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How to trigger the Hold for Me feature in Google Assistant
Are you tired of waiting on hold for customer service representatives? Waits can get long when you call companies or organizations, and Google Assistant has a neat feature to ease the process of getting in touch with a live person. Today we’ll show you how to trigger Hold for Me using Google Assistant.
QUICK ANSWER
To trigger Hold for Me using Google Assistant, you must first enable the feature. Launch the Phone app, tap on the three-dot menu button, select Settings, tap on Hold for Me, and toggle Hold for Me on.
Once the feature is on, you have to trigger it whenever you want to use it. When on hold in a call, you'll see an option saying Hold for me. Select it and then hit Start. You'll see a page saying, "Someone's waiting to talk to you," when the representative is ready. Select Return to call to get back to business.
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Editor’s note: We formulated these steps using a Google Pixel 7 running Android 13. Some steps may differ, depending on your device and software version.
What is the Google Assistant Hold for Me feature, and how does it work?
Hold for me is a unique feature that waits for you when placed on hold during any call. This can be helpful when calling businesses and any other organization. These can often place you on hold to talk to a representative for long periods.
When you trigger Hold for Me, it will wait and let you know when a live person is ready to talk to you. This means you can get busy doing other things while placed on hold.
Which devices support it?
Not many Android devices currently support Hold for Me. The only supported language is English, and it’s only available in the USA, Australia, and Canada. Additionally, Hold for Me is so far a Pixel-only feature. More specifically, it’s available on Pixel 3 and newer handsets. You’ll also need to ensure you’re using the latest version of the Phone by Google app.
Those with a supported device, language, and market can keep reading to learn how to use Hold for Me.
How to enable and use the feature
You’ll first need to enable the feature.
- Launch the Phone by Google app.
- Tap on the three-dot menu button.
- Go into Settings.
- Select Hold for Me.
- Toggle on Hold for Me.
Trigger Hold for Me when on a call
Of course, you’ll need to trigger the feature whenever you need to use it.
- When on hold in a call, tap on Hold for Me.
- Hit Start.
- You’ll see a message saying, “Don’t hang up” while still on hold.
- Once Google Assistant detects a live person is ready to talk to you, the message will change to “Someone’s waiting to talk to you.”
- Select Return to call.
Just keep in mind that the feature may sometimes not detect when a representative is ready to talk to you. Google is very clear about this not being a perfect tool. You may sometimes need to call again and actually wait on hold.
FAQs
Your device needs to meet a few requirements to use Hold for Me. For starters, the feature is only available in English. You’ll need to be in the USA, Australia, or Canada. Additionally, it’s only available on Pixel phones running the latest version of the Phone by Google app. More specifically, you’ll need a Pixel 3 or newer.
Hold for Me is pretty reliable, but isn’t perfect. Even Google tells us the feature doesn’t always detect when the representative is ready to talk to you.
You can’t play music, or any other audio while Hold for Me is in use.