Bharti Airtel, unveiled an innovative solution to combat the persisting issue of unwanted calls and spam in India. This technology, powered by artificial intelligence (AI), aims to significantly reduce spam calls and messages for Airtel's customers. The company on Wednesday introduced what it claims to be India's first AI-driven spam detection system. This solution is designed to provide real-time alerts to users about potentially unwanted calls and messages, at no additional cost.
Notably, the service is automatically activated for all Airtel subscribers, according to the telco.
Airtel Employs AI To Detect Spam
Gopal Vittal, the Managing Director and CEO of Bharti Airtel, provided insights into the technology's inner workings. He explained that the system employs a dual-layer protection mechanism. The first layer operates at the network level, while the second functions within the IT systems. Every incoming call and SMS is scrutinised by this two-tiered AI shield.
Vittal revealed that the system processes a staggering 1.5 billion messages and 2.5 billion calls daily, all within a mere 2 milliseconds. This equates to analysing approximately 1 trillion records in real-time, showcasing the power of AI in tackling large-scale communication challenges. The effectiveness of this new solution is already apparent. According to Vittal, it successfully identifies around 100 million potential spam calls and 3 million spam SMS messages each day. He emphasised that ensuring customer security is a top priority for the company.
This spam detection system is a homegrown solution, developed entirely in-house by Airtel. It utilises a proprietary algorithm to categorise calls and messages as "Suspected SPAM" based on various parameters such as patterns, frequency, and duration. The system's capabilities extend to SMS analysis as well. It can detect spam messages that may contain blacklisted URLs by monitoring frequent changes in the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers associated with these messages.
It's important to note that legitimate service and transactional calls, such as those from banks, insurance companies, and other enterprises, will continue to reach users. These calls typically carry the prefix 160. Additionally, promotional calls with the prefix 140 will still be received by users who have not activated the do-not-disturb (DND) service.
This initiative by Airtel represents a significant step forward in addressing the widespread issue of spam communications in India, potentially setting a new standard for customer protection in the telecommunications industry.