Bharti Airtel has partnered with Google to roll out a secure, carrier-backed Rich Communications Services (RCS) messaging experience aimed at curbing spam and digital fraud while enhancing user engagement across India. According to the official release dated March 01, 2026, the collaboration integrates Airtel’s network intelligence with Google’s RCS platform and advanced spam detection systems to deliver high-quality messaging features, including rich media sharing and interactive elements such as message reactions, alongside robust security safeguards. The service will be available through Google Messages on most Android smartphones.
The move comes amid growing concerns over financial fraud and spam proliferating across digital communication channels, particularly on platforms that operate outside traditional telecom-grade oversight. While telecom networks function under stringent regulatory and security frameworks, several over-the-top (OTT) messaging platforms lack comparable safeguards, creating vulnerabilities exploited by bad actors.
Airtel said it has intensified efforts to tackle spam and fraud over the past 18 months through AI-led interventions across calls and SMS. The company claims to have blocked 71 billion spam calls and 2.9 billion spam messages so far, contributing to a 68.7 percent decline in financial losses on its network.
“Over the last 1.5 years, Airtel has led India’s fight against spam and digital fraud through a series of industry-first, AI-powered initiatives aimed at protecting customers across calls and messages. Proving a track record in protecting customers, Airtel has, to date, through all its innovative spam fighting initiatives, blocked a staggering 71 billion spam calls and 2.9 billion spam SMSes that has led to a huge 68.7 percent decrease in the value of financial losses on its network,” Airtel said on Sunday.
The new partnership seeks to extend similar telecom-grade protections to RCS messaging. The platform will enable telco-backed business identity verification, enforce users’ Do Not Disturb (DND) preferences by categorising promotional and transactional messages, block spam communications, filter malicious links through multi-layered threat detection, and throttle suspicious senders flagged by joint AI systems deployed by Airtel and Google.
Gopal Vittal, Executive Vice Chairman of Bharti Airtel, said the initiative reflects the company’s continued focus on end-to-end customer protection. “At Airtel, we are obsessed with customer protection and continue to be at the forefront to lead India’s fight against spam. We do this by harnessing data, intelligent networks and relentless innovations so our customers are protected end-to-end. In a pioneering initiative, 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.”
Sameer Samat, President of the Android Ecosystem at Google, said the partnership aims to create a consistent and trusted RCS messaging experience, adding that Google will continue working with carriers globally to standardise messaging security. “This pioneering partnership in India with Airtel helps ensure that mobile users can communicate with confidence. We are committed to continuing to work with the broader ecosystem of carriers to standardize messaging security and create a consistent and trusted messaging experience for all RCS messaging users around the world.”
For enterprises, the platform is expected to enhance customer trust by clearly distinguishing verified business messages from fraudulent or spam communications, enabling safer and more effective customer engagement.
Airtel said the platform will offer stringent real-time checks to:
1. Validate message sender’s identity using telco-backed business identity checks. 2. Respect users’ DND preferences by categorising communications as promotional or transactional and imposing restrictions, accordingly. 3. Block spam business messages from landing on customers’ devices. 4. Filter malicious domains through a multitiered threat detection layer. 5. Help keep users safe by throttling messages from individual senders who have been jointly flagged by Google and Airtel’s AI-powered spam filters.
The messages sent through the RCS messaging service platform can be directly viewed in Google Messages, available on most Android phones.
“Airtel and Google’s collaboration represents a world-first example of how telecom service providers (TSPs) and global technology platforms can work together to apply analogous safety, verification, and accountability measures to OTT messaging — measures that have long existed in telecom networks.”
A Blueprint for Industry Collaboration
“This joint initiative by Airtel and Google serves as a blueprint for the industry, demonstrating how deeper collaboration can significantly enhance customer protection. By combining telco-grade verification with platform-level intelligence, the messaging service platform enables shared, AI- driven checks across sender authentication, customer consent and real-time threat detection to create safer digital networks in India,” the official release said.
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