Airtel and Google are rolling out RCS on Android
Airtel and Google are teaming up to make texting on Airtel's network a lot safer and way more fun.
They're rolling out RCS (Rich Communication Services), which basically means you get upgraded chats—think group messages, high-res photos, read receipts, and other standard RCS features—all through the Google Messages app on Android.
The real win? Their partnership uses Airtel's AI-powered spam filters with Google's tech to help keep annoying spam out of your inbox.
Spam calls and texts are a big problem in India
With this upgrade, sender identities will be verified in real time so you know who's actually messaging you.
Spam gets blocked before it even hits your phone, and sketchy links are filtered out automatically.
Airtel says that, to date (as of March 2026), it has blocked 71 billion spam calls and 2.9 billion spam SMSes.
Now that all major Indian carriers support RCS, business messaging could finally give WhatsApp some competition—and your chats get a big security boost along the way.