Airtel Introduces AI Tools to Tackle Rising International Spam Calls

Bharti Airtel has announced a major upgrade to its AI-powered anti-spam tool, aiming to combat the increasing menace of international spam calls and better support its diverse customer base. The upgrade comes amid a 12% rise in overseas spam communications over the past six months. This latest move by Airtel highlights its commitment to digital safety and customer-centric innovation.

Fighting the Shift in Spam Tactics

As scammers increasingly exploit foreign telecom networks to target Indian users, Airtel's AI tool now features enhanced capabilities to identify and flag international spam calls and SMS. By focusing on the origin of calls and messages, the tool proactively protects users from new forms of spam that bypass traditional detection systems.

Multilingual Spam Alerts for Inclusive Security

Recognising the linguistic diversity of India, Airtel is also rolling out spam alerts in nine local languages: Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Urdu, and Punjabi. Initially available on Android devices, these multilingual alerts will help users more easily understand and respond to potential spam threats.

This inclusive feature ensures that non-English-speaking customers are not left behind in the fight against digital fraud. Airtel plans to further expand language support in future updates.

Strong Performance and User Impact

Since its launch in September 2024, Airtel's AI anti-spam tool has proven its effectiveness. It has already flagged over 27.5 billion spam calls and helped reduce spam communications by 16% for its users. The tool currently identifies an average of 1,560 spam calls every second, showcasing its real-time monitoring and threat detection capabilities.

Customer Feedback Driving Innovation

Siddharth Sharma, Director of Marketing and CEO of Connected Homes at Bharti Airtel, emphasized that customer feedback has been central to the upgrade. "Customers and their feedback are at the heart of everything we do," Sharma said. "Our engineers and data scientists continually analyse feedback and evolving spam trends to refine our tool, ensuring it remains one step ahead of malicious actors."

Automatic Activation and Free Access

All new features, including the international spam detection and regional language alerts, will be automatically activated for all Airtel customers at no additional cost. This reinforces Airtel’s mission to deliver value-added digital security without creating additional barriers for users.

Conclusion: A Step Forward in Telecom Security

With the surge in cross-border spam threats and a vast multilingual population, Bharti Airtel’s upgraded anti-spam system marks a significant stride in proactive telecom security. The integration of AI and vernacular accessibility ensures that the tool is both technologically advanced and culturally aware, offering protection to users across all demographics.