Over 205 million Short Message Service (SMS) have been flagged by the pioneering Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered spam detection service of Airtel Africa Plc since its launch in March 2025.
The Airtel Spam Alert service is operational in 13 of the 14 markets of the leading telecommunications service provider in Africa.
The Spam Alert Service, which is available to all subscribers at no cost, identifies and prefixes the SMS with SPAM Alert and provides real-time updates with the immediate impact being the elimination of the need to download additional applications to manage spam.
The company said since its launch about six months ago, there has been a 12 per cent reduction in spam messages, with Nigeria recording the highest drop of 84 per cent.
The service is available to Airtel subscribers in Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia, Uganda, Gabon, Congo Brazzaville, Malawi, Madagascar, DRC, Rwanda, Tanzania, Chad and Niger, with Seychelles joining soon.
During the period under review, Kenya recorded the highest spam volume with 68 million messages flagged followed by Tanzania and Zambia with 47 million and 33 million, respectively.
Airtel Africa’s Spam Alert service uses AI to analyse and classify SMS messages as SPAM ALERT based on various parameters, including the sender's usage patterns and SMS frequency in real time.
“We are proud to pioneer an advanced tech solution powered by AI in tackling spam messages that are a major concern in Africa as smartphone penetration increases.
“This free service is yet another demonstration of our commitment to consistently innovate to deliver an unmatched experience and safer network to our customers,” the chief executive of Airtel Africa, Mr Sunil Taldar, said.