This year, Google has announced the introduction of its newest feature – Verified Calls. This feature allows businesses to reach their customers easier and legitimately by supplying their brand name and reason for calling on the call screen. Alongside this information, Google will also include a verified symbol that will help customers know if the business call has been verified by Google.
The timing could not be better as spam calls continue to rise within the United States – reaching a 61.4 billion unwanted calls received by customers in 2019 as reported by RoboKiller. This 28% increase from previous years indicates the magnitude of this issue and is confirmed by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission stating this is their number one customer complaint.
When a customer receives a call, this feature provides businesses with a better way to administer legitimate information by sharing it on the incoming call screen. Unfortunately, this feature is currently only available if the participant has signed up with one of Google’s partners.
By signing up to one of their partners, any business can have their calls verified for their customers.
On their website, Google has listed Datora, Zenvia, Five9, Telecall, Quiubas Mobile, Aspect, IMImobile, JustCall, Bandwidth, Neustar, Vontage and Kaleyra as examples of Google partners that a given business can work with in order to get access to the exciting new Verified Calls feature.
The way this feature works is simple. After the business has set up the service, they are required to provide the Google Verified Calls server with their phone number, their customer’s phone number and their reason for calling. For example, their reason for calling can be to schedule a meeting or appointment, or it can be to discuss a delivery.
Once Google has received this necessary information, it is sent to the Google Phone app on Android devices. The information Google has received from a given business will then be reviewed against the incoming call information to determine if there is a match. If there is a match, the call will receive a verified symbol.
According to Google, the information received will be deleted within minutes that verification has been made as to protect the customers privacy.
The Google Phone app is one of the many pre-loaded apps on various Android devices, and the Verified Calls feature is automatically enabled. For Android devices which it is not pre-loaded, the app will be available for download. This feature will work, at launch, on exclusive Android Pie devices and higher, including LG and other best-selling Samsung devices.
Although no specific results were shared by Google, pilot testing has been conducted on their new feature in recent months. They have revealed that the verification of calls led to an increase in a call recipient answering their phone.
Similarly, Google’s current text message verification system has been adopted by brands such as SoFi, Banco Bradesco, 800-Flowers, Payback and Kayak. Verified SMS, in a study in the United States and Brazil, revealed that trust in brands, purchasing products or services from businesses, satisfaction and recommendation likelihood significantly increased for customers when text messages were verified by Google.
Spain, Mexico, The United States, Brazil, and India will be the first countries to access the new Verified Calls feature, with other countries sure to follow soon.
Call Screen is another way that Google fights against incoming spam calls for customers. Using Google Assistant, a call recipient is not required to answer their phone, instead, they can send the call to the feature that will then answer and determine who is calling and their intention.
The transcript of this conversation is then sent to the recipient, who can choose between answering the phone, hanging up, or sending a suggested message in response.
According to Google’s help documentation, the Call Screen app automatically works in English in the United States but can be manually used in Canada. In comparison, Verified Calls will soon be offered worldwide by providing a broader solution to call management for businesses.
