Google’s new “Hold for Me” feature, only available on the Google Pixel 5 and Google Pixel 4a (5G), will be held for you when you call an 800 number. This allows you to get back to your life without worrying about missing out on your chance to speak to a customer service representative. The feature was announced on September 30th, so most reviewers haven’t had a chance to try it out yet. However, if it works as described, it may be worth the investment for 699 pixels Pixel 5 or 499 pixels 4a (5G).
How does it work? Call an 800 number and be on hold. This is where, if you’re anything like me, put the phone on speaker and try to get some work done while trying to ignore elevator music with the repetitive messages about the great products I could buy from the company, or how my call is interspersed is important to them. With Hold for Me, you still have to wait, but you don’t have to listen to this nonsense because Google is listening to you. The company says its sophisticated AI can tell the difference between a living person and those endless recorded messages, and will call you back on your phone with a tone, vibration, and on-screen message that says, “Somebody is waiting to speak to you.” . “In the meantime, the customer service representative on the other end has been asked to hold on – you are right there.
While you wait, the phone will give a visual indication of what it is hearing, either music or words like “Your call is important to us” in case you want to check what is happening. (Not a word about whether Google actually names the songs it hears. That’s something its algorithms are very good at, knowing that while driving, I would say “Hey Google, what kind of song is that?”
Google says that “Audio is completely processed on your device and doesn’t require Wi-Fi or data connection.” This means that you won’t be billed for any data for using the service, that it works quickly, and that the data that Hold for Me contains won’t go beyond your phone unless you give it to Google to improve the service. When a customer service representative comes on the line, Google informs them that the call is being recorded. As soon as you return to the call, Google will stop recording. For now, at least, the service only works for 800 numbers and only in the US.
10 million hours on hold.
In its announcement, Google says Americans spend more than 10 million hours a week with businesses on hold. I contributed some of that time last week when, perhaps appropriately, I waited 20 minutes for my bank to give my bank verbal approval to use my Android Wear watch for payments. While I appreciate the bank’s commitment to security and fully understand why verbal approval was required, it was especially difficult to listen to over and over recorded suggestions that I use on the website. Hold for Me would have made it a lot less annoying.
According to Google, Pixel 5 and 4a (5G) owners will get an “early preview” of Hold For Me, and over time, the service will become available to more people as part of the Phone App Suite. The Phone app includes a call screen that blocks robo and spam calls, and a verified caller who asks a company why they’re calling you and lets you see a transcript of the answer before deciding whether to pick up. Google doesn’t say when Hold for Me will be available on more devices yet. I personally can’t wait.
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