Google has introduced a new feature called Verified Calls in the Google Phone app. Verified Calls is a feature on Google’s Phone app, which comes pre-loaded on many Android phones and will be available for download starting later this week on even more Android devices.
Businesses often rely on phone calls to reach out to new customers and serve existing ones. But customers often don’t answer the call if they don’t recognize the number.
With Verified Calls, users will see a blue shield icon, which features a checkmark, business name, logo and number. What’s cooler is that there’s a “Call Reason” section field that includes messages about your food delivery, confirm transaction activity, and flight time changes.
For Verified Calls to work, a business will have to be authenticated by Google and indicate that they aren’t a spammer. Google says this will improve answer rates, similar to Verified SMS.
This new feature is first rolling out to U.S., Mexico, Brazil, Spain and India, with more countries to follow. Information for businesses can be found here.
In a blog post, Google says that a wide range of businesses and institutions have been using Verified Calls during the pilot. For instance, banks calling to alert a customer about a possible fraudulent transaction can increase answer rates by stating the call reason. A food delivery or logistics company can do the same to make sure customers are available to receive their deliveries.
Based on last year’s launch of Verified SMS, which confirms the identity of the business that’s texting you, we learned that verified communication is valuable to both businesses and consumers. A study in the U.S. and Brazil found that Verified SMS increased consumer trust in brands, which significantly improved performance on metrics like likelihood to purchase, brand satisfaction, and likelihood to recommend.
The Phone app is launching this week on select flagship Samsung and LG devices running Android 9 Pie and above via the Play Store.
