Calling customer service and dealing with the ever-increasing wait times can be a daunting prospect. A new feature that Google is testing could remove all of that stress.
Google Search Labs is working on a feature called “Talk to a Live Representative” that will place a call for you, wait on hold, and then call you when a live customer service rep is available. The feature was spotted by X user @GreenShades9 .
Yes, we’re living in a world where bots are talking to each other. Only, one of the bots is working for you.
This feature is an enhancement of something already found on Pixel phones — another feature called Hold For Me. But this new version appears to be more streamlined, letting you pick a company to contact and a reason for calling, and leaving your number for SMS updates and the return call. The system takes care of the rest. It also has additional capabilities like dealing with phone trees (questions) for you and call you back when an agent is available.
Talk to a Live Representative is available in English to anyone in the U.S. who has joined the Search Labs program and opted into this experiment. It’s available on iPhones and Android devices, as well as on desktop through your Chrome browser.
For now, the feature is limited to just a few companies, including Delta Airlines, Boost Mobile and State Farm. Here’s the full list, compiled by 9to5Google:
- Airlines: Alaska Airlines, Delta Airlines, JetBlue, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, United
- Telecommunications: Assurance Wireless, Boost Mobile, Charter Communications, Cricket Wireless, Samsung, Sprint (presumably T-Mobile)
- Retail: Best Buy, Costco, Gamestop, The Home Depot, Walmart, Services
- Services: ADT, DHL, Fedex, Grubhub, Instacart, Securus Technologies, Stubhub, UPS, and Waste Management, Zelle
- Insurance: Esurance, State Farm
No word on when this will come to Android phones. A spokesperson for Google wasn’t immediately available for comment.
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