technology events since 1999, the ITEXPO #TECHSUPERSHOW<\/a>, Feb 9-11, 2027 Fort Lauderdale, Florida.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t forget the collocated MSP Expo<\/a> \u2013 just for managed service providers!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Aside from his role as CEO of TMC<\/a> and chairman of ITEXPO<\/a> #TECHSUPERSHOW Feb 9-11, 2027, Rich Tehrani is CEO of RT Advisors<\/a> and a Registered Representative (investment banker) with and offering securities through Four Points Capital Partners LLC <\/a>(Four Points) (Member FINRA\/SIPC). He handles capital\/debt raises as well as M&A. RT Advisors is not owned by Four Points.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The above is not an endorsement or recommendation to buy\/sell any security or sector mentioned. No companies mentioned above are current or past clients of RT Advisors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The views and opinions expressed above are those of the participants. While believed to be reliable, the information has not been independently verified for accuracy. Any broad, general statements made herein are provided for context only and should not be construed as exhaustive or universally applicable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Portions of this article may have been developed with the assistance of artificial intelligence, which may have contributed to ideation, content generation, factual review, or editing<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As business communications continue to evolve, messaging is becoming more than just a notification channel. It is turning into an interactive experience, one that increasingly mirrors what users expect from apps and websites. That shift is where Commio is focusing its efforts. At an industry event, I met in person with Scott Navratil, Chief Revenue<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":25930,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[111,3147],"tags":[],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.tmcnet.com\/blog\/rich-tehrani\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25928"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.tmcnet.com\/blog\/rich-tehrani\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.tmcnet.com\/blog\/rich-tehrani\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tmcnet.com\/blog\/rich-tehrani\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tmcnet.com\/blog\/rich-tehrani\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25928"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tmcnet.com\/blog\/rich-tehrani\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25928\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25934,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tmcnet.com\/blog\/rich-tehrani\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25928\/revisions\/25934"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tmcnet.com\/blog\/rich-tehrani\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25930"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.tmcnet.com\/blog\/rich-tehrani\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25928"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tmcnet.com\/blog\/rich-tehrani\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25928"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tmcnet.com\/blog\/rich-tehrani\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25928"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n