Google hints at solving unwanted calls by injecting more AI into Call Screen

From robocalls to spam, unwanted calls are a scourge that plagues most phone owners. Fortunately, things like the Pixel’s Call Screen feature help to alleviate this nuisance. And it seems Google is looking to further enhance this feature in the near future with the help of conversational AI.

As discovered by 9to5Google, Group Product Manager for the Phone by Google app Jonathan Eccles appeared on the latest episode of the Made by Google Podcast. While on the show, Eccles talked about how the company wants to solve problems related to unwanted calls.

During the podcast, Eccles mentioned he wanted a:

Future where you should never ever, ever be annoyed at the thought of your phone ringing. It should always be a moment where you assume it’s something important or something delightful. Nothing should ever bother you. And at the same time, you should never ever feel like you’re ineffective or unproductive on any phone call.

Similar to how Google approaches most things these days, it appears Eccles sees conversational AI as the solution to this problem. “Multi-step, multi-turn conversational AI could open a lot of interesting doors in terms of creating this protective and helpful layer at the front of every incoming call.”

The group product manager then went on to hint that something may be coming later in the year.

We think AI is what takes you there into the future. And stay tuned this year, there’ll be some things coming up in the world of solving for unwanted calls that I think are going to be really exciting.

While the Pixel’s Call Screen feature already uses AI, it sounds like Google could be planning to enhance this feature further with more AI. And given that Eccles is teasing something later this year, it seems the upgrade to Call Screen could come around the time the Pixel 8 series is ready to launch.