Ignore even more phone calls with Google’s ‘call screen’ feature

Google knows a lot about you, including, apparently, how much you hate answering the phone. 

At the Pixel 3 press launch Tuesday, the company unveiled a new feature for its flagship smartphone that aims to make that most annoying of moments just slightly less so. And, in the process, it gives you the opportunity to show anyone who would dare to disturb you with an actual phone call what you really think of them: Namely, that they’re an annoyance. 

Called “call screen,” the tool will answer incoming phone calls on your behalf and transcribe what the caller is saying on your device’s screen. You then have the option to choose from a pre-selected series of replies, which, presumably, the caller then hears spoken by a disembodied robot voice. 

And there you have it. You just answered the phone without ever actually picking it up. 

Notably, this feature appears to in no way have the functionality of Google Duplex — a service that can carry out limited conversations with real people on its own. Instead, if the pre-recorded video on stage is any guide, you’ll have the option to respond only with the phrases that Google thinks are appropriate (much like Gmail smart replies). 

And, importantly, you must select them yourself.  

“When you get that call and you can’t, or don’t want to pick up, just tap the ‘screen call’ button and your phone will answer for you and ask who’s calling and why,” explained Google project manager Liza Ma. “You can decide whether to pick up, send a quick reply, or mark the call as spam.” 

This transcription reportedly all happens on your phone — nothing is sent to Google’s servers — and Ma says it’s “powered by Google’s AI.”

With almost 50 percent of mobile phone calls expected to be spam by 2019, this tool seems to be the perfect follow to Google’s “filter suspected spam call” option announced earlier this year. Basically, it’s a simplified way to tell telemarketers (or anyone else you consider to be a pest) to buzz off. 

Call screen will be available on Pixel 3s in the U.S. when they ship. It will also come to the entire pixel line next month. So if you soon find yourself talking to a robot on the other end of the line with a disturbing frequency, you’ll know why. You will also know what your friends really think of you.