Why Hold Calls When Your Google Assistant Can Do It for You?

Google launched Hold for Me, a mobile app that uses Android’s built-in Google Assistant to do away with tedious wait times while connecting a customer’s call with a business representative. The brand new feature will be available in Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a devices across the U.S. 

How often do people need to stay alert on hold when trying to connect with a customer care executive? Unsurprisingly, the vague answer to this question is ‘a lot.’ Not for Google. The company found out that last week alone, Americans spent more than 10 million hours waiting on hold for a business representative to answer the call. The long-drawn out wait times, coupled with woeful music has become a cause for frustration for many.

No more!

Google is out with a feature that will make the lives of customers seeking quick support a bit more tolerable. The company introducedOpens a new window a new phone app called Hold for Me with the launch of the new Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a (5G) in the U.S. 

Hold for Me allows the user to carry on with their usual activities while the app assigns an Android phone’s built-in Google Assistant to wait for someone on the other end of the call to answer. “Now, when you call a toll-free number and a business puts you on hold, Google Assistant can wait on the line for you,” explains Google. 

After a significant hold time, when a business representative answers, the app notifies the user with a sound/ vibration and a prompt on the screen of the phone.

Hold for Me saves you, and your ears, hours of elevator music.

When you’re put on hold, Google Assistant will wait and notify you when someone comes on the line, ready to talk. You’ll like it, unless elevator music is your jam. #LaunchNightInOpens a new window #Pixel5GOpens a new window pic.twitter.com/Ap6V4eJfq8Opens a new window

— Made By Google (@madebygoogle) September 30, 2020Opens a new window

Google demonstrated the handy little feature that will, in our opinion, be a hit with users. Hold for Me is the latest effort by the Mountain View tech giant and can ease user experience on Android. Previous upgrades include Call Screen (introduced in December last year), and Verified Calls (introduced in September 2020).

See Also: Say Goodbye to Robocalls & Spam Calls With This New Phone Feature on Android

The app is based on Google’s Duplex technology that was developed to make human-machine interactions easier. With Duplex, the app can draw a difference between machine/recorded voice and a human voice. Google stated, “Once a representative is identified, Google Assistant will notify you that someone’s ready to talk and ask the representative to hold for a moment while you return to the call.” It also leverages natural language understanding to let the user know the status of the call in real-time. 

Source: Google

Hold for Me is an optional feature that can be activated or deactivated as per the user’s preference.  

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