Airtel AI Blocks 205m Spam Texts, Cuts Nigeria’s Spam 84%

By TOSI ORE

AIRTEL Africa’s AI-powered Spam Alert service has blocked over 205 million spam SMS across 13 countries in just six months, the telecom giant announced Friday.

The free service automatically tags suspicious texts with “SPAM Alert”, sparing customers the need for extra apps. Kenya led with 68 million flagged messages, followed by Tanzania (47m) and Zambia (33m).

Nigeria saw the biggest impact, with spam volumes plunging 84%, contributing to a 12% overall decline across Airtel’s markets.

CEO Sunil Taldar said the AI system analyses sender patterns and frequency in real time, underscoring Airtel’s drive to make its network safer as smartphone adoption grows.