The Phone App on an Android smartphone is getting a lot smarter. Moving ahead, it will start helping users better deal with business helplines. The app managing basic calling functions now has Direct My Call and Wait Times.
The humble preinstalled core app that handles all phone calls will now have the intelligence to help Android smartphone users even before they make a call. Google is currently restricting the feature to Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro devices in the U.S.
Pixel 6 devices can better manage phone calls to businesses with ‘Wait Times’:
Reaching Customer Care has always been a hassle. The seemingly endless wait times, the automated greetings, and the mind-numbing music are just some of the challenges customers face while trying to solve their issues.
With the new and improved Phone App for Android smartphones, Google is trying to alleviate some of the trepidations about calling a helpline of a large business.
Google Assistant will hold on calls for you, give you wait time estimates, and best times to call when calling automated systems.
THAT IS CRAZY#Pixel6Launch
Watch here: https://t.co/5iJve4lbBj
— Alex Auguste | MRVL WRLD (@MistahMarvel) October 19, 2021
Google is currently limiting the new features to the Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro devices in the U.S. The new Phone App will have features such as Wait Times and Direct My Call. These should help to call businesses and navigate their Customer Care helpline’s maze of automation.
Google makes calling businesses less painful with features for seeing wait times, phone tree options and more https://t.co/nEdPQbpIp3
— Black Media Daily (@BMDaily1) October 19, 2021
The Phone App will start helping a customer even before they place a call to a toll-free business number. Users should be able to see the current and projected ‘Wait Times’ for the rest of the week.
This information should help customers decide if they should place a call immediately or can postpone the same to avoid long waiting times. Google infers Wait Times from call length data, but there’s no personally identifiable information.
The Phone App will also have a Direct My Call feature to help customers ‘get to the right place with less hassle’:
After a Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6, Pro device owner places a call through the Phone App, Direct My Call will attempt to help them steer through the Customer Care maze.
Google Assistant will dynamically (in real-time) transcribe the automated message and menu. The Phone App will display the information on the phone’s screen.
Despite how many Pixel 6 leaks there have been, Google still managed to surprise us on a few things. I don't think any leaks mentioned the new "Wait Times" and "Direct My Call" features.https://t.co/Ni3wlGIjik pic.twitter.com/0pNr91k3lQ
— Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) October 19, 2021
Users can even interact with the transcribed information by tapping the options. The Phone App will take the necessary action to the phone call.
Google Duplex technology reportedly powers Direct My Call. It has advanced speech recognition and language understanding models to determine when the business wants the caller to do something.