Bharti Airtel and Google have joined hands to bring a safer and richer messaging experience to millions of users in India through an advanced version of Rich Communications Services (RCS). The collaboration combines Airtel’s network intelligence with Google’s RCS platform and spam filtering technology to deliver high-quality messaging while significantly cutting down mobile spam and digital fraud.
The new service will allow users to send and receive messages with high-resolution photos, videos, and interactive features such as message reactions. All RCS messages will be visible directly in the Google Messages app, which is pre-installed on most Android smartphones. Real-time checks will verify business senders using telecom-backed identity validation, respect users’ Do Not Disturb (DND) preferences, block spam from flagged senders, and filter malicious links through multiple layers of AI-driven threat detection.
This partnership addresses a long-standing gap in the messaging ecosystem. While traditional telecom networks follow strict safety standards, many over-the-top (OTT) messaging apps lack similar protections, making them vulnerable to sophisticated fraud and spam. By extending carrier-grade safeguards to RCS, Airtel and Google aim to set a new benchmark for secure, carrier-backed messaging in India.
Over the past 18 months, Airtel has used AI tools to block 71 billion spam calls and 2.9 billion spam SMS, resulting in a 68.7 per cent drop in reported financial losses on its network. The tie-up with Google extends this protection to modern rich messaging.
Gopal Vittal, Executive Vice Chairman of Bharti Airtel, said the company remains committed to protecting customers 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,” he added.
Sameer Samat, President of Android Ecosystem at Google, described the move as a step toward building user confidence. “This pioneering partnership in India with Airtel helps ensure that mobile users can communicate with confidence,” he said. Google plans to work with more carriers globally to standardise messaging security.
The service is expected to roll out progressively to Airtel customers in the coming weeks. Brands using the platform for customer communication will benefit from stronger trust, as legitimate messages become easier to distinguish from spam.
