The tech giant Google has announced an update to its Phone app, dubbed “Hold for Me”, that will allow Google Assistant to wait on hold and alert users when a human is on the line.
“When you call a toll-free number and a business puts you on hold, Google Assistant can wait on the line for you,” the company said in a blog post.
“You can go back to your day, and Google Assistant will notify you with sound, vibration, and a prompt on your screen once someone is on the line and ready to talk.”
“Hold for Me is our latest effort to make phone calls better and save you time. Last year, we introduced an update to Call Screen that helps you avoid interruptions from spam calls once and for all, and last month, we launched Verified Calls to help you know why business is calling before you answer. Hold for Me is now another way we’re making it simpler to say hello.”
Andrew Goodman, Product Manager, Google Assistant & Joseph Cherukara, Product Manager, Phone app wrote in a blog post.
When the Assistant determines a human operator is back on the line, in a delicious irony, it will ask the company representative to hold while the Pixel user returns to the call.The system was developed alongside Dell and United, and is rolling out first for Pixel 5 and 4a 5G users in the United States.
“To determine when a representative is on the line, audio is processed entirely on your device and does not require a Wi-Fi or data connection,” Google said.
“When you return to the call after Google Assistant was on hold for you, audio stops being processed altogether.”
