Businesses have given up on trying to reach out to new and existing customers over the phone due to the fact that most consumers now ignore calls from unknown numbers due to the sheer number of spam calls they receive on a daily basis.
To make matters worse, a report released by the FTC last year found that phone calls were the number one way people reported being contacted by scammers.
In an effort to help legitimate businesses reach their customers over the phone, Google plans to introduce a new feature for Android smartphones called Verified Calls which will display a caller's name, their company logo and the reason why they're calling along with a verification symbol which shows that the call has been verified by Google.
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This is all done securely and the search giant does not collect or store any personally identifiable information after verification.
Verified Calls
Verified Calls is not a system-wide Android feature but is found in Google's Phone app which comes pre-loaded on many Android phones. Users whose devices shipped without the app will be able to download it soon from the Google Play Store so they can also take advantage of the new feature.
Businesses interested in using Verified Calls with their customers will need to sign up with one of Google's existing partners which include Neustar, Five9, Vonage, Aspect, Bandwidth, Prestus, Telecall and JustCall. Those looking to learn more about how this new feature works can tune in to a special session at Google Cloud Next '20 On Air by registering here.
Verified Calls will initially roll out in the US, Mexico, Brazil, Spain and India but the company plans to add more countries at a later date.
Spam and scam calls have long been a problem in the US and in other countries and with Verified Calls, Google hopes to improve businesses' answer rates. Judging by the pilot program the company has been running for the past few months though, the feature will help improve the likelihood of someone answering a call since they'll immediately know who is calling and for what reason.
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