Airtel, Google partner to check spam in messages

Bharti Airtel will deploy its AI-enabled spam protection tool on text messages, including those with web links, sent via Google’s messaging platform to protect its customers from potential digital fraud, as part of the collaboration between the two firms, the telecom operator said on Sunday.

Following the partnership, Bharti Airtel has called out other internet-based apps to work with it to fight against spam messages.

“By combining Airtel’s network intelligence with Google’s Rich Communications Services (RCS) platform and spam filtering, users get to experience RCS messaging with high-quality photo/video and interactive elements like message reactions, all while benefiting from enhanced protections that significantly reduce mobile spam and digital fraud,” the statement said.

Airtel claims to have blocked a staggering 7,100 crore spam calls and 290 crore spam SMSes that has led to a huge 68.7% decrease in the value of financial losses on its network through its AI enabled tools in the last 1.5 years.

Several internet-based applications provide bulk messaging services in which senders can incorporate web links for transactions.

“We have now partnered with Google to extend customer protection beyond the telco domain and made the rich messaging platform safer and more secure. We now call on the broader OTT communication platforms to work with us and make sure that customers are protected from the spam and financial fraud menace,” Bharti Airtel, Executive Vice Chairman, Gopal Vittal, said.

Airtel said traditional mobile networks offer messaging services that operate under safety standards and telco-grade safeguards but many other non-telco communication platforms and standalone apps lack these safeguards.

“These channels have therefore increasingly been exploited by sophisticated bad actors, becoming common tools for financial fraud and invasive spam. This innovative partnership between Airtel and Google is designed to bridge that gap, extending the accountability of telecom-grade safeguards to the modern messaging experience,” the statement said.

The company said that by integrating Airtel’s intelligence into the RCS platform and Google’s existing spam protections, the companies are setting a new benchmark for a secure carrier-backed messaging service.

Sameer Samat, President, Android Ecosystem at Google, said that brands leveraging the messaging service for enterprise communications will be able to foster trust amongst their customers by enabling them to easily distinguish legitimate business messages from spam and stay protected from potential risks that may emerge in other messaging platforms without these stringent checks.

“The solution will enable brands to build deeper engagement with their customers who will feel safer and in more control. This will, in turn, lead to enduring customer relationships which are imperative for business growth and success,” Samat said.