Google has released a call screening robot for its Pixel smartphones. The robot is designed to help users screen calls and answer questions. The robot is available now for $299.
As a sort of branch off of Google’s Duplex, the company announced Call Screen, which is a feature where your Pixel phone can answer the call for you and ask who’s calling.
Essentially, if you’re getting a call from a number that you don’t recognize, you can hit the “Screen Call” button and a robot will basically answer the call for you so that you don’t have to. From there, a transcription of the conversation appears on your phone’s screen in real time.
Of course, the other person will know it’s a robot, since it will announce itself as a call screening service. So it won’t be as fluid or lifelike as you may think, but it’s still a really neat feature for those who may not want to deal with telemarketers or just unfamiliar callers. Plus, if it is a telemarketer, Call Screen can let them know to take you off their call list.
The best part is that all of the AI processing happens right on the phone itself, so no call information is getting sent to Google.
Call Screen will be available on the Pixel 3 at launch and will become available to all Pixel devices at some point next month.
